Article August 29, 1983 Issue

Putting out the fire

RICHARD LeROY ALDER

One of the many things a firefighter first learns is what makes a fire. There are three elements: heat, fuel, and oxygen. Eliminate one element and the fire will go out. In most cases a firefighter will eliminate the heat in order to control and destroy a fire.

We can apply some of the terms used in firefighting to approaches to healing through Christian Science. Metaphors or analogies can't be literally accurate, of course, and shouldn't be carried too far. But, for instance, we might think of fear as the fuel for the fire, the belief in sickness, sin, or death. Then we can speak of putting out the fire of erroneous belief by depriving it of fuel and oxygen (fear and the belief that life is material). Discordant elements can be excluded from thought through prayer, and by the spiritual understanding that declares God's supremacy in every situation.

One morning I was doing spring cleanup outside the house. The night before, I had burned some leaves and sticks and had left the ashes in a pile. Our son toddled out of the house, looking for me. Seeing the pile of ashes, he decided to walk through them in his bare feet. But the ashes were still smoldering from the night before, and he burned his feet.

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