Editorial August 1, 1936 Issue

"Motives and Acts"

George Shaw Cook

Christian Scientists are grateful for the By-Laws that constitute the Manual of The Mother Church, but for none of them are they more grateful than for the one which its author, Mary Baker Eddy, has designated "A Rule for Motives and Acts" (Church Manual, Art. VIII, Sect. 1). Alert members of The Mother Church and its branches are not content merely to have this By-Law read to them from the desk on the first Sunday of each month, as provided in Article VIII, Section 2. They find it helpful to read and ponder it frequently, and earnestly strive daily to be governed by the admonitions it contains.

So comprehensive is this rule that the study of it has given many earnest students of Christian Science a right sense of direction in approaching the solution of widely variant problems. The careful study and diligent application of its statements will be found adequate to solve all sorts of problems. Indeed, there are few problems, especially those pertaining to church organization, the solution of which could not be found through strict observance of the provisions of this By-Law.

The first warning contained in the By-Law, "Neither animosity nor mere personal attachment should impel the motives or acts of the members of The Mother Church," is at once arresting and thought-provoking. How many students have had occasion to profit by this warning against being governed by a sense of animosity or antagonism in their contact with others! Perhaps, however, it has been found even more difficult by some—or by many—to avoid being influenced in their thoughts and actions by personal attachment.

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