Notwithstanding a sincere desire to overcome the pernicious habit of faultfinding, one is sometimes humiliated on giving way to an impulsive denunciation of another's seeming shortcomings. Though the lapse may be instantly regretted, only the wholesome and stabilizing influence of Christian Science can restore in one's consciousness the spiritual perception of the man whom God created in His own likeness, thereby nullifying the disappointing sense-impressions which seemed so obvious and real.
These encouraging words of our revered Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, inspire the downcast student with fresh courage: she says, "Experience is victor, never the vanquished; and out of defeat comes the secret of victory" (Miscellaneous Writings, p. 339). Remorse should rouse one to find "the secret of victory," namely, the holding of all one's thinking to the fact that God has endowed man with intelligence, perseverance, and compassion, and that there is no mortal law to prevent the consummation of this ideal in practice.
An intelligent appraisal of anything depends on the correct valuation of its origin, worth, and genuineness. Christian Science teaches that the fundamental fact of existence is that man is God's eternal and exact image, and expresses without interruption all the divine attributes. By this righteous standard His children must be measured and accurately judged.
