An inspiring challenge to every student of Christian Science appears on page 167 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mary Baker Eddy, where we read, "Our proportionate admission of the claims of good or of evil determines the harmony of our existence,—our health, our longevity, and our Christianity." This statement calls for a thorough and honest analysis of one's thinking. What proportion of good, what proportion of evil, are we admitting into consciousness? To what degree are we acknowledging God as All, as He really is? If no specific problem seems to be calling for solution, such an evaluation of our thoughts will reveal just how far we have progressed in a genuine understanding of Christian Science. On the other hand, if we seem to be confronted with some specific phase of evil, it is of paramount importance to realize how much power we are giving to the claims of evil and how much confidence we are placing in the claims of good.
There can be but one answer as to what proportion of the claims of evil we should admit, and that is, Absolutely none. In mathematics we make no concessions to error if we wish to obtain a correct result. How much more important it is, then, in our demonstration of the Christ, Truth, to yield not one iota to the seeming power of evil!
But how consistently are we dwelling on the claims of good? We need to realize that the claims of good, supported as they are by divine Principle, far outweigh the seeming power of error. A student of Christian Science who had contended for a long time with a physical difficulty was so impressed one day as she read the sentence quoted above from Science and Health that she exclaimed, "I shall never again admit that claim of error as real, but I shall strive as never before to understand the claims of good." Improvement in the physical condition resulted immediately, and eventually she was completely healed.
