The commitment to be a serious student of Christian Science includes alertness to resist being distracted. A deeply felt conviction of God's omnipotence and of man's genuine, spiritual nature come only as we stick with the study and prayer we've started. This is what breaks barriers of apathy and ignorance.
What causes distraction? What diverts our attention from the spiritual growth that enables us to heal through prayer alone? Basically, it's the human belief that there's a second power in God's universe, and that this power is evil, capable of opposing divine Spirit, infinite good. The Apostle Paul referred to this supposed evil influence when he said, "The carnal mind is enmity against God." Rom. 8:7.
When we set out to understand God better, carnal elements such as fear, apathy, animality, are often pushed to the surface of thought and may seem more real than the spiritual truths we're striving to grasp. But those elements are not our true thoughts or inclinations. They're illegitimate and therefore can be dispelled. The solution is to know that God, divine Mind, is the only reality and consciousness of existence. To glimpse that all that truly exists is God and His endless goodness, including man as His perfect spiritual idea, is to deflate the carnal mind's claims and to move forward spiritually.
