From the world's point of view the answer depends on circumstances. Some may believe a flawless diamond is the ultimate of worth to them. Yet, what use is a diamond to a starving man in a desert? Most people would say that a loaf of bread would do more to keep him alive than the finest stone in the world—or its value in money.

Even so, nourishment to sustain the physical body is not considered by everyone the most important thing in life. There are people who have died of starvation even when food has been available, in protest against inhuman conditions, injustices, tyranny. These people have sincerely believed that, more than life itself, freedom, justice, integrity, and individual religious conviction were worth having. They have demonstrated in their own way that they believe there are physically intangible values worth sacrificing one's very life to protect.

Christ Jesus asked, "What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" ^{Mark 8:36;}

The Master taught that God, Spirit, is the creator and that the substance of all real being is spiritual. Matter is not life or substance. "It is the spirit that quickeneth," he said, "the flesh profiteth nothing." And he continued, "The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." ^{John 6:63;} In his own experience he had proved this.

During his testing time in the wilderness he had been hungry, but despite the temptation to use his power over matter to make stones into bread he referred to the Scriptures, "It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." ^{Matt. 4:4;} After this experience Jesus taught the nature of that Word of God that is spirit and life to those who practice it. The message is summarized in the world's best-known discourse—now generally known as the Sermon on the Mount. Whether the accounts of it in the Gospels (see Matt., Chaps. 5—7, and Luke, Chap. 6) are faithful reports of what he said at one particular time, or whether they constitute collections of his teachings through the years, is academic. It is a priceless analysis of all that is most worth having and doing—the Christliness that, if lived, must bring out in individual experience the sparkling hues of Soul and cause one to be conscious of possessing all the good implied in the biblical term "the kingdom of heaven."

Each section of this sermon, each verse even, highlights a particular aspect of Truth. It glows with the brilliance of divine Love. Taken together, these verses are irradiant with spiritual beauty which, when focused in human life, illumines the character and experience of the individual who embodies their message. Referring to the whole discourse, Mrs. Eddy writes, "The parable of 'the prodigal son' is rightly called 'the pearl of parables,' and our Master's greatest utterance may well be called 'the diamond sermon.'" ^{Retrospection and Introspection, p. 91;}

Among the subjects covered in this sermon are the attitudes of thought and action that cause us to be particularly blessed: spiritual receptivity; recognition of one's need for the truth; meekness (not weakness, but the humility which displays a readiness to give up preconceived concepts for a higher understanding of being); hunger for that which is right; unselfed love, or mercy; purity of heart that does not merely give lip service to God as the Father of all but bears witness to the presence everywhere of His perfect, spiritual universe as the only actuality of being; gentleness and goodwill that promote peace wherever they are expressed; and the patience in time of stress—the consecration to right ideas—that carries us through experiences of cold indifference or ridicule, as well as blatant persecution, for the sake of Christ, Truth.

Besides these Beatitudes, which indicate the basic qualities humanity must express in order to attain the higher enjoyment of Soul's spiritual blessings, the sermon recommends loving others, doing good to all without looking for personal reward. It advises against fear and worrying about the future. It revises and upgrades the meaning of the Ten Commandments to show that it is not enough merely to refrain from killing and committing adultery. One's thoughts and motives should be strictly pure, benevolent, selfless, subordinate to the law of universal love. One should always be wishing others well, working for their good.

The Sermon on the Mount teaches us to pray so as to get results of healing for ourselves and others. It exhorts us to be single-minded in serving God, good, to have confidence in His care, to have faith that He supplies the needs of all His children, and to act toward society as we would wish to be treated. If we do these things, basing our lives on spiritual values, not material, it assures us, we will be secure, as though founded on a rock. We will be strong, confident, prosperous, happy. We will love and be loved.

Indeed, this teaching is the very bread of life, the essence of the Christly way that leads to the demonstration of eternal Life. It summarizes the things of true value to humanity that will assure for us now an experience of real worth. Mrs. Eddy writes, "To my sense the Sermon on the Mount, read each Sunday without comment and obeyed throughout the week, would be enough for Christian practice." ^{Message to The Mother Church for 1901, p. 11.}

Many students of Christian Science have adopted this weekly study.

Naomi Price