Article February 5, 2018 Issue

Welcoming health and goodness

Elizabeth Kellogg

What am I entertaining? Lately, I’ve been giving a lot of thought to that question. But not in terms of who is coming to our house. Rather, I am questioning the kind of thoughts that are getting a warm welcome into my consciousness. Metaphorically speaking, what kinds of thoughts am I setting the table, lighting the candles, and preparing a meal for?

It all began when I read Paul’s letter to the Philippians, urging them to fill their minds with things that are virtuous and that deserve praise: things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and of good report (see Philippians 4:8). A quick mental checkup made me aware of some unwanted guests sitting around my (mental) table! But what to do about them?

A few days later, I read the paragraph on page 234 of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy that has the marginal heading, “Hospitality to health and good,” and opens with this statement: “We should become more familiar with good than with evil, and guard against false beliefs as watchfully as we bar our doors against the approach of thieves and murderers.” At first reading, this directive only sounded like good preventative advice. It didn’t speak to me about how to handle the intruders that seemed to have passed over the threshold—and made themselves comfortable! Nevertheless, I faithfully sought to become more familiar with those good spiritual things that Paul had commended to the Philippians.

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