Article January 21, 1967 Issue

Removing False Labels

NANCY J. JAGEL

All of us recognize the mischief—and even danger—that could be caused by a label which misrepresents the contents of a product. In the United States pure food and drug laws have been passed to protect the public. No longer are manufacturers free to mislead unwary consumers by the dishonest labeling of their products.

The Christian Scientist realizes the necessity of being on guard against false labels in every aspect of his experience. He is alert to check frequently the labels he has mentally placed on himself and his neighbor. Is he announcing his identity to the world in purely material terms? When he thinks of himself as a salesman, a housewife, a student, has he added more ingredients to these labels, such as "unsuccessful salesman," "overburdened housewife," "failing student"? To the extent that one identifies himself as a mortal, he places upon himself the limitation and insecurity of a mortal sense of existence.

We hear much today about the identity crisis. Psychiatrists attempt to aid their confused patients by rummaging through the debris of mortal memory. Christian Science offers a solution to this crisis. It points to the Bible passage, "God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them."^{Gen. 1:27;} From this it follows that an individual can find out who he really is only by learning more of God and identifying himself as God's image, or reflection.

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Removing False Labels

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