Trust

Ella W. Hoag, September, 1919

In "The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany" (p. 171) Mrs. Eddy gives us the following epigram: "Trust in Truth, and have no other trusts." This is a statement so simple, so direct, so all-embracing in its demands, that if obeyed it will bring the reign of heaven upon earth, the perfect government of God, and thus banish all the difficulties of the world. All our fears, all our doubts, all our disappointments and discouragements, are because of lack of faith in Truth. To trust Truth to the exclusion of reliance on aught else is to rest absolutely in the assurance of the supreme governing power of God, good, no matter what the seeming may be.

There is no place and no circumstance where this complete, all-encircling faith in Truth will not act to the elimination of any seemingly opposing power. We are always trusting something that we acknowledge as power. If error seems to govern in our affairs it is because of our belief in it as a power. Then the remedy is to learn to understand Truth. In "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 286) Mrs. Eddy says, "The understanding of Truth gives full faith in Truth, and spiritual understanding is better than all burnt offerings." Then if one would advance in the understanding of the Science of Life he must seek Truth with all his heart. That all men shall know Truth is the will of God for all. Not only is this His will, but in Christian Science He has revealed Truth to this age in so plain a way that all are without excuse who do not avail themselves of its marvelous power.

The difficulty is that the human mind prefers its burnt offerings. It prefers to stumble along with its beliefs in matter, laying its sacrifices upon error's altar, because there is always the argument that it is the easier way. It invariably insists that it is easier to yield to error than to resist it with the truth. The unwary are thus beguiled into treading a long way which must inevitably be retraced, for every step in the wrong direction involves an equal number of steps reversed. On the contrary, each effort to follow Truth is a point gained in the pathway of overcoming evil with good. Even the least endeavor to trust Truth will be a step in the right direction, for we must all take the first step before a second is possible. We do not always find perfect results immediately, but persistent effort to hold our faith in Truth under all conditions will finally win the victory of perfect trust.

When one has gained even a slight knowledge of Truth he immediately has an equal degree of faith in it, and he therefore begins to trust it and to use it. Now it is Truth which acts, which works, which accomplishes. It is always Truth alone which is the light that uncovers every least claim of error and proves it unreal. It would be as foolish to go into a cave without a lamp and try to clean out the hidden things of darkness as to expect to cleanse the human consciousness from its evil beliefs without the light of Truth. It is Truth which denies error.

Just here the Christian Scientist must be on guard lest he allow himself to drift into a negative state of thinking, which loses sight of Truth. In Science and Health (p. 418) we read: "Truth is affirmative, and confers harmony. All metaphysical logic is inspired by this simple rule of Truth, which governs all reality. By the truthful arguments you employ, and especially by the spirit of Truth and Love which you entertain, you will heal the sick." The suppositional nature of error, however, seems constantly to insist on itself as entity. This effort is subserved when the error is continually kept in thought through denial. If a truth were known in regard to mathematics one would understand that truth would reveal all mistakes about it,—and there would be no necessity of searching to see how many such mistakes might present themselves. Clinging to the truth, any mistake would be uncovered and rejected as it appeared. Thus in the practice of Christian Science we concern ourselves with the error only to the extent of casting it out with the truth; in other words, we must trust in Truth and have no faith in error,—we must erase error whenever it claims to appear, and we do erase it by knowing the truth. Then Truth is indeed "affirmative," and to trust in Truth is to affirm the truth at all times, under all circumstances. This affirmation is more than repetition of words; it is to dwell in the spirit of Truth, —it is to "have no other trusts."

Another tendency of supposititious mortal mind is to steady God's altars, and this always implies a stupid lack of trust in Truth. In the home, in the church, in business, there is the danger of attempting to take all responsibility on one's own shoulders, forgetting that Truth is always present to govern. All right affairs are the affairs of Truth, and Truth certainly knows enough to control every detail properly. What joy and freedom must come to the Christian Scientist who perceives that he can give his every thought, his every word, his every deed to the upbuilding of the cause of Truth in the world, through solving his own problems—performing his own tasks—in modest, unassuming obedience to Truth; in other words, that his only necessity is to "trust in Truth, and have no other trusts."

Ella W. Hoag.