Article March 22, 1941 Issue

Leaning on Principle instead of Personality

MARY HOYT LOVELAND

In Revelation we read, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." The need for communion with the Christ, Truth, is inherent in every heart; but often it is only when trials press hard that those who are sick and bewildered become aware of the heavenly visitant and gratefully open the door. And what a joy and privilege to commune with the Christ! What blessings of serenity, peace, and wisdom come when we admit the Christ into our consciousness!

We should turn daily to Principle instead of to persons for guidance, and lean on God instead of on our own or another's judgment. Mary Baker Eddy writes in "Retrospection and Introspection" (p. 82), "A general rule that my students should not allow their movements to be controlled by other students, even if they are teachers and practitioners of the same blessed faith." And she adds, "The widest power and strongest growth have always been attained by those loyal students who rest on divine Principle for guidance, not on themselves."

It is true that we can often receive help from one another, provided each one is sincerely seeking the divine command. Sometimes wise counsel comes to us through the words of a friend who has gained a clearer thought on the correct solution of our problem than we ourselves have done. Humility is the open door to divine Love. An earnest group of Christian Scientists may helpfully exchange what has been unfolded to them in the working out of a proposed plan, or in healing a difficult church situation. And church meetings will be more helpful if the members, in humility, learn to wait for Truth's utterances. Then, indeed, will mere human opinion increasingly be held in check and tend to disappear from the discussions. "Diverse opnions in Science are stultifying," says our Leader, Mrs. Eddy (Miscellaneous Writings, p. 265); and she adds, "All must have one Principle and the same rule; and all who follow the Principle and rule have but one opinion of it."

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