Article December 11, 1965 Issue

Impersonal Praise

ELIZABETH JANE DITTMAR

Individuals whose accomplishments are recognized by the world often receive an abundance of praise and acclaim. Most gracious is the one who can accept commendation with quiet poise and wisdom. Humility is naturally expressed when our work has been achieved through the highest qualities of thought. Such thinking would include a pure understanding of God's guidance and ever-present help.

The Bible includes many accounts of men who realized that by working with God they could surmount the most difficult obstacles. Great were the rejoicing and the glory heaped upon David after he slew Goliath! Humble gratitude to God must have filled his thinking, for we read of him at a later date (I Sam. 18:14), "David behaved himself wisely in all his ways; and the Lord was with him."

The thought that success is due merely to a stroke of good luck comes from a belief that one is alone and helpless, tossed like a small craft on the raging sea of competition. But God has given man a birthright: dominion. Mrs. Eddy points this out clearly on page 516 of the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health, where she writes, "Man, made in His likeness, possesses and reflects God's dominion over all the earth."

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