Many students of Christian Science, as well as Christian people generally, make a mistake in attempting too much at the start, or rather in not rightly selecting the phase or manifestation of error over which they attempt to demonstrate at the beginning. Error as a whole presents many problems to be solved, and no young student of Christianity is competent to work on them all at the same time, and find success in his efforts. He must choose among the problems, working them one at a time, although it is true that the solving of any one problem contributes to the solution of all the rest.

The most frequent mistake made by many who are trying to be Christian Scientists is in attempting to demonstrate peace without before they have demonstrated peace within. They think they must solve the world's problems, or their church's problems, or at least the problems of their family or friends, in order to solve their own. The scientific order of demonstration is the exact reverse. A man must cast the beam out of his own eye before he can see clearly to cast the mote out of his brother's eye. We must be sufficiently acquainted with God, good, and sufficiently grounded in our consciousness of Him, sufficiently able to dwell "in the secret place of the most High," so that in our own consciousness we have become largely impervious to the darts of error, before we are strongly enough placed in good to be of very much service to other people. If we have not a firm inward hold on peace and harmony, we shall not do much toward imparting these qualities to other people or to outward situations.

Beginners in Christian Science need to follow the example of Jesus. Before he entered upon his ministry, he went apart, for forty days, into the wilderness, to pray. He saw that each should have his own consciousness closely and firmly and unalterably united with God, good, before undertaking the problems of the world. During these forty days there were sick to be healed, there were evils to be cast out, there were wrongs to be righted, but for the time Jesus paid no attention to them ; he was giving his entire attention to getting so firmly placed and grounded in the abiding consciousness of God, good, that he would be able to attack these evils all the more successfully later on, and without being himself overthrown in the process.

We do not need to make a physical journey into a material desert in order to follow the example of Jesus in this particular. It is sufficient to withdraw our thoughts from other people's problems for a time, so that we may give our entire attention to the solution of our own, — become sufficiently acquainted with God so that we shall be permanently at peace within, even while the storms of error rage all around us. When we have demonstrated such inward and abiding peace that feelings of anger, jealousy, envy, resentment, self-pity, brooding over wrongs, and the like, are not stirred into activity by the conduct of others, then we have gotten into a position to be of real service in overcoming the errors in our family, in the church, and in the world at large. Of course, such a demonstration is a matter of degree. Probably there are very few who have reached such a height of spiritual attainment that inharmonious feelings are not at times aroused into momentary activity; but we must have become sufficiently assimilated to God, sufficiently habituated in the abiding consciousness of good, sufficiently alert with regard to error, so that we promptly put out these intruders upon harmonious consciousness, instead of admitting and cherishing them, before we can be very helpful to others.

Even in the experience of those strongest in the truth, there come times when to sense error specially abounds and rages. In such a time a Christian's first duty is to save his own sense from taking part in the raging of error. With his utmost efforts this may be all he is able to do, and he will do well, at times, if he does this ; but, unless he does this first of all, he can neither help himself nor any one else. Such a raging of error is spoken of by the prophet Ezekiel, and he tells us : "Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord God." If these mighty men of faith under the given unfavorable conditions would have been able to have saved but their own sense from having part in error, able to have done no more than maintain spiritual consciousness, then surely there are times when we, who have not endured the test of the flood, nor the trial by suffering and the loss of all earthly possessions, and who have not survived the lions' den, — there are times when we shall do well if we do nothing more than maintain our own peace.

In this connection, the story of Noah and the ark is illuminating. Taken figuratively, the flood may represent the raging sea of error; the solid ground the abiding sense of good, which for a time seemed to be completely covered and hidden from sight by the sea; while the ark represents that spiritual consciousness which rides safely above the raging waves. Spiritual consciousness was a place of safety to Noah, his sons, and their wives, but there were none others in the world who were able to dwell in this ark of spiritual consciousness, and so no other men were saved from the flood. The ark had but one window, and it was open toward heaven, toward light and truth and good, — the ark had no windows at the sides for looking out on the sea of error. From time to time Noah sent out a thought of peace, the dove; but it found no resting-place, none of the solid ground of good appearing above the flood, and so it returned to Noah. Thus he knew that the waters of error were not yet subsided, and he continued to dwell in the ark of spiritual consciousness until error should destroy itself, and thus abate, at least in some measure. When once more Noah sent out the dove, his thought of peace, it found a resting-place, and did not return. Then he knew that error was sufficiently self-destroyed, and enough of truth and good had appeared in the outward situation so that it was safe for him to begin to make preparations to go forth from the ark; that is, to reach out with aspiring faith for the benefit of mankind.

Many times there are members of our family, or of our church, or people in our neighborhood, who are so satisfied with their present condition that the wisest thing we can do is to protect our own consciousness and allow the error to find its own self-destruction, while we calmly abide in the consciousness that nothing real, nothing good, can be destroyed or lost. When error has sufficiently destroyed itself in the consciousness of others through suffering, the time will come when they will be ready for the help which we can give them. It is well for us occasionally to utter a word of peace, a thought of Science; but if their behavior does not indicate that this thought of Science finds a place in their consciousness where it can rest without stirring up violent manifestations of error, the thing for us to do is to continue to dwell quietly in the ark of our consciousness of Truth. If, in our efforts to help them, we ourselves are dragged forth from the ark into the sea of error, much is lost to us and to them. While the prodigal chose to remain in the far country, "no man ministered unto him." By these words Jesus seems to intimate quite clearly that to let them alone is the most effective treatment for those who are headstrong in error.

The proper interpretation of certain verses in the first chapter of Genesis gives us added understanding of our privilege and duty. God's universe was never "created" in the sense of having been developed from a previous state of non-existence. God's universe is coeternal with Himself. Any well-instructed Christian Scientist will recognize this fact, without argument from the Scripture to support it, though such evidence can readily be given. The record in the first chapter of Genesis is not, therefore, a record of creation, but a record of the inspired writer's advancing periods of understanding of the universe which eternally existed. Says Mrs. Eddy in Science and Health (p.504), "Was not this a revelation instead of a creation? The successive appearing of God's ideas is represented as taking place on so many evenings and mornings, — words which indicate, in the absence of solar time, spiritually clearer views of Him, views which are not implied by material darkness and dawn."

While we are passing through the advancing periods of understanding, the human sense may be subject to more or less of disquietude and unrest. There will be "days" when all will appear bright and clear. Then other problems will arise, which we are not able to solve for a time, and we may pass through a period of "night." Then we succeed in solving or overcoming these difficulties of understanding or experience, and come into a brighter and fuller "day." Finally, we arrive at the goal of complete understanding, where we know the truth, and know that we know it, and feel scientifically confident that we can abide in the consciousness of Truth and protect ourselves from coming under the domination of error. While there is much that we have not demonstrated, yet we feel that we understand God, understand His universe, and understand ourselves, and that we have sufficient hold on the truth so that we can make our way forward gradually to a complete demonstration of that which we know to be true, without let or hindrance from error.

When we have attained this consciousness, we have reached the day of rest, — not a period of idleness, by any means, but rather a period of activity in demonstration of the truth. Like God, we are able to "rest in action" (Science and Health, p. 519).' We work vigorously for our own advancement and the advancement of others. While doing so, we are confronted with all sorts of errors, but they do not disturb the harmony of our consciousness while we are overcoming them. We are strong enough in the truth so that they cannot disturb us. So we are in perfect repose, even while we are actively working. This period of repose, this day of rest, is our Sabbath day. We should "remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy;" that is, our consciousness should rest in God, we should not allow inharmonious, annoying, unholy thoughts and feelings to enter. We should keep our consciousness pure and clear, and our Sabbath day, our spiritual consciousness, having been attained, should endure forever.