Article April 3, 1920 Issue

Dominion

CHARLES V. WINN

Christian Science is the truth about God, and being the truth about God it is necessarily the truth about all that God creates including man. Nothing is clearer than that the effect must be like its cause; the creation must manifest the qualities of the creator. In its very first chapter the Bible states that "God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him." As God possesses all the power there is, the man of God's creating must manifest power, dominion, ability, and capacity. Mary Baker Eddy tells us in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 516): "Man, made in His likeness, possesses and reflects God's dominion over all the earth." Christian Science teaches us that we are not the victims of outrageous misfortune, but that we are God-endowed with a righteous mastery, which if exercised properly to-day will result in right control of our bodies, our business, our dispositions, and all our affairs.

If we remember that part which reads "reflecting God's power," we are not likely to be misled, but if for one instant we forget that, we are treading on dangerous ground. Nowhere does the Bible or our textbook tell us that we have dominion over men. When we assume that right we have wandered into the field of domination which is utterly foreign to Christian Science. When human sympathy prompts us to outline for another the way he should go, we are infringing on his God-given right to look to God and God alone for his guidance. Let us suppose that what we have considered right for another to do is actually best for him under the circumstances,—even then it would be wiser for us to wait until he sees it as God's way and not our way. Would it not be better for us to declare and realize God's government and then let God's truth manifest itself in His own time and His own way?

In the Manual Mrs. Eddy tells us (Art. XXVII, Sect. 5), "The less the teacher personally controls other minds, and the more he trusts them to the divine Truth and Love, the better it will be for both teacher and student." There is where the struggle sometimes comes,—to stand still and trust. It seems so much easier to give personal advice than to declare the truth and then withdraw ourselves from the problem. What we think best for another may be a very worthy thing, but it may not be the right time for it. Again, the individual may not have reached that point in his growth when the step in question is right or wise. Many, many times in our experience, if we will analyze our own thought carefully we shall find that what we desire another to do is induced not so much by a desire to promote the other's welfare as by a desire on our part to have him do something that we think will reflect credit on ourselves.

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