Editorial October 20, 1923 Issue

Servants of God

Ella W. Hoag

Throughout Old Testament history we find God's people often speaking of themselves as the servants of God. This appellation brought to them undoubtedly a necessary sense of their dependence on God, as well as of a voluntary humility and willing obedience to Him, all of which are of vast importance if true service is to be rendered. God has promised manifold blessings to His servants, declaring among other things that He will pour out His spirit upon them and that they "shall sing for joy of heart." Christians have talked much and thought more of just how they were to be true servants of God and thus win these signs of God's approbation. While they have expressed much loyalty of purpose, they have not been able so often to enter upon a service which seemed to be accompanied either by God's spirit or their own joyful singing.

Now this failure results largely from not understanding God. A true servant always tries to please, as well as to seek the good of him whom he serves; and so one must perforce understand the one to whom he wishes to render acceptable service. Mrs. Eddy shows the importance of understanding God, if one is to demonstrate service to Him, when, in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 119), she speaks of man as "the humble servant of the restful Mind." Here is the truth clearly set forth that we must grasp; for the moment we accept the great fundamentals which Christian Science elucidates so perfectly, namely, that God is the one infinite divine Mind and that man is the servant of this Mind, we see that to serve God must mean to serve Mind. It therefore follows simply and naturally from the teaching of Christian Science that to serve divine Mind must include thinking only the thoughts which originate in that Mind, standing absolutely for all that belongs to divine Mind, and refusing as positively all that is contrary thereto. Christian Science shows conclusively that one can obey God only as he understands and obeys Mind with that mighty humility which recognizes that the thoughts of divine Mind are all-powerful and the alone real.

True service also demands great earnestness of effort. "God requires our whole heart," Mrs. Eddy tells us in the Manual (Art. VIII, Sect. 15); and we may be very sure that no divided purpose to serve both God and mammon can find favor with divine Mind. Nothing short of constant alert faithfulness in clinging to divine thoughts and rejecting the arguments of so-called mortal mind can ever win the spirit which brings true "joy of heart." Then there must also be gladness to serve, which is won as there is such love of divine Mind as shall be satisfied only with its perfections. Above all else, to be the true servant of God always implies unselfed service to our fellow-men.

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