Most persons participate in the common practice of judging others. It seems very easy to slip into the habit of erroneous judgement, labeling one as indolent, another as selfish or ungrateful, and so on through all the list of mortal failings. And yet how little the one who judges others likes unkind judgment of himself! In the sunshine of love and trust we can all blossom and even put forth fruit; but when the chill winds of criticism blow, we shiver and begin to wonder whether it is possible for us to flower. So, through harsh judgment, sad hearts are made sadder and timid ones more fearful.

Children, who so often teach us helpful lessons, may well be observed in this respect. For illustration: a school girl was once sent to a distant city to board with a stranger. Thinking her hostess kind and interesting, she was very happy in her temporary home. Years afterwards she was amazed to be told that others esteemed her one-time guardian very differently, calling her penurious, spiteful, and disagreeable in the extreme. Thinking it over one can only suppose that innocence and ready affection had obtained a glimpse of the true character, and that happiness had been the result.

To avoid judging erroneously and unkindly we must become both more childlike and more attentive to our thought-processes. Most of us desire to live up to Jesus' commandment, "Judge not;" but if uninstructed in the things of God we find it almost impossible to do so. We judge as we see, according to worldly knowledge, and oftentimes with grave results. But on the whole mankind would like to be kinder, would like to find a remedy for the sins of the world, and would also like to achieve righteous judgment.

The study of Christian Science is a great help in this respect, for it leads thought to fundamentals and helps us to relate the real man to his Maker, God. It shows us, too, that to love our neighbor as ourself is the only right way of thinking about another; and this means knowing that everyone is in reality a child of God, and that the true, spiritual man is and ever has been the reflection of God, and so Godlike. As we hold such views firmly in thought, we can forget seeming personal injuries and help one another; for as our Leader, out of her own rich experience, writes in "Miscellaneous Writings" (p. 62), "Holding the right idea of man in my mind, I can improve my own, and other people's individuality, health, and morals."

If we are bent on achieving a helpful life, there are many truths set forth by Mrs. Eddy in the Christian Science text-book, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," which will assist us in this direction. Studying these statements of Truth we can help ourselves and others, and thus make progress. Deep within our hearts we all have a hope that we shall be fairly judged even in our human character. When, therefore, we are tempted to judge another, we should remember what we have learned of the true individuality of man. We must acknowledge that our neighbor is as precious to God as we ourselves are; and we shall thus be saved from adding our wrong thinking to his problem.

There is another aspect of this admonition. Taken by themselves the words "Judge not" have often been used with a tinge of asperity. We need to remember that this is but half of the commandment, and that the other half, "that ye be not judged," reveals Jesus' care and concern for his disciples, who, tempted to false judgment, might thereby lose the happiness bound to be theirs when thought was pure and kind. Such tenderness was part of our Lord's practice; and to understand this is to be better equipped to follow his example. If the reward of right thinking sometimes seems long delayed, we may remember that, in the sweet words of a poet, "love of Christ will win man's love at last," and meanwhile go on praying that through "the knowledge of the Son of God" we may all come speedily "unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ."