Have you ever considered the importance of that small word let? "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus," said the Apostle Paul (Phil. 2:5). A companion book to the Bible, Science and Health, uses let over ninety times, sometimes quoting Bible verses, often in imperative statements that emphasize letting go of ungodlike thinking in order to yield to God's control. Other similar citations use words such as drop, give up, put aside, forsake, rid ourselves, and relinquish.

It's not hard for most people to draw up a list of traits they would like to let go of. These might include discouragement, prejudice, false dependency, anxiety, criticism, irritation, self-will, pride. Every one of these traits stems from the suggestion that we are isolated beings, sometimes separated from good, sometimes depending on the wrong things. They are all offshoots of the false belief that there is life, substance, and intelligence in matter and that there are many minds. So this is the basic false belief that needs to be forsaken.

Why is this belief of a mind separate from God so deleterious to health and harmony? Because it denies the allness of God, good. By claiming that there can be something happening independently of God, we open the door to discord, despair, disease.

God is the only Mind. To hang on to the belief that there can be another power or mind weighs us down, is in fact a sin. Paul writes, "Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith" (Heb. 12:1, 2).

Look at the action words in Paul's declaration: lay aside, run, look unto Jesus. Mental housecleaning is a vigorous process. It disposes of, not just recycles, mistaken thoughts and behavior. With these out of the way, we're letting God take over. The effort propels us forward spiritually. Science and Health points out: "Let us rid ourselves of the belief that man is separated from God, and obey only the divine Principle, Life and Love. Here is the great point of departure for all true spiritual growth" (p. 91).

At one time I wanted to arrange things efficiently without letting God's will have precedence. During an international emergency my husband was recalled for two years of active duty as a naval officer. We had to move three thousand miles west to his assigned base. For a while I was fascinated with exploring the wonders of California. But I began to long for our own home in the suburbs of New York City. When word came of an upcoming family wedding back there, I immediately began outlining a plan whereby the children and I would stay on after the wedding in our eastern home, while my husband completed his tour of duty on the West Coast. It all seemed so sensible to me, although I could tell that my husband wasn't very happy about being separated from his family. But he agreed to my arbitrary plan.

Soon my conscience began to bother me. Not only that, but a painful rash developed on one finger.

So each day I thoughtfully studied the weekly Bible Lesson given in the Christian Science Quarterly, expectantly looking for answers. Easter was approaching, and one Lesson included the account of Jesus' poignant and exalting night in the garden of Gethsemane right before his crucifixion (see Luke, chap. 22). I thought that Jesus might have wondered: "Why do I have to go through this? Why can't I continue healing and teaching? Why can't I just slip away unnoticed to a safe place?"

But instead, "When the human element in him struggled with the divine, our great Teacher said: 'Not my will, but Thine, be done!' — that is, Let not the flesh, but the Spirit, be represented in me" (Science and Health, p. 33).

Here was the message I needed: let go of self-will and yield to the infallible direction of divine Mind. It became very clear to me that blessings would flow as a consequence of obeying God's direction. I told my relieved husband that I withdrew my plan, and that I was going to pray to let God's plan appear in a way that would be joyous and harmonious for everyone. (Harmony was quickly evident with the disappearance of the rash on my finger.)

My husband said he would go down to the Pentagon during our eastern leave to inquire about a transfer. He did so, and was told they had had a vacancy for an officer of his rank for several months at the Navy headquarters in New York City, and they could transfer him there immediately. Thus we were able to enjoy living in our own home for the remainder of his recall period.

Up until about six months before this, I had been an apathetic Christian Scientist. Then a series of problems persuaded me to actually practice this Science. This "letting" experience, and others, reinforced my confidence in God's control. I realized that God had been there even when I wasn't paying attention, even when I thought I had all the answers.

What God knows is that His idea, man, our true selfhood, can never be separated from Mind's infinite intelligence and love, can never be less than complete. As we come to understand this relation to God, there's regeneration in our lives. Discouragement yields to confidence in God's disposal of events. Prejudice gives way to brotherly love. Material dependence is replaced by spiritual support. And self-will surrenders to infinite Mind.