A chronic ailment is not a function of time, but of belief

September 28, 2018 | 27 comments

Sometimes people are tempted to believe that a problem is harder to heal because they’ve struggled with it for a long time. “This has been a chronic problem of mine,” they may argue. And then mortal mind argues that because the problem has been around for a long time, it must be harder to heal.

But error is error, and Truth dissolves it. Truth does not weigh an error of belief in terms of how long someone has believed it to determine whether it is easy or hard to heal.

Error is like darkness. If one entered a room that was dark for fifty years it would be no harder for light to dissolve that darkness than if the room had been dark for 5 minutes. Darkness is all the same to the light, and just as easy to displace regardless of how long that darkness has been around.

And so it is with what the human mind calls chronic beliefs. One belief is just as easy for Truth to heal as any other belief. What seems to make a condition hang around for a long period of time is that the human mind clings to that condition as a reality, for some reason, rather than letting it go.

Mary Baker Eddy wrote, “Mortal belief must lose all satisfaction in error and sin in order to part with them. Whether mortals will learn this sooner or later, and how long they will suffer the pangs of destruction, depends upon the tenacity of error”
(Science and Health, p. 296).

The “tenacity of error,” refers to the stubbornness of mortal mind that causes it to feel justified in its belief. For instance, if one finds satisfaction in finding out what disease they have, giving a label to their disease, and telling others about it, they are building a case for continued suffering. This process of making a reality out of disease gives the human mind more reasons to hold on to the belief, rather than letting it go, even when suffering is involved. Whereas, to have a spiritual healing, the belief of disease must be annihilated, dispensed with, dissolved, removed and seen no more as a possibility.

One cannot be clinging to the belief of “I have a disease,” and see themselves as a healthy, well child of God at the same time, which is what brings spiritual healing.

As Eddy reminds us, we “must lose all satisfaction in error.” Even the subtle error of “I’ve had this problem for a long time,” must bring no satisfaction to thought, lest it be used as a justification for further suffering. To Truth, error does not have a life-span. It has “no span!” Error is error and is nothing to Truth.

To Truth, there is no chronic error. There is only the perpetual and eternal omnipresence of Truth.

27 thoughts on “A chronic ailment is not a function of time, but of belief”

  1. Lol… I think I have just been scolded! How delighted and grateful I am for this evening Spirit View! Thank you!!

    “To Truth, there is no chronic error. There is only the perpetual and eternal omnipresence of Truth.”

    In this light of Truth, the stubbornness of mortal mind sinks itself into its native homeland oblivion never to appear again.

  2. Great thought to begin my day. I love the comparison with the room being dark- it doesn’t matter how long because light changes that in an instant. The light of Truth is ever present , I just need to accept that.
    Thank you!

  3. What an immensely important topic to address! Thank you so much for sharing these helpful ideas. I have no doubt that I’m not the only one that will benefit from this excellent post. I agree with Grace….simply awesome!

  4. I’ve heard it described that the great red dragon in Revelations is nothing more than the belief that error can “drag – on”! It is no more difficult to handle than the small talking serpent’s suggestion in Genesis!

    1. Oh I love That! I’ve been working on a challenge for almost a year, so that analogy really is a great one for for today’s treatment!!
      And I love the whole blog for today!

    2. That’s really helpful Jeanine. Not heard that idea of drag-on before relating to dragon. Thanks for sharing that!

  5. SH 30:26-28
    If we have triumphed sufficiently over the errors of material sense to allow Soul to hold the control, we shall loathe sin and rebuke it under every mask.

    Thank you, Evan for this excellent teaching moment. I recently looked up the word “loathe” and I believe this statement in Science and Health dovetails with your article today. God Bless!

  6. Thank you Evan. I’ve been praying about a relationship problem that I’ve only been working on for a few weeks, but it’s been curious to me that I will feel that my treatment has addressed the problem only to have it reappear again in a few days. In analyzing why I can’t seem to let go of this issue I thought of the people that lived back when it was discovered the earth was round. I imagined that there were probably a lot of people back then that struggled to let go of the belief the earth was flat after holding that belief for so long. And why would that be the case? Perhaps lack of trust in the people that were informing them the earth was round? Perhaps a fear that if they admitted the earth was round they would be embarrassed at having been fooled for so long that it was just easier on their ego to keep holding to the false belief? But your blog gave me renewed appreciation of the line from Mrs. Eddy’s Poem “A Mother’s Evening Prayer” that is “loss is gain”. Giving up our long held material beliefs, even if those beliefs cause us to suffer, is sometimes difficult. But if we love God with all our heart, and continue to work at it, we will ultimately give up those beliefs and gain the realization of the God created harmony that has been available to us all along.

    Last night I started listening to a live audio chat with Colleen Douglass, C.S.B. I haven’t finished listening to it, but in the first half of the chat Mrs. Douglass discusses healing of chronic issues. She points out how we often learn a lot of lessons (have step-by-step healings) that benefit us tremendously when a problem takes a long time to resolve. She also recommends turning our focus to God, instead of the problem. If you want to listen to the chat, you can access it using the link below.

    https://sentinel.christianscience.com/shared/view/1ckbql5z10s?s=e

    Thanks also to everyone for your comments. I get so much out of the comments!

  7. Cool! Thank you, Evan, for another wonderful Spirit View! I’m going to print it so I can carry it with me through the day. Also, thanks to all the terrific comments from other readers. What a blessing to have this to look forward to each day.

  8. Longevity does not give validity
    This came to me in prayer several years ago
    Wrong answer, error will only ever be nothingness
    No strength gained by hanging around!!!
    Thank you for your inspired sharing

  9. Wonderful message from Evan
    Thank you to Evan and all commentors
    Having read these views carefully, I’m holding on to Evan’s last sentence ;” There is only the perpetual and omnipresence of Truth.”

  10. Oh thank you so much Evan for that needed lesson.
    I also feel lovingly treated; and that does good!
    I love the short and understandable, and strong sentence: “But error is error, and Truth dissolves it.” And I love the last two absolute Truth sentences: “To Truth there is no chronic error. There is only the perpetual and eternal omnipresence of Truth” and, yes, Love. Love is the healer and liberator, and Love is the fulfillment of the divine Law. The last two utterrances are from Mary Baker Eddy in Science and Health so in that sense.

    Thank you all for your comments and thank you Brian for the link to that audio chat. Will listen to it again, very good. 🙂

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