Article August 8, 1908 Issue

THE GOLDEN RULE

PHILIP O. PEIRCE.

"Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them." Practically the Ten Commandments are condensed into this simple rule; as it is written, "For this is the law and the prophets." We want no one to think unkindly of us, and so perfectly balanced is the law of Truth that we cannot think unkindly of our brother man without losing some power or grace, some self-respect. The key to the Lord's Prayer is, "Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors;" and our Leader interprets it perfectly in the words, "And Love is reflected in love" (Science and Health, p. 17). This prayer may be prayed for years, but if one holds an unkind thought against another, the peace that is longed for will not and cannot enter until we have washed the doorsteps of our heart. When the Master was asked by a Pharisee lawyer, "Which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."

Abraham Lincoln, he who did his day's work for liberty so well, said, "All there is to this life is kindness;" implying that we have no other way of proving that we love God than through loving forgiveness one to another. We all owe much to one another, we cannot get along without one another; therefore let us love one another,—bear one another's burdens,—and "so fulfil the law of Christ." It takes ivory dust to polish ivory, it takes diamond dust to polish diamonds, and it takes one another to polish us. Paul said he got wisdom from the unrighteous as well as the righteous. He got wisdom from the unrighteous because their persecutions made him humble, strong, and true. Like Moses, when he became meek he talked with God.

Christian Science is not a great mystery. The Golden Rule, lived in thought, word, and deed, is Christian Science in its simplicity. If we are living the Golden Rule we are striving our best to be true Christian Scientists, and things fit in right for us because we are following our wise Leader as she follows Christ; giving out good to all those with whom we come in contact, while at the same time purifying our own characters and becoming translucent and transparent to the all-pervading, all-embracing love of God. The Golden Rule is the rule that leads to universal harmony. Says Paul, "No man ever yet hated his own flesh, but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church."

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