According to the human senses, a career may have a variety of aspects. One dictionary defines it as the "course of a person's life, esp. in some particular pursuit." Christian Science shows one's true career to be his way of life, his living in accord with the truth of being revealed through the inspired writings of Mary Baker Eddy, the revered Leader of Christian Science and author of its textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures." One's career has thus a divine destiny, that of representing the Christ-idea.

Comparing what Jesus endured in order to demonstrate that "the glory of human life is in overcoming sickness, sin, and death," as Mrs. Eddy says in "No and Yes" (p. 33) with the suffering which must come to one who refuses to emulate the Master, our Leader writes on the following page, "Physical torture affords but a slight illustration of the pangs which come to one upon whom the world of sense falls with its leaden weight in the endeavor to crush out of a career its divine destiny." If one will spiritualize his concept of his career, instead of considering it as material, he will find that it has a divine destiny that the hypnotic suggestions of failure, inability, lack of opportunity, persecution, and fear cannot crush out.

Jesus said (John 14:10), "The Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works." And his keen consciousness of the divine destiny in his career is evidenced in his further statement (John 18:37), "To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth." The spiritual idea, or Christ, functioning in human consciousness, is capable, strong, free, discerning, satisfying, and complete. The material sense, with its duality, timidity, fear of failure, and mortal weakness, is but a myth, a ghost.

One of the most satisfying experiences which can come to one is the perception of the divine destiny of one's true self, the demonstration of the Father's expression of Himself through His son. D'Aguesseau says, "The most precious and rare of all possessions is love of one's calling." One's calling need not be spectacular. Whatever one's task, it can bear heavenly tints if in doing it one expresses the Christly qualities of humility, willingness, obedience, joy, perfection, quietness, unselfed love, consecration. One's job, his activity, is the living of the Christ; and the so-called material task is but the tool in his hand, the opportunity to express the living God, infinite Love, and His unlimited aspects.

Many years ago the writer had a task to do which was not going at all well; nor was she happy in the doing of it. She was keenly aware that the one for whom she was doing this task seemed unthankful and unworthy. As the activity became less and less successful, she suddenly recalled that in the Bible references in the current Lesson-Sermon in the Christian Science Quarterly this passage had appeared (Col. 3:23): "Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men." Immediately she heeded the counsel set forth in this Scriptural passage. Just as quickly order and loveliness began to appear in her work, and the day was joyous and full. The lesson learned then has, during the years which have followed, taught this student to let spiritual sense instead of personal sense motivate her activities.

Because one's career in its scientific sense is the imaging forth of God's being, His expression of Himself, it is not restricted by mortal mind's arguments of lack of education or opportunity. Man's destiny is the full manifestation of infinite good. If we accept this divine idea, unlimited good will begin to appear where heretofore a limited, inadequate, unfruitful misconception has seemed to be present.

The achievement of one's spiritual identity is his only true career. And since one's spiritual identity is the forever fact of his being, it cannot be obscured by the various smoke screens which mortal mind sends forth. As we face each day, and each hour of each day, with the spiritual purpose of glorifying God, rather than of carrying out a material task for a material reason, our divine destiny will shine through every detail of our career, uplifting, sustaining, and nourishing it.

It is the personal motive, the sense of doing things for person, for self-glorification and self-getting, which obstructs and intercepts one's career. Conversely, when one accepts the true reason for being and doing, to express God's infinite and eternal activity of good, one sees the meaning of Paul's words, "Ye are not your own" (I Cor. 6:19), and restriction, interruption, limitation, inadequacy, and incompleteness melt away. One finds himself demonstrating that "as an active portion of one stupendous whole, goodness identifies man with universal good," as Mrs. Eddy assures us on page 165 of "The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany." And she concludes: "Thus may each member of this church rise above the oft-repeated inquiry, What am I? to the scientific response: I am able to impart truth, health, and happiness, and this is my rock of salvation and my reason for existing."