Employment

John Gerard Lord

How often does the question of employment, or the lack of it, present itself to the consciousness of the individual, either as a personal problem or as an industrial situation! Unemployment suggests idleness, bringing in its train lack, unhappiness, depression, discouragement, and often despair. How grateful is the Christian Scientist that when this belief of unemployment presents itself to his thought he is able to meet it with the spiritual understanding which destroys its claim to reality and power!

Webster defines "employment, in part, as "that which engages or occupies; ... office or post of business; service." With the spiritual insight that Christian Science gives us we may consider these definitions of employment and find therein a wealth of meaning that will destroy for us all fear of unemployment or lack of right activity.

"That which engages or occupies" the attention or thought of the student of Christian Science is the study and demonstration of the truth as taught by and exemplified in the life of the beloved Master, and later through our revered Leader, Mary Baker Eddy. He is striving to express in his every activity, be it business, home, or social relations with his fellows, more and more of the Christ-spirit of love, honesty, truth, and unselfishness. Such pure and lofty desire requires constant mental alertness if it is to be maintained at all times and under all circumstances, and the errors of self-seeking and self-love are thereby to be kept out of his consciousness.

"Whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God," the Scriptures admonish. Jesus knew and demonstrated his oneness with the Father. He was always about his Father's business; and the Christian Scientist knows that if he is to be rightly employed, he, too, must be doing his Father's business. He must be constantly alert to see that all he does is good and constructive, redounding to the glory of God. His "office or post of business" is constantly to watch his thoughts, motives, desires, and aims to see that he is harboring or cherishing nothing that is unlike good. The aggressive suggestions of fear and doubt must be put out, self-will and personal desire overcome, and their place filled with the spiritual qualities of confidence, assurance, trustfulness, and a humble willingness cheerfully to do, under divine guidance, whatever comes to his hand to do.

Thus he learns that "service" is the mainspring of all true employment. No one can be truly employed, no person or business can be truly successful, unless his or its activity is based upon the thought of service, of helping to meet in some way the legitimate needs of humanity.

To serve our fellow man! What a wonderfully different concept of employment is that to the one generally held! Has not the thought of men usually been that employment or business meant first and foremost personal gain, the making and accumulating of material wealth? Now comes Christian Science and reverses the order of our thinking. The one seeking employment starts his day with the thought of true service. Having prayed to God, having cleared his thought of self, knowing that God, the Father of all, maintains man, His own idea, in perfect and harmonious activity, one seeks means whereby to glorify the Father in service to others. Knowing that his ability and intelligence to serve are God-given, he seeks to express them every minute of the day, no matter how humbly. Knowing that in thus serving he is serving God, he asks himself, How can I better serve my brother to-day? And he recalls the words of the Master, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."

So, with the thought of loving helpfulness filling his consciousness, one is working under and in accordance with divine law, the law of good, the law of harmony, the law of love. This steady working in accordance with God's law must positively result in right activity and employment, together with the needed supply; for Love supplies its ideas with all that is necessary to maintain them in right activity.

In this way the Christian Scientist is obeying the Scriptural injunction, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness," with the natural and consequent result that "all these things shall be added." Thus one proves for himself the truth of our Leader's statement (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 494), "Divine Love always has met and always will meet every human need."

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