CHRISTIAN SCIENTISTS sometimes feel it a hardship that their friends, and possibly the public in general, are holding them to what a lawyer would call strict accountability; in other words, that their every word and act is being weighed and measured by the standard of that perfection which Christ Jesus enjoined and exemplified in his words and works. There is, however, no reason why this seeming requirement should disturb them, for no higher tribute could be paid to the teachings of Christian Science than is implied in the demand that those who have accepted these teachings as their guide to eternal life shall be perfect, even as their Father in heaven is perfect.
As Christian Scientists they recognize that it is their duty to strive earnestly to be as good and as consistent in their daily walk and conversation as Jesus commanded them to be, and while they do not claim for themselves that they have "already attained, either were already perfect," nevertheless they are endeavoring, as did the apostle himself, to "follow after." Our beloved Leader emphasizes the importance of patterning after this high ideal when she says, "We must form perfect models in thought and look at them continually, or we shall never carve them out in grand and noble lives"(Science and Health, p. 248). If Christian Scientists are honestly, earnestly, and persistently doing this, they can say with Paul, "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."
As a matter of fact it is good for Christian Scientists to be held to the Decalogue and the Sermon on the Mount for their standard of conduct, and they should not complain of this, but rather welcome such criticism as may spur them on to greater endeavor in the line of truth and righteousness. The Master said to his disciples: "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid." As the "light of the world" they were to shine before men, that their "good works" might glorify the Father. Even though our good "be evil spoken of," nevertheless we are to continue in well-doing "till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ."
Our friends have a right to expect of us that we adhere closely to the tenets of our church, that it be our constant endeavor to "watch, and pray for that Mind to be in us which was also in Christ Jesus; to do unto others as we would have them do unto us; and to be merciful, just, and pure"(Science and Health, p. 497); and while as individuals we may not always arrive at this goal of Christian Science, it is our duty to make the attempt. If we aim to reach the mark on all occasions, we shall succeed in enough instances to warrant our friends in finally concluding that there is something in Christian Science that is really worth trying, and thus one after another will be added to the rapidly increasing number of those who have found God to be ever "a very present help in trouble."
