Article May 15, 1902 Issue

Principle, not Personality

BY MARY H. HATCH.

In "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," p. 213, Rev. Ed.), Mrs. Eddy says, "Every step towards goodness is a departure from materiality, and is a tendency towards God, Spirit." Many of us are not willing to take one step at a time. We think because we are not able to make great progress, that it is not worth while to take the little steps, make the small advancements daily, weekly, using the little light that is shown us and thereby receiving more. Standing still and waiting for some great opportunity or experience is not progression. It is stagnation. Water that has neither inlet nor outlet stagnates, and is not only useless but becomes absolutely objectionable. Just so surely do we as Christian Scientists stagnate and become not only useless but absolutely objectionable if we do not force an outlet or outflow of error and darkness by opening our consciousness to an influx of light. We know that the absence of darkness follows as a natural sequence the presence of light. In fact, that all darkness—all error—is simply an absence of light and truth.

Is not the main reason we do not take more steps towards goodness that we dislike going alone? When it is borne in upon our consciousness that a certain step is the one for us to take, we immediately begin to look around for company. We want some one else to go with us, understand us, sympathize with us, and approve of us,—in other words, we look to personality instead of Principle, and the moment we do that we cease to grow.

Principle is Life, Truth, and Love, "with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning," and so long as we look to Principle and reflect Principle we can reflect only Life, Truth, and Love. When we are filled with fear and anxiety we are not reflecting Principle, because Principle is all harmonious.

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