There is a much-vexed question among Scientists, as well as among non-Scientists, who have had to deal intimately with the education of children, as to the best way of reaching harmonious results. Many of us who have been led to see the beauty and truth of Christian Science through the study of our text-book, find that, after working for some time quite honestly to overcome wrong thoughts, we are still being confronted with difficulties which we did not expect to meet any more after we had gladly admitted that God, good, fills all space and that man is His image and likeness. We hear some one say, "I have worked so much, but my child keeps on being very disobedient;" or, "My work for my children does not seem to have the desired effect."

The greatest lesson mankind, in general and parents and children in particular have to learn is certainly the lesson of obedience. But what is obedience? Obedience is honesty! We read in our text-book (Science and Health, p. 183), "Obedience to Truth gives man power and strength;" and again (p. 587), God is defined as "Principle; ... Life; Truth; Love;" therefore it follows plainly that if we want to have power and strength we must obey God, Truth. "And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it." It was the serpent, which Jesus called a liar, that said unto the woman, "God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall he opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil."

We all know by experience what it means to believe in "good and evil," and some of us are so tired of it that on bended knees we are coming home to the Father, the eternal Elohim who created man in His own image and blessed them and gave them dominion, and "behold, it was very good." It is on the way there that we as mortals meet with the old errors, and until they are overcome we cannot see the kingdom. In Science and Health (p. 582) Mrs. Eddy speaks of children as the "spiritual thoughts and representatives of Life, Truth, and Love;" the child, therefore, is the spiritual idea unfolding to us. Continuing, she says: "Sensual and mortal beliefs; counterfeits of creation, whose better originals are God's thoughts, not in embryo, but in maturity; material suppositions of life, substance, and intelligence, opposed to the Science of being." What, then, are we doing when we look into the false, the opposite, the sham,—are we reflecting God, obeying Principle,—Truth, Life, and Love? or are we listening to the serpent and thereby being driven out of Paradise?

One of the greatest difficulties the writer had at first, was to see the perfect harmony of the first clause of the statement regarding children, as given by our beloved Leader. The last part was easy to admit. A good deal of effort in the wrong direction was spent in trying to get at the truth, but it was not until self was silenced, rebellion had ceased, and a condition of absolute willingness was reached which enabled her to see that disobedience in the children was only the reflection of her own mental attitude, that any harmonious results were obtained. If we consider how contradictory our old beliefs were, how far removed from any knowledge of spiritual causation, how persistently error tries to make us take material sense testimony for truth, so long as we are unacquainted with Christian Science we find an explanation of the tendency to work for a while from a bad belief up to a better one instead of turning entirely away from false beliefs and placing ourselves unreservedly and irrevocably on the side of Truth,—"infinite Mind and its infinite manifestation."

As one writer has phrased it, instead of seeing "my brother the ass," Jesus taught us to see "the stranger within thy [our] gates." Instead of seeing our disobedient children, we would do well to look at the material belief of a material parent, and eliminate this mistaken thought from our own consciousness before we try to correct outward manifestations of error presented by others, which, in fact, flow from our own material illusions. Admitting an evil creation, taking sense testimony instead of knowing that God alone can see aright and that we can only reflect that seeing, and that He sees nothing outside of His own perfect spiritual creation,—this is being foolish and disobedient. It needs our obedience first—the coming into line with Principle, the breaking up of human pride—to see that the mistakes expressed by others are not infrequently to be found in us. It is our foolish declaration for the evidence of what we want to get rid of which ofttimes baffles our demonstrations.

But how shall we eliminate the difficulties coming in our way? We should be clear first as to our own mental attitude, and become fit channels for reflecting Truth. We can dismiss at once the vain belief that we own anything or any one. All we have to do is honestly to get into the attitude where we can best reflect the fatherhood and motherhood of God, the needed wisdom, love, patience, order, humility, compassion, etc. Then we can know that the spiritual idea, the real child (and there is no other), gladly responds to these qualities.

As human beings we have to teach our children obedience, and we thereby acknowledge the rightful demands of God's law. We should remember that our children are to be either a blessing or a curse to society. Such passages as are to be found on pages 236 and 237 of our text-book corroborate the Scriptural command, "Honor thy father and mother;" also Paul's words to the Ephesians, "Children obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. ... And ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." There seems to be a tendency among parents to forget this admonition addressed to themselves, and to read and quote the duty owed by children. When we see them as God's children we shall reverence them and share with them our holiest treasures.

An earthly father and mother may be mistaken. The child must be taught to obey God, good,—divine Love only,—and in so doing it will find that it is also obeying those in authority. If we teach a child to obey us or the schoolmaster, we shall find rebellion, because the child soon detects error on account of his greater purity. If we teach the child to obey divine Principle he will begin to grasp the true meaning of obedience.

It takes parents a good while sometimes to learn this, but children understand it more readily, for "theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Let us, then, watch and pray, that we gain the blessing promised to the children of Israel in these words: "O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!"