Article August 20, 1932 Issue

"The talents He gives we must improve"

MARION B. BERREHSEM

ON page 6 of the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," we read, "The talents He gives we must improve." This statement is particularly applicable to the present time, in which we hear so much about hoarding, and the ill effects which follow this custom.

Recently a student of Christian Science found that unconsciously she had been mentally hoarding. She found that instead of using the ideas with which our Leader's works and the literature printed by The Christian Science Publishing Society so bountifully supply us, she had done little except store these ideas away unused. When testing times presented themselves, she found that she was relying on others to work out her problems for her, instead of using the spiritual ideas which she had accepted through much reading.

At last this student realized that accepting spiritual ideas and not putting them into practice was not in accord with God's purpose for His children. Did not Jesus point out in his parable of the talents that through hoarding or hiding away the talent one not only receives no benefit from it, but is actually deprived of that which he thought he had? Mrs. Eddy writes (The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 195), "To do good to all because we love all, and to use in God's service the one talent that we all have, is our only means of adding to that talent and the best way to silence a deep discontent with our shortcomings." And in Science and Health we read (p. 323), "If 'faithful over a few things,' we shall be made rulers over many; but the one unused talent decays and is lost." The Israelites found that the manna with which Love supplied them daily decayed when they hoarded it away for future use. We should know that God never ceases to give us His spiritual ideas, and that by putting into practice those we already have we are capable of receiving more.

Send a comment to the editors

NEXT IN THIS ISSUE

Article

Let the Lord Be Magnified