SENTINEL WATCH March 1, 2004 Issue

Who me? A candidate?

By Richard A. Nenneman

Millions are already thinking about voting in this year's United States presidential election. They are assessing what the candidates are saying about themselves and what they could bring to the office.

One candidate claims to have exhibited his management and leadership skills by what he's done as a state governor. Another says he knows how to lead by working effectively with members of Congress. Another, that he will always be honest and will exercise compassion toward those who feel left out. Yet another, that he will never be fooled by faulty intelligence. And not surprisingly, they all claim to be patriots.

What most voters are looking for is someone who has all of these characteristics, or at least exhibits the capacity to exercise them in office. As I was thinking how difficult it is to find the perfect combination of qualities in any one candidate, or even in any human being, it occurred to me to look at myself—not exactly as a candidate, but as someone who is finding out what it means to be a child of God. In Science and Health, Mary Baker Eddy stressed spiritual self-examination—in order to "learn what is the effection and purpose of the heart, for in this way only can we learn what we honestly are" (p. 8).