Where there is no wood, the fire goes out

On reading Prov. 26:20 and 22 “Where there is no wood, the fire goes out: so where there is no talebearer, strife ceases.  The words of a talebearer are as wounds*.  And they go down into the innermost parts of the belly,” I thought of all the spreading of tales on TV and other media these days.  How much damage do they do? 

Science & Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy gives us direction along this line of thought on pages 195-197.  For instance,

“Literary commercialism is lowering the intellectual standard to accommodate the purse and to meet a frivolous demand for amusement instead of for improvement.”

“The press unwittingly sends forth many sorrows and diseases among the human family.  It does this by giving names to diseases and printing long descriptions which mirror images distinctly in thought.” 

“Such books as will rule disease out of mortal mind, -- and so efface the images and thoughts of disease, instead of impressing them with forcible descriptions and medical detail, -- will help to abate sickness and to destroy it.”

*NKJV - like tasty trifles

This gives Christian Scientists plenty of prayerful work to do on behalf of mankind!  God’s dear children cannot forever be taken in by those tales, which puts me into the position of striving to be a doer of the work and not just a theoriser.

Mary Baker Eddy’s Miscellany gives me some direction:

My. 125:1-3 “Have you learned to conquer sin, false affections, motives, and aims, — to be not only sayers but doers of the law?”

My. 197:20-22 “I thank divine Love for the hope set before us in the Word and in the doers thereof, “for of such is the kingdom of heaven.””

Joyce Voysey