Article January 19, 1963 Issue

"Pleasure is no crime"

[Of Special Interest to Young Men and Women]

EDWIN GEORGE LEEVER

There is much talk today of the self-indulgent, pleasure-seeking individual. And to counteract this image, stress is laid on the high moral and spiritual values that every person should have. Some people are puzzled and wonder if it is wrong to have a good time. Mrs. Eddy gives us the answer to this question in "Miscellaneous Writings." On pages 362 and 363 she says: "And pleasure is no crime except when it strengthens the influence of bad inclinations or lessens the activities of virtue. The more nearly an erring so-called mind approaches purity, the more conscious it becomes of its own unreality, and of the great reality of divine Mind and true happiness."

In deciding, then, whether or not to participate in some form of pleasurable activity, we have to look to infinite Mind, God, for our answer. In all kinds of pleasure what we are really seeking is joy, or happiness. So let us see what Christian Science, the Science that makes available the divine Truth upon which the life and teachings of Christ Jesus were based, tells us about true happiness.

In this Science, we learn that man is spiritual and perfect because he is the reflection of God; therefore man expresses only good because God is infinite good. Man, then, expresses the integrity of Truth, the purity of Spirit, the wisdom and health of Mind, the order of Principle, the continuous activity of Life, the harmony of Love, and the joy, happiness, and peace of Soul.

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