No Lack of Time

ETHEL PUTNAM

Every human being has at his disposal all the time there is. There are twenty-four hours in each day, and each of us has all of them. And yet, in no direction of thought has humanity so largely accepted the suggestion of limitation and lack as it has in regard to time. Even though the Christian Scientist is adequately equipped to correct this condition, he is apt to fall under the general mesmerism of hurry, and feel that he has not the time to handle the claim of lack of time! One may be tempted to wait for more leisure before facing this problem of belief in limited time, but delay is useless. A sense of leisure cannot come until we have conquered the sense of hurry.

When we feel most driven, most harassed by the sense of more to be done than we can possibly accomplish, then is the time to realize that the eternal God is never hurried, that divine Mind never directs us to do more than we can do, never gives conflicting orders. There is always the right thing for each one to do every moment. Divine Mind never pauses for an instant in its work of governing, and never makes mistakes. Then, what is the trouble? Either we do not hear, are not obedient, or else we confuse the suggestions of mortal mind with the divine directing. Our mistakes may include all three errors. One of the worst mistakes we may make is to accept as real false beliefs or claims. We are wont to affirm error and deny Truth.

If any one of us declared, "I have no health," "I have no strength," "I have no supply for daily needs," how should we expect to escape these conditions? Similarly, our misstatements about time accomplish what one might expect them to accomplish. The more we declare, "I have no time to study," "I am too busy to do the metaphysical work I need," the deeper we seem to be buried under the false claim.

How would it be if we began, on waking, to realize that each day presents the possibility of a new unfolding of good, a day in which we may experience only good, into which can enter no power, no circumstance, presuming to contradict, oppose, confuse, or obstruct the divine will, or man's God-given dominion over all the earth!

We live in eternity now, and can be conscious now of the freedom which comes through perception of this fact. There are no dull and drab intervals in eternity, and no sense of rush. There is always joyous, useful, satisfying activity. Clearly knowing this, we shall not be deceived into wasting opportunities for good and happy contacts with our fellow men; neither shall we be betrayed into feverish and unprofitable activity to satisfy mortal mind.

As Christian Scientists we can reject the claim of human temperament, leading into mistakes, and claim our rightful heritage of divine endowment. We can know that frivolity cannot trap us through its enticements. We can protect our good qualities from misuse. We can prove that no mistaken sense of love, and no false sense of responsibility, can make us undertake the work belonging properly to another.

Realizing that Mind is reflected in the intelligence which shows us what to do, and how and when to do it, we can forestall the temptation to procrastinate, or leave undone that which should be accomplished. Realizing, too, that Love is reflected in obedient advance along the path which opens before us, we can forestall the universal belief of overaction, with its consequent mental and physical fatigue. We can dwell upon the fact that man is forever at peace, forever active, and is endowed with unfailing freshness and vigor.

It is profitable for us to claim the opportunity for study and for constructive meditation on world problems. The Christian Science practitioner may need to guard against the temptation to feel that he has not the time to work for himself. He is blessed when he "seeth his brother's need and supplieth it" (Science and Health, p. 518). He is likewise blessed when he sees his own need and knows that God supplies it. Our Leader, Mrs. Eddy, writes (ibid., p. 468): "Eternity, not time, expresses the thought of Life, and time is no part of eternity. One ceases in proportion as the other is recognized."

We shall get our work done "on time" if we realize that Mind does not require time to express itself through its ideas. Our work is not accomplished independently of the divine Mind; it is to be seen as the expression of Mind's omniaction. Truth acts spontaneously. Let us claim that spontaneity in all that we are required to do for God and humanity.

Jesus fully proved that the beliefs of time and space could be overcome through the understanding of their unreality, when he walked over the water to join his disciples in the boat on the lake. "They willingly received him into the ship: and immediately the ship was at the land whither they went." The realization of eternity dispels the belief of time and time limitations. Let us be grateful for the revelation of Truth, and for the inspiration which helps us to demonstrate it in daily life.

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