"It shall be the duty of every member of this Church to defend himself daily against aggressive mental suggestion, and not be made to forget nor to neglect his duty to God, to his Leader, and to mankind. By his works he shall be judged,—and justified or condemned." These words of Mary Baker Eddy in the Manual of The Mother Church (Art. VIII, Sect. 6) contain valuable instruction, for aggressive mental suggestion is the only device evil can use to accomplish its purpose. The student of Christian Science needs to be always on the alert to guard against promptings which would, if heeded, give cause for regret and the retracing of steps.
Evil assumes, in belief, many forms and disguises—all under the pretense of being good. But the Bible points out (James 1:13), "Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man." Therefore good is never in the form that evil would point out. God, good, alone directs one rightly.
Temptation is like a counterfeit coin; when one recognizes it for what it is, he is not deceived. In the moment of recognition the coin is deprived of any seeming power to suggest it could be utilized to bring good into that one's experience. So it is with all thoughts. Thoughts that lead to God are genuine. False thoughts, wrong thoughts, that would lead from Him, are counterfeit.
