The student of Christian Science, awakening to the immense importance of a right mental attitude in his relations with others, may well ponder the statement of Mary Baker Eddy in the textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (pp. 28, 29), "There is too much animal courage in society and not sufficient moral courage." Mere physical courage, at the mercy, perhaps, of human will, selfishness, and pride, gains its fleeting success without advancing in the path leading from mortal bondage into spiritual freedom.
"I pray not," said Jesus, "that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil." The Master's prayer on behalf of his disciples was not for their seclusion, not for their aloofness from the affairs of men, but for their protection from the temptations which beset them in their contact with the world. He had come to teach men that the kingdom of heaven is not here, not there, but at hand; that it is to be found in the understanding of God, divine Principle, and in the application of Principle in every detail of their lives, even as he applied it unfailingly and with immediate results. It is a kingdom which demands much, but which in return gives everything that it is worth while to possess.
"The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence," Jesus warned them, "and the violent take it by force." In commenting on this our Leader, Mrs. Eddy, has declared (Retrospection and Introspection, p. 79), "Therefore are its spiritual gates not captured, nor its golden streets invaded." All down the ages the words and example of Jesus and the experiences of those who have followed him provide ample evidence that the qualities which insure an entrance through the spiritual gates of revelation, and the eternal inspiration leading one through its golden streets, have no partnership with a violence counterfeiting might. Rather are they one with spiritual strength, which is proved mighty because it is allied with meekness.
