A MATERIAL structure, regardless of how strongly it is built, is only a superficial type of protection. It is not a basis for true security. Our real security is based on our oneness with God as His reflection and must therefore be mental. We are expressing our unity with God when we have performed a kind deed, righted a wrong, or practiced equanimity in the midst of an aggressive situation. We should then feel protected in our right activity.
But in the most securely built material refuge, we should not feel safe if we are hating our neighbor, resenting business associates, or condemning family or fellow church members. Hatred, resentment, and condemnation put us on the defensive, making us vulnerable to evil. The strongest available material protection will not secure peace of mind if we are harboring these propensities. The first step, then, toward finding protection is to keep ourselves free from evil.
Evil must be recognized as wholly mental. If it enters the door of thought, a mental cleansing is then a logical step. However, one does not clean a house and leave it bare; he does whatever is needed to make it useful and beautiful. So with mental housecleaning. When error is cast out of our thought through the cleansing properties of truth, spiritualization beautifies our consciousness. Love for our neighbor occupies the space where hatred lingered; forgiveness perfumes the atmosphere, expunging the foul odor of resentment; compassion lights up all the corners of our thinking, eliminating the darkness of condemnation and criticism. Our mental home is truly secure when it is imbued with these qualities.
