The apostle's counsel to the Philippians, "Work out your own salvation," indicates that positive and sustained activity is an essential of true Christianity. That this was understood by the early Church Fathers is seen by the inclusion of "sloth" among the "seven deadly sins," although the modern tendency is to limit its application to mere physical idleness. The demand that men shall be active in the world of sense is not more insistent than it is in the spiritual realm, the difference being that mortals believe the former to be a necessity, while the latter is looked upon largely as a matter of choice. One must have food and clothes and shelter, they say, and therefore one must work for them; but they do not see that to keep goodness and purity and love active in the heart is a greater necessity than to procure the things which "perish with the using."

A student is sometimes tempted to feel discouraged because he still finds himself in the grasp of discordant conditions, and still in bondage to the ungodliness in his own thoughts; but may it not be that we ask or expect from Christian Science more than we are willing in our hearts to work for, or to make room for? Mortals are not saved from evil by a passive recognition of its unreality, or by an intellectual acceptance of the teachings of Christian Science. In her loving but decisive way Mrs. Eddy writes in her Message to The Mother Church for 1900 (p. 2), "The song of Christian Science is, 'Work—work—work—watch and pray.'" And this means that we must make Christian Science the business of our lives; that we must be absorbingly busy in the right direction, mentally, morally, and spiritually, every moment.

The mental process known as the "new birth" describes the work required of all Christians. As Jesus said to Nicodemus, it is the only way into the kingdom of heaven. This process includes the transformation of thought, motives, aims, desires, character and nature from evil to good, from the sensual to the spiritual, from the human to the divine; and this is not fully accomplished in a day or a year. In terms of daily activity, it means the patient weeding out of consciousness of the things that offend, and the equally patient and earnest endeavor to pattern thought after the divine ideal. This necessarily brings one into conflict with the errors of human belief, which ultimate in sin and disease, and with that stubborn resistance to spirituality which is inherent in the so-called fleshly mind. The task of correcting and eliminating the ingrained faults and perversities of temperament, which seem to become inextricably fixed through habitual indulgence, and of replacing them with the qualities which express God, may appear at times to be almost hopeless. Like the sculptor-boy, referred to by our Leader in "The People's Idea of God" (p. 7), we may have to chisel out the resisting marble "with many a sharp incision," until the "angel-vision" of our spiritual better self appears in its beauty and permanence.

There is, however, no ground for discouragement in this conflict, for all the powers of good are allied to him who fights for his heavenly freedom. But neither is there any ground for idleness. Orderly and continuous activity is the natural function of living, even in what we call the physical world. A mental state wherein is no action of divine thought is like stagnant water, breeding conditions which are unwholesome to the individual and to society; for it signifies the presence and activity of those thoughts which "defile the man." It has been said, "If God is not with a man, the devil is."

If one is not active in goodness, or is indifferent to divine things, this mistaken mental attitude opens the mental door to evil influences; and idleness in speech belongs to the same category. The Master's warning against idle words did not refer alone to words of a frivolous nature, but to expressions of belief in God which are not accompanied by works. It means saying, "Lord, Lord," as if we were His, while the heart is not obedient; talking love when one's thoughts are not loving; affirming statements of Christian Science without doing our best to practice them. These surely are idle words, for they do not come forth of spiritual, understanding, and, like the seed which fell among thorns, "bring no fruit to perfection."

Sooner or later it is discovered that discordant conditions do not yield to the mere utterance of scientific statements; and the reason is plain when we remember that what enters into one's experience is through his mental door, and changes his living permanently for the better only as thought changes to better concepts. It is highly important that we speak right words, but it is of more importance that our thoughts shall be right. Jesus' word "was with power" because he thought and lived as he talked. If one is consistently striving to conform his thought and life to the teachings of Christian Science, if he is working, watching, and praying to bring out the Godlike in himself, he can honestly speak the truth with authority, and his word will not be idle or unfruitful."

"This one thing I do," said Paul; and that one thing was the pressing on to the possession of his goal. It was his life-activity, and he never ceased doing that one thing. We may not have to meet the same outward conflicts and persecutions as he, but we have the same goal to win; and if we would succeed, we must pursue the same course. There is no safety or prosperity in not thinking and doing the better things of which we are now capable, and which God demands of us now. Every moment of the day the suggestion that life, happiness, and success can be found apart from God, Spirit, urges its subtle deceptions upon us; hence every moment of the day calls for watchful resistance to the claims of evil, and a steadfast activity on the side of good.

On page 340 of "Miscellaneous Writings" Mrs. Eddy gives us this comforting assurance, which should banish all discouragement: "Be active, and, however slow, thy success is sure." The key to progress is thus in our own hands. Without our consent no condition can prevent us from keeping God's spiritual ideas active in consciousness, as we are prepared to receive them. The way to heaven is hard only to the sensual nature of mortals, which finds no pleasure in spirituality, and is ever pulling in the opposite direction. Therein we may see the heavenly necessity of cherishing every divine impulse, and of giving it the right of way in the whole field of our thinking and acting. In the spiritual present we are children of God, and it is our saving privilege as Christian Scientists so to love that ideal that it will be the supreme factor in our daily lives.