Since man is the image and likeness of God, have we not...

George Channing, former Committee on Publication for Northern California, —San Francisco

Parent-Teacher Journal

From Letters, Substantially as Published

Since man is the image and likeness of God, have we not found, in the acknowledgment of that fact, a standard by which self-knowledge may be revealed and self-control practiced? However limited may be our acquaintance with God, whose image and likeness man is, we are more or less aware of certain qualities that express Him, and thus we can begin by recognizing those same qualities as ours. No one would dispute that justice, integrity, usefulness, activity, wisdom, life, love, and holiness belong to God. If we begin practicing these qualities we shall, in the degree that we succeed, become acquainted with our true selves; and self-knowledge, let us remember, is the basis on which we are to know our true character, and accordingly build character in our daily experience.

Why do you and I wish to restore reverence for true character, to teach our children to know their own God-given resources and to use them individually for building their lives? We want our children to develop true character for no other reason than that it is intelligent to do so.

I venture the assertion to you that wherever men are intelligently contributing to solving the problems of human life, there is a definite reaching out and beyond the confines of merely human thinking toward the divine intelligence which outlines the character of man in terms of perfect qualities of Mind. Intelligence is purely spiritual. We are being forced to see that fact. What more intelligent utterance is there than that of Christ Jesus which has been labeled by us as the Golden Rule? So often misunderstood as a mere give-and-take formula of human contact, it is now happily becoming more and more recognized as a purely spiritual precept.

The way to teach character is by example, to impart through the atmosphere of one's own mental dwelling place. The precept without example becomes futile; it must be illustrated by the preceptor in his own conduct.

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