Editorial March 7, 1908 Issue

"EVERY MAN IN HIS OWN ORDER"

Annie M. Knott

The teaching of Christian Science is clearly distinguished from many of the theories with which it has been mistakenly associated in uninformed opinion, by its steady insistence upon the scientific sense of identity and individuality. This was illustrated and emphasized by Mrs. Eddy in her sermon read at the dedication of The Mother Church in 1895, in the statement, "You have simply to preserve a scientific, positive sense of unity with your divine Source and daily demonstrate this. Then you will find that one is as important a factor as duodecillions in being and doing right, and thus demonstrating deific Principle" (Pulpit and Press, p. 7). This may also remind us of the absolute justice and impartiality of God,—the infinite Father, to whom nothing is either great or small as in the limited mortal sense.

In Christian Science we learn as one of our first lessons that as God is divine Principle, He is expressed in unvarying justice, goodness, and truth. At no point does divine Principle ever fail to maintain the perfect standard of the law of Love which is "no respecter of persons." The demand therefore rests upon each one of us to reflect all the divine qualities and activities in order to fulfil the sublime end of man's being, and the discovery that it is our high privilege to do this gives a new outlook upon existence, an uplifted thought which brings healing and moral regeneration, with a quickened sense of our capabilities and possibilities; the meaning of individuality begins to appear, and identity is recognized as the expression of the divine idea.

It should not be forgotten, however, that the mortal sense vanishes only as it is replaced by the understanding and demonstration of the truth. Such being the case, it is easy to see that one person's experience or opinion can never be made the standard for others. The only standard is divine Principle, the divine demand is perfection and no less, and as no one in material belief has attained perfection we cannot judge others, but we should ourselves press on towards the mark. One person cannot decide the spiritual status of another, for while some may seem to make rapid progress in certain directions, it is symmetrical growth which counts in the end. There are, however, simple and well-defined rules which all Christian Scientists should obey, because they are needed at the present stage of our growth, and the discipline of unquestioning obedience is wonderful in its influence upon character.

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