"It's easy to be nice when you're appreciated," the post office clerk said to the woman who had just thanked him warmly for the help he had given her. At the human level appreciation certainly does help to remove the kinks from our daily contacts with others. Seen from a higher standpoint, appreciation is a God-derived quality that does much more than just remove kinks.

True appreciation dissolves misunderstandings, eliminates confrontations, and unclogs the channels of communication so that the interchange of thoughts and ideas can flow freely.

Basically, appreciation is a matter of evaluating worth. Evaluation based on human opinion and material sense is always inaccurate. Mrs. Eddy says in Science and Health, "Finite sense has no true appreciation of infinite Principle, God, or of His infinite image or reflection, man." ^{Science and Health, p. 300;} Christian Science teaches us to evaluate our fellowman on the basis of his real worth as the image of God, using the heightened perception of spiritual understanding to see this true man right where finite material sense presents the picture of a sick, sinning, or unlovely mortal.

The Bible contains many examples of how true appreciation operates in human experience to heal and bless. For instance, as long as Jacob's assessment of Esau was materially based, Jacob was afraid and fled from his brother. But when Jacob's nature was changed by glimpsing the truth of God and man, he was able to meet Esau and say to him, "I have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of God, and thou wast pleased with me." ^{Gen. 33:10;}

As Jacob's story shows, communication between individuals or between groups of people can be a fragile thing, liable to disruption, when the evaluation of man as the son of God is lacking. Discords in human relationships melt away in the presence of right appreciation.

The various facets of the carnal mind, designated by Mrs. Eddy as mortal mind or error, are never worthy of appreciation. It is not these distorted pictures of man that we are called on to value. The demand is to raise our sights to the correct evaluation—to the higher perception of man as wholly perfect, a spiritual idea, created and governed by God, immortal Mind, the only Mind there really is.

True appreciation cannot be selective, it cannot operate on the basis of mortal preference, rank, or classification. It has nothing to do with flattery, which is but a sop to human pride. It cannot be exclusive, but must embrace everyone and extend to all mankind.

True appreciation doesn't ignore the human need. On the contrary, it demands that we respect and honor those around us with tender regard, meeting them where they are, while at the same time we evaluate them spiritually on the basis of their true identity as sons and daughters of God.

Are we sometimes in such a hurry that we fail to stop and say the word of comfort or appreciation our neighbor may be longing to hear? Are we unwittingly bruising another's sensibilities?

It is helpful to appreciate the function the individual is fulfilling as well as the individual himself. Haven't we all, at one time or another, been annoyed by the officiousness of some person intent on carrying out his duties to the letter, by the curtness of an official, or by a stupid mistake someone has made at our expense? Have we paused to see the situation from the other person's point of view? Have we stopped to appreciate the value of the work or the service the individual is performing? Maybe it is a lowly job, but one essential to the harmonious functioning of a whole operation. Evaluating the job justly from the standpoint of Christlike compassion leads naturally to a fairer evaluation of the individual performing the job—an evaluation based on the truth of man as the child of God.

Among the mean and selfish traits that rob us of true appreciation of others, and therefore of our ability to communicate with them, are self-centeredness, criticism, systematic denigration, and prejudice.

Prejudice is particularly pernicious. It's so subtle. It may be suggested by human opinion, by one's own human reactions to people, by hearsay, by what is heard through the grapevine or gossip. The corrosive influence of prejudice has more than once caused me to resist meeting certain people or getting to know them. But when I have made a sincere effort on the basis of the Golden Rule to overcome this unnatural resistance, I have found warm and valued friends. There can be no real communication with our neighbor when our thought is warped by prejudice. Christ Jesus said, "Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment." ^{John 7:24;} And Mrs. Eddy writes, "In a world of sin and sensuality hastening to a greater development of power, it is wise earnestly to consider whether it is the human mind or the divine Mind which is influencing one." ^{Science and Health, pp. 82-83;}

There is another aspect of appreciation that is vitally important: proper appreciation of ourselves. Self-depreciation is not humility. It's a devilish intrusion on one's peace of mind. It would rob us of our ability to express our true potential.

Once when I was asked to accept a challenging new assignment in my profession as a journalist, my first reaction was, "Oh, no, not me. I couldn't possibly do that!" I didn't see how I could take the place of the individual who had previously been in that post and had filled it with outstanding success. I shall always be grateful for the understanding comment of my editor, who said: "We are not asking you to take anybody else's place. We are asking you to be yourself."

So I went ahead and accepted. But after six weeks I felt I couldn't go on. Each day seemed to be an uphill battle as I struggled desperately to meet my deadlines. At that point, I had a talk with a Christian Science practitioner, who told me that when faced with a new assignment he would ask himself: "Am I seeing myself as a mortal with limited capabilities, or am I seeing myself as a child of God, reflecting the infinite capacities of the divine Mind?"

That broke the mental restrictions and the misery I had inflicted on myself. The way now was clear. I saw I must strive consistently to evaluate myself as God's reflection and look to God, infinite Mind, the only intelligence, for the ideas and inspiration I needed to carry out my writing assignments. From that time on the job opened up new horizons for me, fields of interest broader and more satisfying than anything I could have outlined.

Haven't we all at one time or another felt that our conscientious efforts or those of our loved ones have been unappreciated, undervalued, or unrewarded? At such times let us ask ourselves: Are we seeking to please God or man?

Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, "Thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly." ^{Matt. 6:18.} In this is divine assurance that God, our Father-Mother, is forever appreciating and cherishing the integrity, the total worth, of each of His sons and daughters and that our reward is certain. Our value as God's ideas is incalculable. It can never be measured, outlined, or restricted by human standards. No taint, no blemish, no deterioration, can corrupt or diminish it.

No one need be deprived of expressing God-directed appreciation or of experiencing it. Acknowledgment of the spiritual facts of being will bring into our lives the warm glow of true appreciation and the rewards that go with it.