Perhaps the first thing which the beginner in Christian Science has impressed upon him is the necessity of work. Not play-work; not spasmodic efforts, but, in the words of Mrs. Eddy, "persistent, unremitting, straightforward toil;" and if he possesses a fair amount of common-sense he will probably have learned, before coming into Science, that not much progress is made in the spiritual life by piously folding one's hands, gazing meditatively at the ceiling for hours, and singing, "I want to be an angel." If the learner is so follish as not to have seen this before becoming a Scientist, he will afterward see it, unless there is an unusually large beam in his eye. Once alive to the importance of earnest, practical work, he is probably fired with a mighty zeal to rush off and heal the sicknesses and sins of the whole world, overlooking the fact that there is one very important thing which is first to be attained, namely, self-conquest. For Christian Science is stern, as it is sweet, and says to the human selfishness in us, "dust to dust;" and under its loving discipline the poor "I" and "me" and "my" get so many hard hits that they are quite breathless; and thus abased, "me" gains a new understanding of what work in Christian Science means, and with chastened hearts this "me" seeks to gain something of that divine charity whose brightest crown is humility, among whose loveliest attributes are meekness and patience, and which seeketh not her own, but another's good.
About a year ago it was my good fortune to get a little taste of the beauty, purity, and spirituality which go with the healing work; and having had some success, I was filled with a great desire to devote myself to it entirely if might be, when lo! it was taken away, and I was called upon to do material work of a nature which was especially irksome and upleasant—in a word, housework. At such a sudden turn of affairs one's feelings are apt to be somewhat blank, to say the least. But if we are true Christian Scientists, we soon see that if we would not be unprofitable servants, seeking our own instead of the Father's will, we must cheerfully do the work which is required of us, knowing that this selfsame work which is given us to do is the very thing which, if taken up in the right spirit, will most swiftly aid us in our spiritual progress, and bring us nearer to those unseen things which we long for. How foolish, then, as well as wrong, to rebel and complain, and thus stand in our own light! Thus did divine Principle teach a valuable lesson in obedience.
But the lesson was not learned immediately. At first the contest with the material work was exceedingly warm, and it must be confessed the enemy had a very nice time. It had things gloriously its own way for a while; but gradually light and help came, chiefly through two or three strong, practical articles in the Journal and Sentinel, and thus courage was gained to go cheerfully onward.
