"The maximum of perfection"

Violet Ker Seymer

On page 232 of "Miscellaneous Writings" Mrs. Eddy writes, "Proportionately as we part with material systems and theories, personal doctrines and dogmas, meekly to ascend the hill of Science, shall we reach the maximum of perfection in all things."

"The maximum of perfection" is and always has been the fundamental fact regarding God, man, and all creation. It knows no lapse, but is continually being demonstrated by Mind's manifestation. Every case of healing in Christian Science results from a change in human thought, from a glint of perfect divinity bringing clarity and blessing to whoever reflects it.

In order to succeed in each metaphysical task confronting us—and every task is primarily metaphysical—we must continually lay off deterrents to progress. We should give ever clearer evidence in human ways of the omnipresence of divine perfection. Are we still crediting material theories relating to health and heredity, or human doctrines regarding God? If so, these general misbeliefs, contrary to Truth, must be parted with before thought can rise, unfettered, to the spiritual recognition of "the maximum of perfection in all things."

Perception of one's present possibilities as God's witness should be widened, for these words of Paul apply to every true witness: "Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand." There is no evil in God by which man could be bewildered or deceived. Faultless Truth is the creator of man; and he can bear witness to nothing but the truth of being. He knows nothing else, and there is nothing which can actually be known but the truth about God, man, and all creation. Inevitably, man is God's witness.

Christian Science imparts elasticity and expansion to thought. The old habit of looking up to God from supposed valleys of sin and finity is exchanged in Christian Science for the spiritual outlook which cognizes only the reality of creation.

On page 10 of "Unity of Good" Mrs. Eddy writes: "To attempt the calculation of His mighty ways, from the evidence before the material senses, is fatuous. It is like commencing with the minus sign, to learn the principle of positive mathematics." What might be called minus thinking starts from the fictitious evidence of the five senses and is apt to be expressed in pain, sorrow, poverty, and other objectified mental fallacies. Nothing is to be gained by dwelling upon lack, but everything is to be won by pondering the manifestation in man of everlasting life, vision, and spiritual dominion; for that on which we meditate we reflect in our lives, through consecration. In Christian Science evil is seen as a superstition which the knowledge and application of truth can destroy. This teaching transfigures human thought and unveils the harmony and dominion of spiritual existence here and now.

"The maximum of good is the infinite God and His idea, the All-in-all" (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy, p. 103). This is the established fact of God and His idea, and it leaves no room for false belief. Therefore the Christian Scientist's denial of evil should be as profound and emphatic as his affirmation of good. His "nay" should be as positive as his "yea"; his door as sealed to false beliefs as it is open to true ideas. Then the dream of duality will vanish in singleness of heart. As the maximum of good is dwelt upon with reverence and gladness, it will so permeate consciousness that the superstitions of material sense, together with their outward consequences, will fade out before spiritual enlightenment. There is no room for ghostly beliefs in Truth's reflection, which is wholly good and spiritually substantial.

In every demonstration we should seek to bring out the maximum of good in the minimum amount of time. Infinite good is indivisible and, scientifically speaking, is all that really exists. God imparts neither minimum qualities nor quantities, for the perfect and infinite Giver can bestow no less than perfect and infinite gifts. Hence the Christian Scientist is learning to discard the minus class of thinking. He is ceasing to uphold falsity, and is the courageous champion of spiritual reality. In obedience to the command of Jesus, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect," he is acquiring a larger view of the healing power of God, and of the completeness of man as the compound idea of divine Mind. In a word, his thought is not centered on lack, but on supply. He is persistently holding his thought to the maximum of right expectation based on the grand fact already quoted: "The maximum of good is the infinite God and His idea, the All-in-all." This statement in the present tense covers all eternity and is therefore demonstrable, for it points to the perfect and permanent individuality of every man, woman, and child.

Violet Ker Seymer

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Editorial

Spirituality and Health

January 23, 1932

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