Editorial September 22, 1906 Issue

"WHAT WILL THEY SAY?"

John B. Willis

Whatever the kind of mental bondage, and whatever the degree of attaching thereto, "Freedom through Faith" is an inspiring watchword for every Christian Scientist; and if earnest and worthy, his progress toward its all-inclusive realization will be continuous.

We are far less responsible for the sense of enslavement to heredity and to ignorance than for our devotion to those personal indulgences and self-deceptions which we have made pets, and insisted upon feeding, grooming, and exercising every day. The fungus habits which have their unwholesome rootage in false pride or the desire for social recognition,—to consent to these is to play a part which is wholly unworthy of us. Nevertheless, how often are such habits tolerated and condoned even after they have been recognized and condemned, and perchance after we have gotten rid of many of our more bulky weaknesses. As of old, the little foxes spoil the vines, and for the reason that they are looked upon as "little," and hence are not sufficiently guarded against.

Bondage to petty social requirements can but dwarf the nature and rob of true self-esteem, hence the saying that no serfdom is more saddening than that which results when so-called trivial concessions have woven our fetters; and the more complex and intangible the seduction, the more potent it seems. It is often said that indifference to "what they may say" simply secures one the reputation of being a crank, without bringing any compensating gain, and this plausible sophistry has no doubt led many people to trim their sails, year after year, to the dictum of foolish fashion, when their nobler selves have been in continuous protest, pleading loudly for an independent and exemplary course.

Send a comment to the editors

NEXT IN THIS ISSUE

Letters

LETTERS TO OUR LEADER