Article January 26, 1907 Issue

HOW CHRISTIAN SCIENCE AIDS IN BUSINESS

JUDGE JOHN D. WORKS.

An intelligent, observant business man, and his equally intelligent and discerning wife, who knew practically nothing of Christian Science, visited one of our Wednesday evening meetings for the first time. The wife was in need of physical help which she could not get from medical practitioners. It had been suggested to her, and to her husband, that she could get relief through Christian Science. They went to the meeting for the purpose of learning something about it, but came away disappointed and took no further interest in the subject. It so happened that on that evening the testimonies ran mostly on the advantages resulting in business from the application of Christian Science, and from the visitors' point of view this seemed a very sordid and mercenary use to make of religion, hence their disappointment. Let it be understood that Christian Scientists look at this subject quite differently ; nevertheless, the view taken by another intelligent and conscientious listener, not a Christian Scientist, may lead us to a more careful and Scientific consideration of the basis of our claim that the business man does find Christian Science a great benefit in his business, and at the same time teach us additional wisdom in the giving of testimonials of this kind, which are liable to be thus misconstrued.

To many, if not most people of the day, success in business results mainly from opportunity and ability to secure an advantage over the party with whom the business man is dealing, or over a competitor. From this standpoint the use of a religion, or any power it may give, to bring about greater success in business, would be to misuse and degrade the religion and subject the party guilty of the offense to the just charge of hypocrisy, meanness, and dishonesty. A profession of religion that could by any possibility be degraded to any such base purposes, would be entitled to no respect whatever ; indeed the religionist, or pretended religionist, who parades his religion in his business and assumes the "holier than thou" atitude therein, is always subject to criticism and suspicion. But let us see if any such construction can justly be placed upon the uses made by Christian Scientists in the furtherance of their worldly interests and the successful conduct of their business affairs, or their attitude towards others in their business relations.

We cannot shut our eyes to the fact that in this day and age business is conducted largely on the theory of the survival of the fittest, involving necessarily the business right of the strong to oppress the weak, and often the assumed right to overreach and take every advantage, short of actual crime, in the effort to succeed. This reduces the rule of business to a merciless competition and bitter struggle, one with another, resulting in the success of one at the expense, often by the ruin, of another. It is a sad commentary on the business methods of a Christian people ; and one cannot be surprised that any conscientious man should resent the attempt to bring religion into such a conflict. But Christian Scientists believe that business should not be conducted on any such basis. They believe that it should not be a conflict between men to gain advantage, the one over another. They believe that every attempt of a business man to gain an undue advantage, or to oppress or drive out of business his competitor, is unchristian and wholly unwarranted, under any rules of right and justice ; therefore the aim and purpose of Christian Science is not to enter and participate in such a conflict as a party to it, but to avoid and overcome such methods, and to bring harmony and peace instead of discord and conflict into the business relations of men, as in all their other relations. It also tends to relieve business men of the cares and worries that beset them in a strenuous business life. It teaches that harmony and strict honesty and fairness in the conduct of man's business superinduces freedom from care and worry, elevates the business itself, and commands success as a just reward for right living in the business world, just as right thoughts and conduct bring the just reward of peace, harmony, and health on the physical plane.

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