When I was about ten years old, some kids I knew began shoplifting at a big store in our town. They would come back and show off the toys and other stuff they’d stolen, and I’d practically drool. I was tempted to join them, but I couldn’t quite bring myself to do it. It wasn’t just that I was afraid of getting caught. There was more to it.

I remember sitting on the sidewalk one day after they left and having a good long think about it. What if I just went ahead and took whatever I wanted, any time I wanted? There was quite a list of things I was longing for that my parents couldn’t afford. What if I could have them all right now just by stealing? The prospect was exciting.

But I had another feeling, too, as I thought about this. A deep sadness began to creep over me. The world looked dark and strange. Suddenly every lovable doll, beautiful dress, and fun toy on my wish list lost its charm. How could that be? I wondered. Why should I feel so sad?

It occurred to me then that happiness isn’t so much in having things as in doing things you feel good about. And I definitely didn’t feel good about stealing. I had always enjoyed working toward goals and earning things honestly, so I sensed that I’d be losing a big source of satisfaction by trying to get something the wrong way. After all, I reasoned, what would be the point of doing schoolwork, or playing a game, or working at a job if you could simply lie, cheat, and steal your way through life? 

The issue was clear: If I chose to behave dishonestly, I would have to take the dark, depressing outlook that went with it. So I chose honesty.

I didn’t realize it then, but at that moment I was glimpsing the importance of integrity in finding true meaning and purpose in life. A few years later, when I began studying Christian Science, I learned that man is created by God, and that man’s purpose as God’s child is to express His goodness and perfection. One of the synonyms for God is Principle, and man is made to reflect the qualities of divine Principle, such as integrity and purity. That’s why the thought of doing something dishonest made me so unhappy. It went against my real, God-given nature.

Not only does God’s child not want to steal—he doesn’t need to.

But not only does God’s child not want to steal—he doesn’t need to. Because God is infinite Soul, He is the source of all that is truly fulfilling. And because God is Love, He could never withhold any good thing from His children. In the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy writes, “Soul has infinite resources with which to bless mankind, and happiness would be more readily attained and would be more secure in our keeping, if sought in Soul” (p. 60).

The truth of that statement has been proved many times in my life when material resources seemed inadequate. Turning to God in prayer, confident that He lovingly meets our needs, I’ve been able to find financial help for college, employment in a tight job market, the means to buy and furnish my home, and supply for all sorts of other wants and needs.

I had another lesson in obedience to Principle one night some years later, when two friends and I were leaving a theater after watching only half of a movie that had disappointed us. We all wished we could see the other feature playing there, but we didn’t have the money. However, as people streamed past us into the second screening room, we saw how easy it would be to join the crowd without buying tickets. So we did.

At first it seemed exciting. Sneaking into the theater free—what a lark! But then I began to feel uncomfortable. That dark sadness began to creep over me once again, and I felt separated from God. Suddenly what had seemed like fun a moment before now felt pointless and unappealing. I told my friends I didn’t want to see the movie this way, that I would rather go home. They didn’t argue, and we left the theater.

We were halfway home when I remembered that I had left my umbrella in the theater. So back we went, and the manager helped me find it on an empty seat. He said how surprising it was that no one had taken the umbrella. I was very glad to get it back, but not surprised. In making the right moral choice, I was allying myself with God and choosing to stay under His care and protection. It’s hard to know what might have happened to the umbrella if I had made the other choice, but the cost of replacing it would have been several times the cost of a movie ticket.

We can trust God to provide whatever will truly bless us, and God is always communicating whatever we need to know to experience His abundance. Whenever we seem to lack some good thing, the trouble may be that we aren’t listening to the wisdom of divine Mind—another synonym for God. We’re listening instead to the whisperings of the carnal mind, telling us that there’s not enough good to go around and that obedience to Principle could cause us to miss out. But the true idea of good that we give up by being disobedient to Principle is infinitely greater than what we think we’re gaining. Science and Health puts it this way: “Honesty is spiritual power. Dishonesty is human weakness, which forfeits divine help” (p. 453).

Just recently I had another lesson in expressing Principle. I needed to hook up my computer to a cable service momentarily to activate the wireless network in my new home. However, my computer lacked the necessary cable port. A salesperson at a local computer store said I would need an adapter that cost $30.

“That’s a high price for something I’ll be using for only two minutes and might never need again,” I told him.

“No problem,” he said. “The store has a two-week return policy, so you can just bring the adapter back when you’re done with it and say you want a refund because it didn’t work for you.”

I thought about that as I drove around town on the rest of my errands. I had lots of expenses from my recent move, so it was tempting to save money by doing as he suggested. After some debate, though, I concluded that wouldn’t really be honest. I valued my relationship to God far more than any amount of money, and I wanted to do His will. So after my brief use of the adapter, I put it away and had no further thought of taking it back to the store.

It wasn’t until the next day that I realized I was missing something—my umbrella (again!). I knew I must have left it somewhere along my route as I was running errands, but I’d been in at least half a dozen stores and a cafe. I didn’t have time to hunt down the umbrella, and I was tempted to be afraid that someone had already taken it.

I was about to give up on the umbrella when a thought occurred to me. In acting according to my highest sense of right regarding the adapter, I had been listening to God and living up to my true, spiritual nature as His child. So I did not deserve to lose anything, but only to gain. And furthermore, I reasoned, why should I assume that others wouldn’t also hear and follow God’s guidance? We are all His children, and it’s our God-given nature to express Principle. Wanting something that isn’t rightfully ours isn’t in accord with the reality of our true nature.

With fresh confidence that God was caring for me and all that belonged to me, I called one of the stores I’d shopped in the day before and described my umbrella. The woman who answered the phone said, yes, the umbrella had been turned in by someone who found it in a shopping cart in the parking lot. I drove to the store right away and was so grateful to get my umbrella back. It’s an automatic, heavy-duty umbrella, and replacing it would have cost much more than the amount I would have saved by returning the adapter to the computer store.

I’m sure this won’t be the last lesson I learn about expressing my true nature, which is always obedient to divine Principle. In fact, opportunities are always unfolding to learn and demonstrate more of man’s spiritual integrity. And just as I began to understand when I was ten years old, making an honest response to those opportunities is what gives life meaning and makes us truly happy.