EVERY earnest Christian desires above all else so to live as to be worthy of that "Well done" bestowed by the Master upon the faithful servant. This reward can come only as the result of consistent alertness—alertness, that is, both to the impotence of evil and to the omnipotence of good. The twofold nature of such vigilance is significant, for to ignore sin and sickness is not conducive to mastering them. True alertness demands prompt detection of evil's claim to power, and instant action to deny it even a temporary influence. Such watchfulness is the result, not of fear but of wisdom.
When David kept watch over his flocks, was he not quick to detect the bear and the lion that molested his sheep? Had he failed to notice them, their aggressiveness would have made them the victors. But because he was alert, he was able to go out against them and destroy them. When beset by disturbing phases of disease and evil, we must likewise be awake to recognize these phantoms of fear and to overcome them by perceiving the dishonest, lying nature of such suggestions. We must detect the lie and refuse to accept it as truth. And the more promptly we detect and reject as unlawful and impotent every condition and circumstance that would steal away our rights, the more health and peace we shall bring into our experience.
It is not, however, merely the presumptuous foe that needs watching, but especially the slinking, insidious evil that would creep, intrude, and climb unnoticed into the fold. Such an enemy is self-pity, accompanied by envy and fear, or self-righteousness, flanked by pride and criticism. To protect ourselves against these subtle enemies we must know our sheep: we must watch our thoughts in order that no dissembling evil suggestions enter the fold of our consciousness. Self-pity would frequently mask as humility, and self-righteousness pose as superior intelligence. But to the alert thought, forever conscious of God as the only Mind and man as God's exact likeness, such wolves in sheep's clothing cannot pass.
