THE possibilities for good inherent in each individual leave mortals without excuse for the failure to practise the best they know. The plea of personal inaptitude, or that one's circumstances and environment are unfavorable to spiritual growth, may appear plausible to human judgment, but they exempt no one from God's requirements. To grow in the knowledge and demonstration of infinite good is all that progress in Christian Science means, and no one is placed where he cannot be a little better, a little more Godlike, from day to day. One would hesitate to admit an aptitude for the wrong, or that so-called evil power is more easily understood and relied upon than omnipotent good; yet this is what the plea of spiritual incompetency really amounts to. The argument that would disparage one's own abilities or opportunities should be routed as an enemy, if we would not be robbed of the benefits of that honest, faithful work of which all are capable. To judge by present appearance, we may seem indeed far behind in the race, and to lack much of the good which others realize; but the Master's rule was, "Judge not according to the appearance." We are no doubt receiving more than appears on the surface, and in due time the full measure of our worthiness will be revealed.
In the science of numbers, to use a familiar and apt illustration, there is no possible discrimination as to the ease or difficulty with which different students understand and apply its rules. It is not the fault of mathematics that some students are more diligent or more earnest than others. Although some may find their tasks comparatively hard, and may yield temporarily to a sense of failure and inability, it is known that the mastery of mathematics is open to all alike. Likewise, it is not special privilege or endowment, but faithfulness, perseverance, and love that do God's work.
The teacher sometimes finds that when a scholar says he cannot work out the problems assigned to him, it is not because he is unable, but because he is unwilling to give the time and application which may be necessary. He would rather play than do his work, unless it can be done with little trouble to himself. As we are but "children of a larger growth," may not the same mental laziness be the chief obstacle to our progress in Christian Science? The desire for entertainment, sensuous pleasure, or the possession of wealth, often leads mortals to forego the opportunity for spiritual advancement; but this order must be reversed, and worldly attractions be sacrificed "for the kingdom of heaven's sake," before the Master's word can be fully realized. His promise is that we shall receive, even in this present time, a hundredfold return of all that we have sacrificed; that is, we shall find a hundredfold more joy in present associations and experiences because of the spiritual understanding which we have gained.
