Article April 4, 1914 Issue

Universal Consideration

JOSEPH W. REYNOLDS

To consider, as defined by the dictionaries, is "to think on with care; to have regard to; to pay due attention to." Most of us as mortals give thoughtful attention to everything that concerns our own welfare, or to things that pertain to personal desires and interests; but should we not extend our consideration to others in a way that will reach beyond the selfish sense of "mine" and include the whole world in thoughtful care? To fulfil the law of perfection, we must include all the world in loving consideration, even as our Father in heaven, who "so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son" for its redemption. To the human mind, such consideration is impossible, because its finite sense is so limited that it has no elements of Truth wherewith to be truly universal.

Christian Science, however, exchanges limited, selfish interests for universal regard by explaining the great truth that each exists for all, and vice versa. Because man reflects God, he reflects Love's universal regard for all His creation. This fact, once understood, can be demonstrated so practically as to enable every individual not only to love, but also to help humanity at large, and so we find that "a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump." Our small world, as compared with the universe, is perhaps of no greater relative importance than a grain of sand is to the earth. Thus, when we realize that thought can encompass both our world and the universe as easily as it does a single object, we need not be surprised if our thoughts of Truth reach over continent and ocean and destroy through their radiation many almost universal false beliefs. "Spiritual vision," we read in Science and Health, "is not subordinate to geometric altitudes" (p. 215). The realization of this fact breaks the bonds of circumscribed belief, and human consciousness, freed somewhat from its own finiteness, becomes receptive to the ideas of Truth.

As we perceive the far-reaching effects of Christian and scientific thinking, we also perceive our individual responsibility to the world, and so far as we meet this responsibility, we become world reformers and true followers of the Christ. Indeed, it is ours, as Christian Scientists, to deal with and heal the false universal belief in mortal mind that would keep men "of the earth, earthy." As we grow into this broader, fuller sense of consideration, we will come to think of races rather than persons, nations instead of townships, and world problems rather than personal interests. Provincialism, bigotry, and narrowness will give place to mental breadth and unrestricted vision. We shall radiate kindness and love upon all, regardless of person, even as the rose gives forth its fragrance alike to king and peasant, saint and sinner.

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