"Lord, through this hour/Be Thou our Guide"

                                            By:  John Robert Howell
                (His articles have appeared in The Christian Science Monitor
                                    and the Christian Science Sentinel)

                                                                                         



The devil will permit me to accept the notion that I am God's perfect spiritual reflection provided I continue to receive and read the business mail he sends to my address.  There is no better time than now to send that foul stuff back to him stamped "Return to Sender".  Even  his tempting  holiday specials of 0% APR for 60 months need to be rejected without even a curious peek at the exciting details.  They may sound attractive, but so does a con man to a rube.

Some current tv ad slogans are worth thinking about vis-a-vis the Adversary's persistent appeals to "Come on down" as a car dealer used to say nightly.  Two are from the same company, Capital One (credit cards), I think:  "Don't leave home without it" and "What's in your wallett?"  If I leave  home without doing adequate protective work or without a solid spiritual sense of God with me, I'm leaving the mail box open to receive whatever the letter carrier, like the cat, brings.  I'd also be foolish not to have God always in my mental wallett.  I don't ever go out without my credit card, so why should I leave something vastly more important at home?  Some of us might be chagrined to find out what is in our wallett (our consciousness) as we head out the door.

The third slogan is from an auto manufacturer, I think: "Expect more".  I know, first, I need to expect more from myself.  I can be a better Christian Scientist, a better healer, a better church member, and maybe even a better contributor to the periodicals.  I can also rightly expect better from others and work to appreciate their sincere efforts to do good.  Obviously, however, a tentative or doubting faith or expectation is not going to be a flood tide that will lift a Styrofoam cup.  The needs of mankind, and even Christian Scientists are great, and, perforce, our prayerful work must be up to the need.  Mrs. Eddy writes encouragingly, "When the destination is desirable, expectation speeds our progress".  (Science and Health, 426:8-9)