Speaker: Our program today tells of a man saved from the bondage of drinking and of how such changes can come about, changes that turn hopeless lives into lives of freedom and usefulness. We think you'll be interested in the experience of John Sanderson, a salesman from Kansas City, Missouri.

Tell us about it, Mr. Sanderson.

Mr. Sanderson: I'll be glad to. I've seen a thirst for liquor give way completely when I found there was one thing I wanted more than anything else—an understanding of God. You see, I began drinking in sales work and at business conventions simply because I felt it was the thing to do. I always thought I had perfect control, that when I wanted to quit, I would quit. But gradually I found myself becoming more interested in drinking than in my work, until I was taking bracers to fortify myself on every occasion. Later I went into business with a friend of mine. It was underfinanced and overexpanded, and finally it failed.

From then on there was a succession of different jobs, but I'd always lose them after a while through drinking. One position as merchandise manager required me to promote sales campaigns and hold meetings in many different parts of the country. On the way to these places I'd drink heavily on the train, and when I got there I'd fortify myself with another drink. Then after meetings, through sheer exhaustion, I'd drink some more. My family stuck with me all through this, but it was very hard on them; I spent so much money on liquor.

Then finally one time in Louisville, Kentucky, I stayed in the hotel bar all of one Saturday afternoon and most of the evening drinking steadily. Next morning when I woke up I was so frustrated it seemed to me there was only one choice: either to get an understanding of God, or else I was through.

It was summer, and I took a long walk. I heard singing as I went past a church, and I went in, not knowing it was a Christian Science church. I was very much impressed with the service. It was so different. I'd grown up believing that I was a sinner, that God is a God of anger, and that I was in a hopeless situation because of this.

That church service was my first introduction to Christian Science. And that same afternoon, in the hotel, I ran into a man who'd called on my father thirty years before as a dry goods salesman. I'd heard my father say he was a Christian Scientist. I introduced myself and told him I wanted to know more about this religion. What he told me was so reassuring that next day I bought a copy of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mary Baker Eddy. I read it with profound interest. But you know, I wasn't really willing to give up the drinking; I thought it gave me pleasure and a sense of good fellowship. So I kept right on drinking. But I always had the feeling that some day, somehow, I'd go back to that book and be healed.

But it wasn't till some ten years later that I really began to study. I'd had a very severe hemorrhage. I was at the end of my rope physically, financially, socially. I'd driven to Grand Island, Nebraska; got there about noon. I got out my Bible and Science and Health and stayed in my hotel room the remainder of the day studying and praying that God would save me from this terrible habit.

And my prayers were answered! It became clear to me that Christ Jesus' mission was to prove that man is the son of God. You see, I was beginning to learn from my study that since God is perfect, eternal Life and man is God's likeness, this real, spiritual man must be perfect now; he's not a miserable sinner. This refreshing thought seemed to regenerate me. The whole structure of my faith was changed. I knew in a measure what it meant to be born again, and the whole problem was laid aside as though I'd taken off a coat.

The healing was so complete that I never wanted to drink again, and I never have. In fact, it was such a clean sweep that I was healed of the tobacco habit too; I'd been a chain smoker! A great change came into my whole life. Now I have the love and respect of my family, and order has come into my business affairs. I returned to the firm I'd originally been with. I'm learning that through the prayer of spiritual understanding, we can avail ourselves daily of God's law of harmony to govern everything we do.

Speaker: Thank you very much, Mr. Sanderson. You've certainly seen some great changes in your life. And I'm sure your experience can help others.

Probably everyone in business knows of the temptation to rely on drinking for help, help in making friends, securing customers, bolstering confidence when there's a tough job. But more and more wise and discerning businessmen and businesswomen are waking up to the fact that liquor is a treacherous basis for confidence and success. A truly successful business or home must be built on a spiritual foundation, on right ideas and a deep, sincere desire to help others.

Our guest found this out. And he also gave the answer which Christian Science offers any earnest inquirer. He learned in a measure what it means to be born again. This rebirth or awakening to man's true nature as God's image and likeness is the answer to all the problems of human living.

It was Christ Jesus who first spoke of the need of being born again. We read in the Bible that the Master said to Nicodemus, who was a ruler of the Jews, "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus, thinking of material birth, asked Jesus how a man could be born again. Isn't it reasonable to assume that Jesus was speaking of a rebirth or regeneration of thought, of turning from preoccupation with materiality to a more spiritual basis—life in and of God, divine Spirit?

Mrs. Eddy emphasizes this point in Science and Health, where she writes (p. 552): "Mortals must emerge from this notion of material life as all-in-all. They must peck open their shells with Christian Science, and look outward and upward."

To be born again, then, is to exchange the false concept of man as material, subject to sin, disease, and death, for the true understanding of man as the image and likeness of God, as the Scriptures declare him to be. It is to recognize that the man of God's creating does not start with material birth and end with death. Man, the likeness of God, Spirit, must be spiritual, pure, and perfect, not material and imperfect. This man, whom we can come to understand as our true selfhood, lives under the perfect control and government of God, divine Principle.

It is through the understanding of these truths that human thinking is awakened and purified. Binding, degrading habits of mortal thought are seen for what they are—impositions, illusions, without God-given authority. The understanding of these spiritual facts brought about the transformation and healing of our guest. The same realization of man's true identity can restore hope and bring salvation to any sincere seeker for Truth.

The musical selection on the program was Hymn No. 160 from the Christian Science Hymnal (It matters not what be thy lot). The words are from "Satisfied," a poem by Mrs. Eddy (Poems, p. 79).