IN her Message to The Mother Church for 1901 (pp. 32, 33) Mrs. Eddy speaks of the "old-fashioned leaders of religion" whose "piety was the all-important consideration of their being, the original beauty of holiness that to-day seems to be fading so sensibly from our sight." As we see so many faces marked by unlovely traits, it is easy to grasp her meaning. Real beauty is the manifestation of holiness, the flowering of spirituality; it is much more than the false sense of beauty as material. We see this spiritual beauty shining in the faces of those from whose thoughts worldliness has been washed away, and purity, self-control, and compassion put in its place, the compelling loveliness of spiritual thinking, which makes the sick and sorrowing eager to learn more of Christian Science.
How impressive to others may be the visible signs of an understanding of Truth is seen in an incident involving a woman whose custom it was to ride on a streetcar used by Christian Scientists on their way to church. She early noticed the happy expression on their faces; and as a result of her observation she was led to investigate Christian Science for herself.
Our Leader gives us a particularly forceful admonition on page 404 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," where she writes, "If a man is an inebriate, a slave to tobacco, or the special servant of any one of the myriad forms of sin, meet and destroy these errors with the truth of being,—by exhibiting to the wrongdoer the suffering which his submission to such habits brings, and by convincing him that there is no real pleasure in false appetites." Popular beliefs would belittle the importance of eschewing such practices, or of refusing to use what are called "harmless" drugs. But as Christian Scientists, we cannot be too emphatic in avoiding all impurity, every slightest departure from the true standard. Only thus can we fit ourselves to be Truth's loyal exponents, and be able to destroy sin and disease, and comfort the sorrowing. The spiritual beauty which comes with Christlikeness "fadeth not away" with the years, for time is not a factor in its possession; it is not superficial, but eternal.
