Daily maintenance of thought

This morning I reviewed some odd jobs that needed to be done around the house. The pilot light in the fireplace won’t stay lit. There’s a growing crack in the tile of the dining room floor that needs to be repaired, and my wife needs some yard work done before winter sets in. There’s more…



Geez, I protested. Keeping up a house is a never-ending maintenance project!


As a rule, I don't let jobs accumulate. For the most part, I get them done promptly.

But, I momentarily mused, what if I ignored items needing attention and went on my merry way with only activities I wanted to do?


The answer was simple. The house would fall into a continuing state of disrepair until the number of tasks needing attention was large, the place would look grossly neglected and it would take a huge amount of work to get the premises back into shape. This was not a place I ever wanted to be!


Then I thought about the human mind and body it governs. It seems to be an on-going maintenance project too. If neglected and allowed to fall into a state of disrepair, a huge list of “to-do” items is eventually faced. As with the care of a house, it's better to stay on top of things from the beginning.


Christian Science teaches a unique form of maintenance for mind and body. As Jesus taught, it’s not through material ways and means that an ideal state is attained, but through increased spiritual understanding. The metaphysical “maintenance program,” if you will, of Christian Science, is spiritualization of thought and Christianization of daily life.

But this takes work! It requires prayer and study work!


Many people try to slide by for decades without putting in sufficient prayer time for proper spiritual maintenance of thought. And like a nice new house slowly falling into disrepair, the evidence of need may appear very slight at first. But if repeatedly ignored, eventually the list of to-do items becomes so large that major remedial action is needed to salvage the premises. It’s much easier to stay on top of the to-do list from the beginning and not be overwhelmed later on.


So, after that brief review of the value of on-going maintenance, I decided not to tire of keeping up our home. Be grateful you have it! I reminded myself. And show your appreciation by taking good care of it.

“Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.” Jesus Christ

You are a holy place

The Christian Science Bible Lesson on “Soul and Body,” this week begins with the Golden Text, “…the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.” This verse always arrests my attention because it is a very sobering thought to think of myself as a temple of God.

A temple is a sacred place. It’s a space devoted to spiritual worship, prayerful effort, spiritual mindedness, peace and love. God’s temple is not an angry space, a riotous locale, nor permissive of selfish acts or deeds. It is a holy construct, designed to house activities that respect, honor, and express Godliness.

Writing to his fellow Christians, Paul said, “Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you? God will destroy anyone who destroys this temple. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.” (NLT, I Cor 16, 17).

Who destroys the temple? I asked.

Evil thoughts, beliefs and sinful practices, I decided.

Any selfish, angry, spiteful, negative emotion is a would-be destroyer of God’s temple, and God will not allow it. God will cast those destroyers out of His sanctuary, and keep the premises clean for the purpose of holy activity.

This is a very good thing for us because at times we might feel helpless in the face of “destroyers” keeping us mentally and emotionally down. But we can take heart in being assured that Christ is at work in the human consciousness, wiping out enemy sensations and eliminating their negative impact.

God loves us, and Christ manifests that love in the form of healing and redemption in the human experience.

If we ever feel like an impure temple or threatened by someone else’s shortcomings, we can take heart. Christ is purging our mental environment with Truth and Love and leaving the premises clean. Success is inevitable.

We are the temple of God, and God’s temple is holy and pure. It’s absolutely guaranteed that we realize this truth completely, for it is the way we’re spiritually made.

We are the temple of God, not a temple for error, and that is a very holy place, indeed.

Enjoy worshipping in your "holy place."