Article January 6, 1923 ISSUE

The Post of Duty

HARRIET M. WILLIS

Men are investigating the Bible teachings more than ever before in the world's history, and it is particularly interesting to consider what these teachings have to tell as to our duty to God. An incident which throws much light on the subject may be found in the fifth chapter of Acts, where we read that Peter and other disciples had been cast into prison for preaching and healing, for doing their duty to their fellow-men as Christ Jesus had commanded them to do. When brought before the high priest and asked why they had done this thing, they answered, "We ought to obey God rather than men. ... And we are his witnesses of these things." They did not question as to where their duty lay, or what, if any, were the rules and regulations which might circumscribe that duty. Their business was to obey God; and they stood firmly at their post, preaching His Word to the multitude, and healing the sick and the sinning. It did not concern them that the prison apparently stood between them and the doing of their duty. They had received their orders; and they obeyed. What was the result of their obedience? The decree of the priest was set aside; the angel of the Lord opened the prison doors, and they came forth unmolested to do as God had commanded them, the healed and the redeemed bearing witness to the truth they taught and demonstrated.

Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer of the Science of Christianity and the Founder of the religion of Christian Science, has given in the textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," a fuller significance to many words in common use in the English language; and her writings abound with explanations of man's duty to his Maker. On page 496 of the textbook she writes, "You will learn that in Christian Science the first duty is to obey God, to have one Mind, and to love another as yourself." Here, then, is the key to the deeper meaning of the word "duty" and the method by which, standing at our post obeying God first, we may serve God as well as our neighbor, whether that neighbor be employer, friend, or member of our own household.

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