Mankind seek recreation in varieties of ways, but it is the general opinion that life without it would be a poor thing. The pleasure of social intercourse, the joy of traveling, sight-seeing, and above all delight in the arts and music, had seemed very great to me. Being joyous, by reason of the truth I knew, I hardly questioned the nature of the pleasure derived from these things, being content to say, It is God "who giveth us richly all things to enjoy." But there came a day when I thought that too much time was being diverted from the study of Christian Science for recreation, and swift on its heels followed the thought, "Then recreation must be something apart from, opposed to, Christian Science." After this it became evident that recreation must be reduced to terms of Christian Science, and its true function understood, for it could not seem to have place and power in human life if it were not a counterfeit of some spiritual truth.
Mary Baker Eddy says in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 457): "Christian Science is not an exception to the general rule, that there is no excellence without labor in a direct line. One cannot scatter his fire, and at the same time hit the mark." The indication was clear that attainment in Christian Science must be the single aim of the student in every department of life, whether work or play. The dictionary defines recreation as "relief from toil; amusement; refreshment after labor; diversion; relaxation." But this did not help, for metaphysically considered, work in Christian Science is not toil. It is the joyous activity of the one Mind; so relief from the sort of work that reflects God can have no meaning for us.
It was when recreation was looked up in the concordance to Science and Health that the truth about it began to be discerned. On page 205 of Science and Health are these words: "God created all though Mind, and made all perfect and eternal. Where then is the necessity for recreation or procreation? Befogged in error (the error of believing that matter can be intelligent for good or evil), we can catch clear glimpses of God only as the mists disperse, or as they melt into such thinness that we perceive the divine image in some word or deed which indicates the true idea, —the supremacy and reality of good, the nothingness and unreality of evil." To recreate or create anew what is already perfectly done is obviously impossible. God has made His universe perfect and infinite whether we see it or not. Its content is infinite, its identities as varied as the stars and the flowers in our human sight, and as perfect.
