Article August 19, 1967 Issue

The Dignity of Mankind

MILDRED W. BAILEY

Christian Science offers the resolution for current divergent opinions regarding the way to attain human dignity. True dignity is man's spiritual birthright, to be seen in the manifestation of man's relationship to God, Spirit, and is therefore a spiritual quality, not merely a question of human attitudes.

One dictionary definition of the word "dignity" is "the quality or state of being worthy: intrinsic worth: excellence." It is important to see the spiritual nature of dignity; otherwise one's endeavor to evaluate it humanly may be futile. A false concept of dignity is a faulty hypothesis of mortal thought, theoretical and conjectural. The illusory character of a material sense of dignity will mislead the individual who depends upon it. True dignity reflects the perfection of divine Mind. It is as substantial and tangible as the omnipresence and omnipotence of God, and it rightfully belongs to the real man as the expression of his creator, who endowed him with dominion over all things. (See Gen. 1:26.)

Mrs. Eddy tells us: "To begin rightly is to end rightly. Every concept which seems to begin with the brain begins falsely. Divine Mind is the only cause or Principle of existence."^{Science and Health, p. 262;} If our human endeavors begin with an adoption of spiritual aims and a complete surrender to divine intelligence, the results in our daily experience will partake of harmony, health, and satisfaction. But if our efforts begin with materiality, the results will appear in uncertainties and mortal illusions.

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