Article November 20, 1943 Issue

The Laborer and His Hire

ELLA H. HAY

Standing guard at the door of consciousness and admitting only spiritual thoughts is work of the highest order. The consecrated laborer in this work is "worthy of his hire." Faithfully replacing destructive beliefs—hatred, fear, envy, dishonesty, and the like—with correct conclusions concerning the spiritual nature of God and man, we do a work that is interesting and profitable both for ourselves and for the world.

The world has need of right thinking; there is need for the replacement of material beliefs with spiritual ideas. And whatever our vocation, we may help in this great work. Indeed, only as we entertain spiritual concepts do we extract the flavor from the work that occupies our time. Whether one is a carpenter, a teacher, an office worker, or a housekeeper, his right thinking is needed; and his reward is proportionate to his worthiness, that is his faithfulness in constructive thinking and right doing.

In a world where strife for position and power seems dominant, too much emphasis is commonly placed on the "hire" and too little on being "worthy." However, during periods of social readjustment, loyalty and faithfulness may seem to receive little reward. One Christian Scientist sought to solve the problem of unjust remuneration through spiritual understanding. On examining his thought he found that he was entertaining a sense of injustice and of resentment toward his employers and toward certain groups who through pressure were receiving a far greater wage for an equal number of hours of work. With his thought awakened, he began to see that the very presence of these unworthy thoughts was interfering with his spiritual progress. He affirmed the truth that God's law is the law of justice, and that man is governed by that law; hence injustice cannot interfere with real activity, which reflects God. The reward of spiritual activity is always adequate. Shortly after beginning this line of thinking, the student received an increase in pay, and there followed in his experience a more adequate sense of well-being.

Send a comment to the editors

NEXT IN THIS ISSUE

Article

Self-reliant Trustworthiness