Article July 7, 1928 Issue

True Selfhood

CONSTANCE HEWARD

The understanding of the true selfhood which God bestows upon man created in His image is the remedy for all that would hinder the health, happiness, and prosperity of mankind; and this understanding has been made available to all through the teachings of Christian Science. Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer, Founder, and Leader of Christian Science continually urges her followers to renounce a false selfhood in all its varied forms; and on page 568 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" she writes, "Self-abnegation, by which we lay down all for Truth, or Christ, in our warfare against error, is a rule in Christian Science." This material, mortal selfhood which is to be denied, is but a false sense of self which claims to manifest many unspiritual, untrue, and unpleasant qualities, one of which is self-pity.

Now self-pity, which is a negative quality, may be likened to a mist. Suppose that one suffering from a sense of timidity is out in the open country with a wet, clinging mist obscuring the view. Small and insignificant objects seen through the distorting mist may seem to take on massive proportions and a menacing appearance, so that the timid one, unconscious of the truth of the situation, may be disposed to run from a danger which does not exist except in his own thought.

The student of Christian Science may thus see that he must be done with self-pity if he is to take a successful part in the "warfare against error," the warfare in which it is his duty and privilege to fight. Unless he does cast it out, he is submitting to a sense of a material selfhood which claims to exist apart from God. This lying self would have him believe that he is unhappy, afraid, sick, or sinful; but he must steadily refuse to bestow one thought of pity upon it. He must realize that the error claiming to operate is to be overcome, not condoled with.

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The Love of Life
July 7, 1928
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