Article August 30, 1975 Issue

Fight Thought Pollution

MARY R. KRIEGER

In all the discussion of environmental pollution, how much attention is given to the basic question of thought pollution? I recall striving mentally, as a Christian Scientist, to hold to the truth of God's creation, including everyone around me—family, fellow church members, schoolteachers, public officials, and politicians. But everywhere I turned, false traits of human personality seemed to present themselves; a clear, perfect concept of man as God made him was difficult to achieve.

As I worked with the problem, the thought came that falling prey to the type of thinking that labels man as a faulty mortal is a form of pollution. And what is pollution? Impurity, uncleanliness. Though honest conviction of the true man's perfection as the image and likeness of God should be filling one's consciousness, it is nevertheless only too easy to be enticed into letting in such impure thinking as adverse criticism of others, personal sensitiveness, resentment, domination, ingratitude, insincerity, even dishonesty. The moment one of these suggestions is allowed to creep in, one can find muddy mental waters ahead.

This does mean we should ignore the error in human thought. Christ Jesus did not. He said, "A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things."^{Matt. 12:35;} We must be alert to distinguish between good and evil, reject erroneous thinking and build up our treasure of spiritual understanding. Allowing wrong thoughts to enter one's consciousness leads to confusion, and the erroneous concept looms up of man as material and mortal and of two minds, instead of being spiritual and perfect as God created him.

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