Picture three men, each placed in a dark room.

The first man, altogether frustrated, sits down dejectedly and repeats over and over, "There is no light."

The second man begins to think about what to do. He considers opening a door or a window to let in some light. But he can't decide which one to open. There are light switches, but he can't decide which one to turn on.

The third man pays no attention to the drawn shades and the turned off switches. He concludes immediately that there is a fault in the electrical wiring, and he sets out with stubborn determination to fix it.

Does our present life situation fit into one of these patterns? Perhaps we have already concluded that we are like the first man—that we have nothing to contribute, nothing to give to the world—so we spend most of our time and effort repeating this to ourselves. Or maybe we identify with the second man, who knows there are many possibilities in life but wastes all his time trying to decide which one to choose and which way to go. Perhaps we are not so ready to admit that we are like the third man who, although he is a man of action, stubbornly locks himself into one plan of action without ever opening his thought to other possibilities.

Of course, none of these descriptions refers to man's true identity and purpose. They are only suggestions that would hide from us our true contribution to the world.

Any contribution involves sharing, participating. If we start with God, who is Love and Life, we can see that sharing and participating are in fact unselfish human activities having their source in God. We can identify ourselves as reflections of God, who is our Father-Mother, and see that we express by inheritance the outpouring of Love and the activity of Life.

This truth, once realized, begins to eliminate fear and the discouraged feeling that we have nothing to contribute. Mrs. Eddy, who gave Christian Science to the world, wrote to a branch Church of Christ, Scientist, something especially helpful in regard to giving: "As an active portion of one stupendous whole, goodness identifies man with universal good. Thus may each member of this church rise above the oft-repeated inquiry, What am I? to the scientific response: I am able to impart truth, health, and happiness, and this is my rock of salvation and my reason for existing." ^{The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 165;}

"The scientific response." Don't we all need to begin to respond, to act? What better way to start than with these three small words: "I am able"? So, if we find ourselves accepting the suggestions of purposelessness, inability, or apathy, we can respond scientifically, "I am able." Each one is able to reflect ability, purposefulness, and vitality, and this being his reason for existing, nothing can keep him from it.

Many times we are kept from doing our part, making our contribution to the world, because, like the second man of the story, we become so confused by choices. But just as darkness is nothing but the absence of light, so confusion is nothing more than the supposed absence of right knowing and decisiveness. Suggestions of inability and uncertainty should be treated with the same conviction Christ Jesus had when tempted by Satan in the wilderness. Jesus' response was "Get thee hence, Satan." ^{Matt. 4:10.} Jesus had a God-inspired answer for every evil suggestion. We might say that he responded scientifically.

If we are troubled by confusion or indecision, we can declare and know the opposite—peace, opportunity, understanding. Doing this, we clear our thought so that we are free to make a wise decision and fulfill our contribution to the world.

Consider again the man who thought he knew exactly what to do to produce light and proceeded to do that one thing only. If we were in the same situation, would we stubbornly check only the electrical wiring, or would we be willing to try the light switch, open a door, or raise a window shade? So, in our daily lives, how willing are we to put aside human planning and outlining and follow God's direction? We may find we can make a contribution in an entirely different way from what we had previously considered.

We may ask ourselves, Am I just as willing to be a nine-to-five businessman as I am to be a free-lance artist? Or am I just as willing to be a homemaker as I am a teacher or secretary? If our answer shows any tinge of egotism, pride, human will, or selfishness, we can respond with the scientific truth. We can know we are able to express obedience to divine will, unselfed love, service, and true devotion. Although this response, humbly given, may appear to suppress our individual desires, it actually purifies them and frees us to accomplish the highest purpose.

Isn't this what we are striving for, to make our contribution to the world of the highest quality? Let's not identify with those three men in the dark room. Rather, let's acknowledge our true, spiritual identity and see our contribution as one of expressing God's purpose, love, individuality, beauty, joy.