It was the second day of a required quarantine due to a health crisis from the spread of a virus. The fear and concern in so many hearts had been foremost in my prayers for weeks. Then, while tidying my desk, I found this on a slip of paper: “The spirit of lies is abroad. Because Truth has spoken aloud, error, running to and fro in the earth, is screaming, to make itself heard above Truth’s voice.” This statement is from Miscellaneous Writings 1883–1896 (pp. 266–267) by Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science.
I was struck by the statement, “The spirit of lies is abroad.” What could be the “spirit of lies” running abroad or circulating in mankind’s thinking at this time? To understand this requires taking a deep, thoughtful look at the spirit of Truth, the antidote to the “spirit of lies,” and how it relates to the very life of man.
The word spirit used in the Scriptures is often translated from the Hebrew word ruwach, and as used in the first chapter of Genesis, it can mean wind or breath (Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible). Each day of creation begins with three important words: “And God said.” On the sixth day God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness” (verse 26). This teaches us that God created man by His Word. And the Bible says: “He spake, and it was done” (Psalms 33:9).
