Editorial March 7, 1931 Issue

Helpfulness

Duncan Sinclair

Who among us will say that he has attained to perfection; that he has already demonstrated the perfect man? When we think of where we stand, how aptly Paul's words in his epistle to the Philippians depict the situation! The apostle writes, "Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus." Healings we have had—many of them, probably—moral and physical, becoming better men or women in the process, but we may still believe we have a long way to go in the overcoming of material sense before we have demonstrated the man of God's creating, the real man. Yet how grateful we are to have had, through Christian Science, the vision of man as the perfect idea of God, and to know that it is realizable, demonstrable!

With the truth before him that God is Love and altogether good, and that man, God's idea, is altogether lovable, like his creator, the Christian Scientist strives for greater love for God and man. Mrs. Eddy points out the need for this on page 50 of "Miscellaneous Writings," where she writes, "The human affections need to be changed from self to benevolence and love for God and man; changed to having but one God and loving Him supremely, and helping our brother man." Indeed, it might be said that our love to God and our love and helpfulness to mankind are the measure of our Christianity, the test of where we stand spiritually.

As students of Christian Science we should remember this, for the temptation is sometimes strong to be so engrossed in self as to fail to see the demands our religion makes upon us. When this is so; when selfishness blinds us, causing us to neglect our duty to love God supremely and our neighbor as ourself, what may happen? Disputings, inharmony, lack of cooperation, ill health. Our Leader writes (ibid., p. 138), "For students to work together is not always to cooperate, but sometimes to coelbow!" And a sentence farther on she continues, "Remember that the first and last lesson of Christian Science is love, perfect love, and love made perfect through the cross."

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