Article September 30, 1922 Issue

"According to my righteousness"

ERNEST E. OERTEL

David's declaration, "Therefore the Lord hath recompensed me according to my righteousness," might be uttered with the same literal and connotative meaning by a student of Christian Science. Righteousness, it is apparent, always has brought and always will bring its own reward. Righteousness is a mental condition or quality, attainable by any one who is sincere and obedient enough to God, divine Mind, to disregard the suggestions of the carnal mind and listen only to the "still small voice" of Truth that speaks from within. Although righteousness is attainable by all, unrighteousness often predominates in the thoughts of mortals. That is because few are willing to sacrifice enough of mortal belief for the sake of being righteous. To be righteous requires moral courage; and moral courage in a world of materialism seems comparatively hard to win, and to sustain.

Mortals may seem to have two possible avenues of thought to follow. On the one hand, one may take the path of apparently the least resistance, and think thoughts of evil,—lust, hatred, envy, jealousy, vainglory, and the like. So-called mortal mind delights in delving into the mire of human experience and exposing things which are morbid and tainted with vice. It is constantly digging its way into supposititious evil. On the other hand, there is the path of right thinking that leads heavenward. If looked at from the standpoint of mere ease, this is by far the more difficult route to follow, for obstructions and hindrances must be cleared from this pathway by each one walking in it. Self-denials, consecrations, earthly surrenders, and prayer are some of the tools that open the way; and they are seemingly hard tools to handle. To progress on this path to heaven one must be earnest and obedient.

Now every mortal must decide which path of thinking he will follow. If spiritual desire is not active enough to point the right path and guide the wavering footsteps, experience will have to teach a severer lesson. Unrighteous thinking, the broad path of no resistance, leads to disease and death,—the wages of sin. On all sides of us in daily life we see the results of wrong, unholy thinking. Every error that comes into human experience is caused by a wrong thought. God is not responsible for a single ill or discord that afflicts the seemingly heavy-laden. In every case of a manifestation of error, human beliefs of fear and ignorance—not God—are responsible. Christian Scientists have learned to charge the claims of evil to a lack of faith in and understanding of God. Mortals suffer by their own volition, because they choose to sin in thought. Too often their spiritual reward is meager, because their righteousness is at low ebb.

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