Humanly analyzed, some individuals could be classified as "leaners" and others as "self-reliant." But no matter what our human tendency has been, each of us needs to evaluate his concept of dependency, not once but frequently, in order to take increasingly progressive steps toward permanent security.
Practically everyone's security or happiness has been threatened at one time or another by the sudden disappearance or failure of someone or something he has counted upon. Even the most self-reliant individual finds areas where his own abilities fail. Sometimes our whole world seems to be moving so rapidly that everything with which we've ever felt comfortable or secure has melted away. Financial needs, loneliness, frustrations, inharmonious relationships, and many other problems may indicate a leaning in the wrong direction.
Is there anything we can depend upon absolutely? Is there any true security? If we have ever experienced the blessings that flow from a spiritual understanding of and dependency upon God, the answer is a resounding "Yes!" Through a study of the Bible together with the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health, one learns that God is Principle, the origin and source of all creation. He is the only intelligence, substance, and Life there is, the only true Love. God is infinite Spirit that fills all space; He is omnipotent and omnipresent. Mrs. Eddy opens the Preface of this textbook with the reassuring statement "To those leaning on the sustaining infinite, to-day is big with blessings." Science and Health, p. vii.
