Article July 14, 1986 Issue

The next-to-the-greatest thing in the world

FLORENCE E. BERG

It has been said that love is the greatest thing in the world, and surely most people would agree. What is the next-to-the-greatest thing? I think a good case can be made for gratitude. Mrs. Eddy writes in the Manual of The Mother Church, "Gratitude and love should abide in every heart each day of all the years."^{Manual, Art. XVII, Sect. 2.} Being aware and appreciative of God's blessings, we feel a joy that we otherwise might not experience.

The fact is, gratitude includes joy. If joy seems to be eluding us, let's ask ourselves: Am I truly grateful for my many blessings? Am I grateful for Christ Jesus' teachings and demonstrations, and am I following in his footsteps? Am I living his precept "It is more blessed to give than to receive"?^{Acts 20:35.} Giving not just things but smiles and thoughtful acts, and returning good for evil? Am I gratefully casting negative thoughts out of consciousness and replacing them with the truth that frees?

Once when I was on an out-of-town business trip I found myself feeling somewhat down. As we are taught to do in Christian Science, I turned to God to lift me out of this state through prayer. I reminded myself that God is divine Love, the only cause and creator. God being Spirit and the only creator, everything must in reality be spiritual. Man, then, is a spiritual being and not a physical body with a soul inside, as the material senses falsely testify. The Bible states that God gave man dominion. I spent some time disciplining consciousness in this way, blotting out every thought which contradicted the fact that God, good, and His creation are all.

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