Article August 20, 1984 Issue

Treat yourself right and guard your thinking!

YVONNE HARVEY

So much of value can be learned from Nehemiah, who rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem. The Bible tells us that despite threats of doom and cunning invitations by his enemies—Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem—Nehemiah refused to be tempted away from his holy work. His sure defense and success lay in his steadfastness and trust in God's supremacy and power. He remained armed mentally as well as militarily; he guarded his thinking and thereby triumphed in the completion of his work.

What of the Sanballats, the Tobiahs, the Geshems of today? Aren't they whatever would seduce and falsely influence the thoughts and opinions of humanity? We need to guard our thinking against today's materialism, sensualism, and immorality. As Paul warns, "Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?"^{Rom. 6:16.}

Unless we recognize that God alone is the true Mind of man and we become willing to follow Paul's admonition "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus,"^{Phil. 2:5.} it's all too easy to become lost in labyrinths of fear, sin, and sickness. The belief in a mind in matter, separate from God, is described in the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy, as animal magnetism. This belief therefore opens one up to constant deception and mesmerism. We are not really treating ourselves right unless we discipline our way of thinking and alertly guard it against the subtle suggestions of the carnal mind. A hypnotist's show illustrated this point.