THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT

[Of Special Interest to Children]

MARY F. MOORE

John's school was not far from his home, and yet sometimes he got there late. His friend Bill lived on the way, and John was often tempted to stop and talk to him. One morning when John went puffing into school, he found that the teacher had just completed a list of children who were to visit the local post office as a special treat that afternoon. He was sorry to be left out, and when he went home told his mother about it. She lovingly assured him that he could learn to be on time.

John went to the Christian Science Sunday School. So on the next Sunday he set out, meaning to talk to his Sunday School teacher about his difficulty. But, to his dismay, when he got to Sunday School he was late again. After the singing of a hymn, the class was ready to start studying the lesson, which was on the eighth commandment. When John was asked if he knew it, he repeated it from memory (Ex. 20: 15): "Thou shalt not steal."

John was very much surprised to have his teacher tell him that he had broken it, and he immediately protested that he had not stolen anything. Then she explained that the Manual of The Mother Church by Mary Baker Eddy says that Sunday School should begin with a call to order by the superintendent and that then all should join in singing a hymn; but because he had not come in until the hymn was half over, he had stolen several minutes of the Sunday School time.

John listened very carefully and learned that God gives one the ability to do right and to be obedient. He also discovered to his surprise that there were other ways of stealing besides taking material things from people. For instance, the teacher read this passage from "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mrs. Eddy (p. 241): "Falsehood, envy, hypocrisy, malice, hate, revenge, and so forth, steal away the treasures of Truth."

When John arrived home he asked his father if he could borrow the old watch that was called the turnip, because he thought it would remind him to be on time. So the turnip ended a long sleep and lay on a chair while John dressed, or on the table while he ate his breakfast, ticking away and pointing out the time faithfully. It helped him so much that soon he was never late either at day school or at Sunday School. Instead, he arrived on time and sat grinning happily.

Then one day Bill, who at first had not minded John's not stopping in the morning, began to tease him. Bill taunted him by saying he was scared of being late. And when John answered stanchly that he wasn't scared, but that he didn't want to be late, Bill threw a lump of dirt, which hit John on the nose.

At midday John burst into the house and told his mother that he didn't like Bill and that he would never speak to him again. When she asked why, and he told her, he was surprised that she answered, "I thought you'd given up stealing and letting error steal from you."

"I have," he answered. But he stopped suddenly, for he remembered what his Sunday School teacher had said about wrong thoughts seeming to steal away the treasures of Truth.

In the meantime his mother had taken up Science and Health and opened it to pages 476 and 477. She read aloud: "Jesus beheld in Science the perfect man, who appeared to him where sinning mortal man appears to mortals. In this perfect man the Saviour saw God's own likeness, and this correct view of man healed the sick."

John ate his meal thoughtfully. And next morning he set out for school even earlier than usual, because he wanted to see Bill. When he came home for lunch, he was all smiles. He said that he felt all right about Bill, now that he'd told him everything, and that Bill was going to help him be on time.

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