Article October 25, 1913 Issue

Our Responsibility

LUCY HOLTZCLAW MC DONALD

In many a home we find the routine, the machinery of affairs, carried on the shoulders of a few members, perhaps a single person. Oftentimes it is the mother, sometimes an older sister or aunt, who is bearing the burden and heat of the day. The kitchen and house work has to be done, the sewing has to be carried on, shopping must be attended to, servants must be kept at work, complaints heard and remedied, orders given and carried out; and the question arises: Who is responsible for the harmony, the smooth and orderly carrying on of the home, the church, the shop, or the office? From our human standpoint we see that because of some position, or because one seems to be more capable or more willing or has a deeper sense of obligation, or because of a kind of mother-love that under the belief of doing something for her children would "spare" them from work that is theirs to do,—for any or all of these reasons, human sense is likely to look upon certain ones as responsible; and it is through Christian Science only that the balance may be adjusted and the true idea of responsibility gained.

There is work for all God's children, but the adjustment of it so that the sense of responsibilty is fairly distributed, is not to be found on a moral basis. It is a mistake to suppose that we may go on doing the work that others should do and are able to do, in the belief that it is charity. It is equally wrong to suppose that some one else may do the tasks that belong to us. Nevertheless, many through ignorance or indolence are shifting not only the tasks of every-day life but also the right thinking that belongs to each, shifting responsibilities, neglecting duties and privileges.

It has been said, "Our responsibility is our response to God's ability." As we realize this in Christian Science, we find ourselves doing the work we should do, thinking rightly and acting rightly, while we leave others unhampered to do their mental work and the tasks they find to do, all working together for good, all in their places in the understanding of the oneness and allness of God. We find all harmonious in Mind, and all God's children ever active.

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