Article November 2, 1974 Issue

What Are We Cherishing?

MOLLIE D. BATES

A father rummaging through the basement comes across a battered tricycle that once belonged to his son, now away at school. He smiles reminiscently, pauses to spin the pedals, and recalls how his son loved to ride it as a four-year-old. A mother smiles wistfully as she comes upon a frowzy-haired doll stored away in the attic. It reminds her of a small girl who once fondled it and sang to it.

But what about other things we may be cherishing—things not so harmless? What of envious, bitter, or hateful thoughts toward others, thoughts that could deprive us of a good relationship with them?

Mrs. Eddy brings this to our attention when she writes in Science and Health: "Christian Science commands man to master the propensities,—to hold hatred in abeyance with kindness, to conquer lust with chastity, revenge with charity, and to overcome deceit with honesty. Choke these errors in their early stages, if you would not cherish an army of conspirators against health, happiness, and success."^{Science and Health, p. 405;}