"Unselfed love"

IVA B. LINEBARGER

"Whatever holds human thought in line with unselfed love, receives directly the divine power."—Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, page 192.

"Unselfed love"!
Oh, thought so often phrased while still unlived!
And yet, through thy expression true alone
Man doth receive directly power divine.
Should we not seek the ways where we may hold
Our thought in line with that which opens wide
The door to God, and doth His power reveal?

"Unselfed love"!
What love is that; and what the art that can
Turn human thought aside from its false love—
The love of self, a self unknown to God—
A limit built of not enough of life,
Or love, or good to share with others, lest
By giving it should find its stock deplete?
Ah, this is then the base of selfishness—
The fear of giving, lest self come to naught!
And so self-love does ever strive to keep,
Not give, the good it holds to be its life.
Self-love doth till the soil in which it lives,
And ever seeks to add unto its store
Of matter, intellect, and self-repute.
It hath small patience with those other selves
Whose individual paths may cross its own.
The good they have is envied by self-love.
In pride of intellect self-love vaunts high,
And oft unseemly doth behave itself.

And can you think it would not seek its own?
With good so limited could it afford
Not to compete with others for its share?
Ah, no, its code of ethics runs not so!
But in the competition that ensues
It finds much reason to become provoked—
And most provoked at others for the sins
It hath within itself, but cannot see—
So blind unto its faults is this self-love!

"Unselfed love"!
What love is this; what must we love instead
Of self, that we may power from God receive?
The human thought must touch the universe
Of Love divine, and learn the love of Love,
And glimpse the good unlimited that God
Hath made ever to fill His universe,
And in that vision find that man doth dwell
Forever as a ray of light to give
Expression to this Mind, this Life, this Love,
Not bound by flesh, by fear of want or woe!
Such love can suffer long, and still be kind,
For it doth know that evil is unreal.
It envieth not, for good is everywhere;
So even needeth not to seek her own.
It vaunteth not with pride of intellect,

But doth, instead, just humbly wait on Mind.
It never doth behave itself unseemly,
But rather honors others as itself.
With thought so filled with good, how could it think
Of evil as a power to anger one?
And so, whatever be the evil claim,
It doth rejoice to know it hath no power!

"Unselfed love"!
How great, and yet how wonderful the task
To give of God's unlimited supply
Of life, of love, of good—all spiritual!
And, oh, how joyful 't is to wend our way
Among those yet untaught in truth
And give unstintingly the gifts we have,
And fear not lest our giving make us poor!
To give whatever be the need—be it
A word of truth, a sermon, or a song,
A cup of water, or a crust of bread!
And if someone in gratitude or praise
Would laud us for our gifts, to know within
Our hearts the inspiration of it all
Is God, and without Him we can do naught!

"Unselfed love"!
It is attained when all the glory once
We claimed our own we now accord to God;
When we can care for neither place nor power,
When praise or homage would encrown our brow.
And yet, when evil sweeps across some fold
Asleep in mortal dreams, and we can see
The dangers they know not—we will step forth
And challenge evil's claim to place and power,
While we arouse the dreamers from their sleep;
And care not for the hatred and abuse
That try to turn the good that we have done
Into an evil thing—the base revenge
Of evil on the one who proves it naught!

"Unselfed love"
Is love that neither saves nor honors self,
But loveth only God and perfect man!
This kind of love is truly born of God.
And so, whatever holdeth "human thought
In line with unselfed love" receives direct
The power of God, divine!

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