Dragons come in many sizes. Or rather, they can be blown up to any size. We blow them up when we look at them with fear instead of realizing their powerlessness. Like the most exaggerated falsehood, they are entirely fictitious. Take the great red dragon depicted in the Apocalypse. It began its mythical history as the lowly serpent of the Garden of Eden. Mrs. Eddy writes: "In Genesis, this allegorical, talking serpent typifies mortal mind, 'more subtle than any beast of the field.' In the Apocalypse, when nearing its doom, this evil increases and becomes the great red dragon, swollen with sin, inflamed with war against spirituality, and ripe for destruction." ^{Science and Health, pp. 564-565;}

Christian Science teaches, and proves, that there is but one Mind —God. Mind, God, is infinite good, the source of all true thought, of all real power. Then what is this serpent, "mortal mind"? It is a term given to the supposition that divine Mind is not All, that it can have an opposite. Considered logically, this supposition is nonsense, since that which is infinite leaves no room for an opposite. Nevertheless, if we're not alert, this illogical, often subtle belief in more than one mind may insinuate itself into our thought. It would try to make us forget the great, basic truth that there is but one Mind, the truth we find expressed in the Bible: "For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding." ^{Prov. 2:6;} Not out of the mouth of the dragon!

I once saw an enormous dragon. It was in a city that had a number of families of Chinese origin. Their special contribution to the annual parade was a magnificent dragon. The head was gorgeously painted, with flaring nostrils and rolling eyes, and its gaudy body was half a block long. As it wound its spectacular way along the streets, some of the crowd cheered, others laughed. A mother reassured her wide-eyed child: "It isn't real!" But nobody looked down at the black-slippered feet of the men who trotted beneath the blown-up body, supporting each section on its flimsy bamboo frame. All were too interested in the dragon.

After the parade the huge monster was returned to an old warehouse. As the men stepped out from under each section, it quietly collapsed, and soon there was nothing but a folded heap of bamboo, paint, and paper. Even the great head, so awe-inspiring when held aloft in the streets, was left lying on its side, its emptiness exposed for all to see.

The dragons in our lives can just as readily be deflated and disposed of through the scientific understanding of God and man. Sometimes these are fierce dragons, such as sickness, accident, lack. Sometimes apparently friendly dragons, such as sensual pleasures. Fierce or friendly, they would hypnotize us into giving reality and identity to suffering and sin. But the moment this "reality" is challenged, its collapse begins. Christian Science teaches us how to issue this challenge, making it plain that because God, who is Principle and Love, is the only power, the dragons of evil can have no power. They are simply part of error's nonsense parade.

To realize that evil is a pretense is a first step in deflating any dragon, no matter how big, how impressive, or how colorful it may appear. One meaning of the word "pretend" is "claim," and we sometimes speak of the pretender to a throne—someone who is not on the throne but claims he should be.

Dragons are pretenders. It is God who is enthroned. He is All. The sections, or coils of a dragon, may be made of such ungodlike fantasies as fear, criticism, dishonesty, sensuality, self-righteousness, envy. But all are deflatable because God, good, is All.

What enables us to distinguish between the pretender and reality? It is the Christ, Love's tender message, speaking to human consciousness and filling it with the truth of God and man. The more we listen to the Christ, Truth, and let it guide us, the more quickly we're able to recognize the lie and reject it. As we acknowledge Truth, we prove that the lie has nothing to support it—the dragon collapses. This may happen phase by phase. But when one part goes, the others follow. Mrs. Eddy writes, "Christian Science never healed a patient without proving with mathematical certainty that error, when found out, is two-thirds destroyed, and the remaining third kills itself." ^{Miscellaneous Writings, p. 210;}

We can be reassured, then, that any dragon which comes winding its envious way into our life is a pretender, on its way to self-destruction. It may appear very frightening or very gay and exciting. It may even be surrounded by a crowd that loves it for its drama, not seeing the false beliefs that support it. But let's not be one of the crowd. We can see the dragon for what it is—a noisy nothing, "ripe for destruction."

To lift ourselves and others out of sickness, bad habits, or inharmony of any kind, let us be careful not to listen to the dragon, that symbol of evil, of all that is unlike God. Instead, we can accept Christ Jesus' invitation: "Follow me." ^{Matt. 16:24.} When we accept and follow his teachings, we attain that state of consciousness where we no longer lend support to a lie, and the dragon collapses.