Editorial July 19, 1919 Issue

Work

Ella W. Hoag

In Science and Health (p. 519) we read: "God rests in action. Imparting has not impoverished, can never impoverish, the divine Mind. No exhaustion follows the action of this Mind, according to the apprehension of divine Science. The highest and sweetest rest, even from a human standpoint, is in holy work." To learn to look at work as meaning rest is certainly to reverse the ordinary concept of it.

Humanity, in its belief that the curse upon Adam was that he must "work for his living," has undertaken ever since to discover how it could avoid that curse. It has therefore believed that if it could in any way circumvent the apparent necessity to work, it was thereby benefiting itself. Indeed, mankind had come to consider it a law that success in life was only in proportion as desire for ease was advanced by the abolishment of a need for work. The world, however, has been slowly finding out that laziness and inaction, ease and apathy, are not productive of true happiness. The concept of a heaven where men sat through eternity thrumming harps has slowly but surely given place to the fact that for man to be happy he must be active; he must be accomplishing something of real value.

Then when Christian Science proclaims its song as, "Work—work—work—watch and pray" (Message for 1900, p. 2), the Christian Scientist thanks God for this call to constant activity. He starts out understanding that his success will be in proportion as love for his work inspires his effort. He recognizes that he has all the rules for his work plainly defined in his textbooks and that a study of them will show him clearly not only the exact nature of his work but the way to carry it on and thereby win complete success.

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