After identifying ourselves with the Cause of Christian Science, one of the many things that we have to learn is the significance of the question of giving, and that it is largely a question of education. Prior to taking the larger view of giving which is gained in Christian Science, many who were working along the old lines of thought were generous in a financial way to their charities and in support of their church; still the rank and file were actuated by the idea that in the perfunctory giving of a nominal sum they were fulfilling their duty in this respect, though the amount given in the majority of cases would not be sufficient to take away the means with which to indulge in some unnecessary so-called distraction or enjoyment.

The love of money, the desire for money, and the desires that are behind the desire for money, have been largely the cause of the suffering which mankind has experienced from time immemorial. This love of money St. Paul refers to as "the root of all evil." It would, if it could, break every commandment of the Decalogue, and mesmerizes humanity into the belief that the mere acquiring and holding of it is the chief aim and object of existence. It has assumed a value that would hide from mortals the real treasure which can be found only by seeking the kingdom of God and His righteousness. To advance and to perceive the kingdom of God our eyes must be opened to the fact that money is not real treasure.

The significance of true giving is much more than the subscription of a given amount of money; it is the thought of love of which this action is merely the expression. We know that in our human relationships we are willing to make sacrifices for the loved ones, sacrifices of affection and treasure. It was the action of unselfed love that called forth the commendation of Jesus on the occasion related in Mark's Gospel; when he sat in the temple, "over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing." The beauty and significance of this act of love, this entire reliance upon God as her source of supply, so impressed our Master that he called his disciples and said to them, "This poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: for all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living." It would be easy to see what called forth these remarks. We can see the different people as they passed by and cast in their donations, and discern the thought of which it was the expression. No doubt there were the ostentatious, who gave "that they may have glory of men;" the self-righteous, who felt how much more they were giving than their neighbors; the perfunctory givers, who gave a certain or uncertain amount because it was the custom to do so and something was expected of them, who complied with this custom only as regards the letter and not from a love of giving, who did not feel it necessary to give sufficient to deprive themselves of any indulgence. We find that each receives the reward in proportion to the thought that actuated the act. To quote St. Paul, "He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly."

Our Master sought to impress upon his hearers that it was the thought behind the giving which was the real gift, and that in proportion to the purity and unselfed love of the thought would the reward be. He showed that in giving we should not do "as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men," saying that they should have their reward, such as vainglory and self-righteousness merit. In his teaching we also have the assurance that right thinking or right giving has a righteous reward. The "Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly." Nothing could more forcibly mark the unsatisfying nature of material modes than the words of Jesus on the question of giving. He showed that it was a question of the giver's mental attitude of consciousness, that if the giving were the outcome of right thinking the reward would be proportionate to it.

In Science giving involves the giving up. We must give up the thought of self, the thought that material pleasures are essential to happiness, the thought of fear that giving will impoverish, and doubts of the all-sufficiency of the divine source of our supply; and to do this we must be transformed by the renewing of our mind, that we "may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God," by thinking only good thoughts, thoughts that know no selfishness; knowing that our real pleasure is in doing our Father's will; that our source of supply is spiritual and not material. We must have perfect reliance on the love of the Father who supplies all our needs, also a recognition of the fact that we are not demonstrating such reliance by withholding, while we are saying, "God is All in all." We must learn the difference between wants and needs, and a realization that God will supply all our needs proportionately as we look only to God, good, for our supply.

Christian Science does not ask one to make sacrifices in the general acceptance of the term, but through the understanding of the permanence and reality only of that which is good. We find that a labor of love ceases to be a labor; and that we are not making sacrifices by giving up trivialities and the false sense of pleasure which we once held to be essential to our happiness. Moreover, in true giving we learn to guard against untutored zeal, which is a species of self-righteousness. While we must not limit our source of supply, the privilege of giving belongs to each and every one, and it is not our province to forestall or take away from another this privilege.

We who through Christian Science have received so many blessings, who have been raised to the understanding of man's inheritance as a child of God, many of us from conditions of sin and suffering to comparative peace and harmony, surely we should feel bounteous gratitude, and as we express it we shall reap bounteously. When we contrast our present state with the former, then the inadequacy of mere material giving strikes us and we realize that true giving is the consecration to God, good, of all we possess. Why make protestations of thankfulness for the benefits God has given us and withhold the full expression of such gratitude? It was such a contradiction of words without works that called forth from Jesus the declaration, "By their fruits ye shall know them."

Organization is a necessity at the present time, and it is our happy privilege no less than our duty to support our Cause with grateful and unselfed love. If it requires our means to carry on and extend organization, it should be our loving care that there is no lack of supply. We should have such a large sense of gratitude as will prompt a keen interest in our Cause; we should be so familiar with its requirements that we need no louder call to remind us what duty and loyalty demand of us. Scientists have advanced many steps in this direction, but there are steps still to be taken. Every support should be given our periodicals, which are doing such great and necessary work. We should follow Jesus' command, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature;" that is to say, we should be ready to give this truth to our fellow-men, preaching it by our words and acts in simplicity and sincerity, following his instruction to "let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."

Jesus of Nazareth showed us the true way of giving,—the absolute consecration, giving up the human will and doing his Father's will; and when nearing the close of his earthly career he was able to say, "Not my will, but thine, be done." To follow in his footsteps, each must obey his command to deny himself and take up his cross and follow him. Through the constant and unselfed giving of our loved Leader, many who were groping in darkness and who could see no way out of their bondage to sickness and want are now rejoicing in the affluence of health, harmony, and prosperity.