Article December 23, 1967 Issue

Let Us "commute this self-sentence"

DOUGLAS ROBERTS

Every discord we experience is imposed by our own false belief. No matter how real it seems or how badly the human body seems to be affected, it is entirely a mental condition superimposed upon the body. Mrs. Eddy makes this clear when she states: "Disease has no intelligence. Unwittingly you sentence yourself to suffer. The understanding of this will enable you to commute this self-sentence, and meet every circumstance with truth." ^{Science and Health, p. 378;}

Again she writes: "You say, 'I have burned my finger.' This is an exact statement, more exact than you suppose; for mortal mind, and not matter, burns it." ^{p. 161 ;} Mortal mind burns itself. It may also be said to disease itself, impoverish itself, age itself, defeat itself.

Instead of accepting aggressive suggestions of oncoming decrepitude, disease, frustrations, and defeat, we can, through our understanding of Christian Science, reject them both mentally and audibly. Jesus rebuked error with the authority of the Christ. He said, "Get thee hence, Satan." ^{Matt. 4:10;} We can do the same, since Science reveals the fact that mortals live in a sense-dream and that their experiences are essentially mental and self-imposed. If mankind are obedient to the one Mind, their way will be progressive, expanding out of the false sense of self into greater usefulness. If, howerver, they continue subservient to mortal mind, they will experience only what this so-called mind believes, the mortal and finite. Which shall it be?