Editorial December 26, 1931 Issue

Different Points of View

Clifford P. Smith

Nearly all acts, including thoughts and words, can be considered from different points of view; and many acts should be. This proposed rule, if applied as occasions occur, would help to avoid blunders, to insure harmony in human relations, and to make the maximum use of divine Science.

One of the best illustrations for the rule just stated is furnished by a communication, oral or written. The effect or meaning of any communication depends at least partly on how it will be comprehended or construed by the person or persons to whom it is addressed or sent. Thus, an article or a poem in one of the Christian Science periodicals could be completely correct, as its author intended his words, but incorrect and misleading as it might be comprehended or fairly construed by readers. A contributor, therefore, no less than the editors, ought to consider and test his manuscript from the different points of view which are likely to be represented by the different readers who may see it. An article or a poem contributed to a periodical is a communication, not a mere soliloquy.

It is equally evident that an act or a situation is liable to be seen in different ways. In human relations, therefore, this possibility furnishes the reason for two applications of Christian wisdom. One who does anything (or puts himself in a position) which may affect or concern other persons, ought to consider the import or meaning of his conduct from their points of view. Likewise, they should endeavor to appreciate or test his conduct as he intended it—as it probably appeared to him.

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