Arizona republican., 1920-02-02
"GUIDANCE"
CWritten for The Christian Science

Monitor)
 If there is anything certain it is that Cod guides man. This spiritual fact, however, is constantly contradicted by the physical senses. In high hope men often undertake affairs only to see tEem flatten into failure; what seem suspicious events are found to have presaged disaster: relationships of ap- parent veal entered into, end in woe; and the trivial round is generally con- sidered to be beneath divine direction. It may nevertheless very well be that God is never more surely guiding than when the hopes and pleasure of ma terial sense come to nothing. It is the spiritual, the only man, that God guides. Spiritual man exists as an idea in divine Mind and is therefore never separated from his Principle. The guidance of Principle is constantly upon him, and he is held in the per- petual experience of harmonious be- ing. When man seeks the guidance of Principle what he is virtually striv- inS to do is spiritually to perceive how divine Mind guides true ideas in ways of harmony: and he must be willing to follow the spiritual idea, when he per- ceives it. although the path which spirit bids him tread will invariably lead him away from the materiality which the senses prefer. Exactly as q man is successful in ceasing to long
  only to understand and obey divine Principle he will be able to demon strate in practice that the Lord shall guide thee continually" to use Isaiah s beautiful figurative phrase and satis- " thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones; and thou shalt be like W2tered garden, and like a spring of water. whose waters faff not"
 Material conditions of thought are rot susceptible to spiritual guidance. and this fact explains the haphazard, the endless reversals and disappoint- nientS of human existence. Only the qualities of thought that reflect Mind are subject to His guidance since they alone are included and maintained in 1 Principle. If a man desires to be di- 1 rected by divine intelligence, he must i lose his satisfaction in materiality and | endeavor to approach the state of 1 spiritual -nnindedness that characterized ! spiritualized thought that he comes 1 into the joyous confidence that Prin- l ciple is guiding every event of his | career.
 The Scriptures are definite on this point. The meek" the Psalmist de- clared, will he guide in judgment; and the meek will he teach his way; and in Proverbs it is declared that | the integrity of the upright shall | guide them. No one need hesitate, however, on account of the conceded |
  seek the guidance Of God. or Mind for the desire which turns a mans thought Spiritward is the first step toward that spiritual uprightness which is in constant relation with divine Princi- pie; inded. Principle guides and guards every right desire throughout the ex- perience of exchanging the ma terial for the spiritual and real. Of this spir- iIual quality Of uprightness and of the effect Of it's activity upon even the human sense of existence. Mrs. Eddy writes on page 147 of Miscellaneous Writings The upright man is guided by a fixed Principle, which destines him to do nothing but what is honor able, and to abhor whatever is base Or unworthy: hence we find him ever the same,-at all times the trusty friend the affectionate relative, the man of business the pious worker, the public spirited citi- zen"
 That the purpose of Gods guidance is to turn men from the illusions of the flesh to the way of supersensible being was perfectly revealed in the career of Jesus the Christ. Zacharias perceived and declared that Truth was revealed to men ito give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death. to guide our feet into the way of peace." This revelation was unfolded through Christ Jesus dem onstration of the power of Truth to overcome the beliefs of the flesh the sin, disease, and death of an unreal , sense of material existence apart from , God. The guidance of God leads out of the flesh. Jesus illustrated that guidance to show men how they, too, could accept and act upon it. Though his control over sin and disease, Mrs. Eddy writes on page 25 of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures the great Teacher by no means relieved others from giving the requisite proofs of $ their own piety. He worked for their V guidance, that they might demonstrate this power as he did and understand Il it's divine Principle. C There was no one fact that Jesus t more earnestly strove to establish in s Lhe understanding of men than that D the guidance of God is eternally avail able, that his own work eXemplified | Inc light and might of perpetually c operative Principle. When he. the r Spirit of truth. is come' he declared. U he will guide you into all truths for o le shall not speak of himself. bu