Article October 25, 1975 Issue

Man's True Estate

JOHN WHITE, JR.

There are those who feel that the most valuable asset one can possess is his real estate. For many people this means ownership of home or other property, the value of which is subject to the fluctuations of economic conditions. Christian Science is concerned with man's spiritual estate. Mrs. Eddy writes, "Through divine Science man gains the power to become the son of God, to recognize his perfect and eternal estate."^{ Miscellaneous Writings, p. 182;}

Man's true estate is found in his relationship to God. His perfection and goodness come from God, his creator, the spiritual source of all good. Identifying man as God's spiritual creation places him at the very right hand of God, in fact, inseparable from Him. Man expresses God's nature, His eternal perfection. This assures him of an everlasting estate of eternal good, a constant flow of harmony in all of his activities. Man's true, spiritual estate can never depreciate or decrease in value. It never diminishes. It is always fully realized, and its value is immeasurable. And no worldly circumstance can ever affect this eternal truth. Man can never decline or recede from his high position as God's beloved child.

The ups and downs of national and international economy cause great concern and suffering. Economic recession and inflation restrict business activity, causing fear, uncertainty, unemployment. However, in Christian Science we can recognize all of these negative manifestations as products of limited human thinking, elements of erroneous belief. Science teaches that error is a mistake, a lie about what is really true, and it corrects such errors through declarations of spiritual truth, acknowledgments of God's perfect government of His creation. Trusting God with our daily affairs demands that we get to know Him better. The Bible tells us, "Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name."^{ Ps. 91:14;} Getting to know God is accomplished through prayer, by thoughtful affirmations of His perfect nature and of our inseparable relationship with Him. Our sense of unity with God expands as we see more and more clearly this spiritual relationship.