Nearly everyone is familiar with the story of Daniel and his steadfast reliance on God. Even as a youth he held alert watch over his thinking. In the service of King Nebuchadnezzar he instantly rejected the king's food, choosing instead the simple pulse of his countrymen. In later years his unwavering faith in God, divine Mind, effected his deliverance from the lions' den. Certainly the qualities which gave Daniel promise, success, and deliverance were not in his physical make-up or stature. Rather, the qualities which promoted his success were the divine attributes of God welling up in his consciousness, showing his spontaneous, childlike trust in God.
In later centuries Christ Jesus manifested the fullness of spirituality. In his Sermon on the Mount, in his parables, and in his healings he gave unmistakable instructions for mankind to watch their thinking well in order that man's true nature might shine forth through the mists of mortal thought. It is becoming well recognized today that the quality of one's thinking affects every phase of his health and endeavor.
Some years ago Thomas A. Edison set forth this challenge: "The most necessary task of civilization is to teach men how to think." This challenge is answered in Christian Science. Through its study one finds his true consciousness to be in the spiritual realm of Mind. He learns to examine his thoughts regularly, rejecting as illusory the limiting thought pictures of human frailty, of evil-mindedness, the stress and strain of mortal doubts and fears. He learns, too, that coactive with this rejective process must be the acceptance and acknowledgment of God's law, power, and glory and of man's true spiritual being. This spiritual winnowing of thought is urged by Mary Baker Eddy in her book "The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany" (pp. 128, 129): "Watch, and pray daily that evil suggestions, in whatever guise, take no root in your thought nor bear fruit. Ofttimes examine yourselves, and see if there be found anywhere a deterrent of Truth and Love, and 'hold fast that which is good.' "
