Article June 29, 1987 Issue

True strength: physical or spiritual?

Only through a basic change of thought—from matter to Spirit—can one find the answer to this question.

Lawrence William Waters

Instant revitalization from using a particular brand of soap when one showers after a hard day at the office or on the tennis courts! That was the kind of message relayed in a recent television commercial and in many others like it. Such claims seem laughable and harmless until one considers that they stem from the basic false belief that man is physical and governed by so-called physical laws; that man's health and strength are directly dependent on matter, including personal habits of diet, exercise, physical refreshment, and rest.

How greatly this sense of man differs from what the Bible tells us. In John we read: "God is a Spirit" and "All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made."^{John 4:24; 1:3.} And we read in II Samuel, "God is my strength and power."^{II Sam. 22:33.}

Since God is Spirit, Spirit must be man's very substance and Life, the source of his health and strength. An understanding of God, who is divine Truth, Life, and Love, and steadfast obedience to Him make possible the realization and demonstration of these transforming spiritual facts. Mrs. Eddy writes in Science and Health: "Obedience to Truth gives man power and strength. Submission to error superinduces loss of power."^{Science and Health, p. 183.} All can prove the practical, day-to-day healing power of Truth, which heals by freeing us from enslaving misconceptions.