Christian Science is a practical religion; that is why so many business men have to-day embraced its teachings. It has often been said drat the commercial code of honor could not be made to fit in with the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount. When that teaching is interpreted materially, obedience to it does seem difficult; but when the words of our Master are illumined by the study of the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mary Baker Eddy, it is readily seen that underlying them is the very foundation of true success. The only success worth having is that which results from right doing, and the sooner the business community gains the certain conviction that true prosperity can only be found as a result of strict obedience to Principle, the quicker it will be freed from its present discordant conditions.
All the trouble arises to-day from a mistaken sense of substance. Men think that in striving after material wealth they are seeking for that which is necessary to their well-being, and the feverish desire to possess more matter is the cause of all the strife in the world to-day. Jesus said, "What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" Mrs. Eddy says (Miscellany, p. 278), "Victory in error is defeat in Truth." How often do we strive for a material thing, and when it has been gained find ourselves as unsatisfied as before.
Happiness cannot be gained through matter, and humanity is finding this out to-day. The carnal mind can never produce good, and the awakening of the world to this fact is seen in the social upheaval everywhere. The world generally does not as yet recognize this, but the Christian Scientist knows that the present chemicalization is just the activity of divine Principle in the hearts of men. Humanity to-day, in its perplexity, is longing to find a way out, and this is why it is necessary to-day more than ever before for students of Christian Science to show such a light to the world that the world cannot help but see that light.
