A LEADING doctrine in practically all religions has been the necessity for humility in approaching God. No approach was deemed possible without this quality being present in large measure in the mental attitude of the devotee. In the earlier developments of religious thought, God was conceived of as an exalted material being with human passions. The demand for humility before such a deity was personal, very much as a dread monarch demands abject submission on the part of his subjects as tangible evidence of his power. Such humility was not intended to benefit the individual, but to gratify the pride of the monarch.
In cases where spiritual understanding had risen to a truer concept of God, and the absolute qualities of love and truth were assigned to Him, the demand for humility could not be explained on the basis of gratification of material pride or of satisfying any weakness in God. Humility in such a case could not contribute anything to God, who is infinite, perfect, and complete, but it could benefit men by placing them in a proper mental attitude to understand reality.
In Christian Science, humility benefits mortals and is not intended to add anything to God, who needs no help from sources outside of Himself. In order for mortals to conceive of the allness of God, they must realize the nothingness of anything apart from God and His manifestation. As Mrs. Eddy states in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 468), "All is infinite Mind and its infinite manifestation, for God is All-in-all." As a most important factor in the gaining of spiritual truth, the nothingness of a false sense of self must be realized; and only through humility can this be done. One must have considerable humility to practice the doctrine that involves the effacement of a false selfhood; for at times it may seem like the suppression of one's only identity. The quality of meekness at such times is absolutely necessary to carry one over from the false to the true. In "Miscellaneous Writings" (p. 1) Mrs. Eddy writes: "Humility is the stepping-stone to a higher recognition of Deity. The mounting sense gathers fresh forms and strange fire from the ashes of dissolving self, and drops the world." How essential it is to be humble if one is to claim nothing for one's self and to maintain that God is All!
