Article February 7, 1931 Issue

Brethren

MYRA A. PAINE

On page 518 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" Mrs. Eddy has written, "The rich in spirit help the poor in one grand brotherhood." There are, indeed, many happy signs that brotherly love is becoming more clearly manifest as thought is being leavened by the truths which Mrs. Eddy voiced.

Moreover, aside from the work of Christian Scientists as individuals and of the Christian Science organization, much noble public effort is being expended in helping mankind both materially and morally, with endowments for public museums, libraries, and universities; with institutions for friendless children and the aged, as well as in the courts, prisons, and reformatories constantly progressing toward greater usefulness; and spiritually, with all the various activities of different well-known religious bodies.

Yet, deeper thinking on the subject of brethren, together with earnest study of the paragraph in Science and Health quoted from above, will reveal to one a more effective, permanent help towards establishing the brotherhood of man than these human means, laudable as they are in their degree. The remedy is a universal recognition, by both rich and poor in spirit, that "the poor in spirit" have an equal heritage, right now, with the rich. Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for their's is the kingdom of heaven." He did not say "shall be," but "is." The work facing "the poor in spirit" is threefold: first, the acceptance of the truth of this statement; secondly, the open acknowledgment of its truth; and thirdly, the outward manifestation to the world of the ever-presence of the kingdom of heaven in their thinking. This task requires earnest consideration, inasmuch as the first two steps are purely mental and spiritual.

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