Responsibility

Evelyn F. Heywood

God, the divine Principle of man and the universe, is alone responsible for that which He outlines and maintains. In oneness with this eternal purpose, man fulfills the sole responsibility which is his—obedience to the divine will. Christ Jesus recognized no other behest and sought to fulfill no other requirement than to bear witness to the divine nature. In confirmation of this he told those who were willing to listen to him that the two great commandments on which "hang all the law and the prophets" consist of loving God, wholly and primarily, and one's neighbor as oneself.

Without a willingness to obey the First Commandment, men find themselves powerless either to understand or to conform faithfully to the second. Sometimes because of indifference, at other times moved by fear because of their own precarious involvement, as in the case of Cain, they ask, "Am I my brother's keeper?"

The fact is that our brother, the man for whom God is responsible, whom we are responsible for seeing in His likeness, is never outside our keeping. To maintain the thought of him untouched by condemnation, as did Jesus, even while we see clear-eyed, without partiality, without indifference, the dangers and falsities with which the counterfeit presentment may be involved, is to walk unscathed and yet constantly alert amongst the shoals and quicksands of material sense. This is the great teaching of Christian Science, as revealed to us by Mary Baker Eddy, wherein she elucidates for us the meaning, the practical availability, of the Christ-example. On page 18 of the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," she writes of Jesus: "He did life's work aright not only in justice to himself, but mercy to mortals,—to show them how to do theirs, but not to do it for them nor to relieve them of a single responsibility."

Every day, every moment of the day, men are responsible for their thoughts, their actions, their outlook and decisions, with regard to all that presents itself to them for collaboration and acceptance, for repudiation and denial. They alone must decide whether they accept as real the arguments which present themselves as sickness and sin, and what shall be their part in connection with them. Only in doing "life's work aright" will their responsibility be fulfilled; only thus can they obey the two commandments enjoined upon them by Jesus.

There is never any lack of opportunity, whether individual or collective, of pouring in the oil and the wine of true brotherhood, of binding up the wounds inflicted by hatred and greed. None can congratulate himself merely on the fact that he is neither the attacker nor the attacked, or that he is free to pass by without responsibility on the other side. In the parable of the Good Samaritan the only one who did "life's work aright" was he who was willing to be responsible for bringing salvation and deliverance.

Men shelve their responsibilities for many reasons: because they have not sufficient love in their hearts; because they are selfish, apathetic, afraid. Omitting to put God first, they do not even give their brother a second place. Indeed, like Cain, if they find him in the way, they may, though not as violently, seek to get rid of him. All rivalry, greed, envy, even indifference to another's needs, are in the nature of fratricide, robbing themselves of what they withhold, bent only upon gratifying their own ambitions, enforcing their own will.

When he looks out upon the world of today, with its vital need of the truth, as revealed by our beloved Leader, there must be uppermost in the thought of every earnest Christian of "Miscellaneous Writings": "Are we duly aware of our own great opportunities and responsibilities? Are we prepared to meet and improve them, to act up to the acme of divine energy wherewith we are armored?"

None knew with deeper prophetic discernment than did she, the urgency of this request. The argument of disease and disaster as inevitable, of cruelty and deception claiming to dominate and influence—these conspiracies against freedom and enlightenment—it is the Christian Scientist's responsibility to uncover and to destroy. Only he who recognizes the powerlessness of these seeming forces to overthrow the spiritual idea, can undertake with courage and with confidence to be his brother's keeper, whoever, wherever, he may be. After further questioning her followers as to their willingness thus to consecrate themselves, Mrs. Eddy concludes with an imperative command (ibid., p. 177): "Will you give yourselves wholly and irrevocably to the great work of establishing the truth, the gospel, and the Science which are necessary to the salvation of the world from error, sin, disease, and death? Answer at once and practically, and answer aright!"

Evelyn F. Heywood

Send a comment to the editors

NEXT IN THIS ISSUE

Item of Interest

March 9, 1940

Contents

We'd love to hear from you!

Easily submit your testimonies, articles, and poems online.

Submit