Article July 5, 1969 Issue

Stature or Status Symbols?

MARY RETTA TITUS

It is safe to say that everyone has a desire for stature in the eyes of others. Some may secretly wish for it but feel little hope of achieving it. Others strive openly to improve their image in the eyes of friends and the world around them. However, seeking Popularity for its own sake leads one off the path to real stature and away from those mental qualities that are of durable worth. Status seeking throws a smoke screen of simulated glory around those so misled, substituting spurious standards for the true stature of man in the image and likeness of God.

Christian Science healing is based on the works of one who trod the earth in the stature of true manhood. He was not tempted to conform to human standards. Christ Jesus knew his own stature, his mission, and Him from whom he had his glory. He needed no crutch of human symbols to prove his uprightness, nor had he any desire for worldly position and power. He possessed the knowledge of his real selfhood as God's expression. He knew that he was powered by omnipotence. Of outward things he said, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."^{Matt. 6:33;} Jesus did not say that the things that are accessories to human living are wrong. Indeed, he who wore the seamless robe and could feed five thousand at one time knew that mankind could lack nothing if they put their seeking for the heavenly consciousness first.

Today the temptation to seek material status first is thwarting many a life and career. Man's real mission in life is to express God, good, and there is no lack of satisfaction and opportunity in expressing God—no frustration, no loss of dignity. How many of us have felt taller when some error in our thought has been conquered by Truth! The growth that accompanies each victory never leaves us where we started. We gain in glory and honor because we have proved that God is with us, giving us the ability and power to overcome everything unlike Him.

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