EACH day we hear from all sides of the great longing of most men for the abolishment of war and the permanent establishment of peace. The Christian Scientist heartily concurs in this aspiration and supports all right endeavor leading to this goal. At the same time he realizes that peace, like other fruits of Spirit so desirable for mankind in general, must first be attained in each individual consciousness; that a harmonious world can result only from harmonious thinking, and that his first duty in aiding a peace movement is to eliminate from his own mentality all thoughts of hostility.
But, one may say, surely this does not apply to me, because I abhor war and am ready to do anything in my power to outlaw it. Let us not feel too sure of ourselves in this respect. Let us consider the subject further.
In the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 340), Mrs. Eddy tells us that "the divine Principle of the First Commandment bases the Science of being;" and says, "One infinite God, good, unifies men and nations; constitutes the brotherhood of man; ends wars; fulfils the Scripture, 'Love thy neighbor as thyself.'" Have we carefully noted the significant word "thou" in the commandments? Not in the first place nations, not governments, not arbitration societies, but "thou" art to love God supremely, and thy neighbor as thyself! Until this is accomplished in our own thinking can we truly say that we have ourselves demonstrated the peace-loving spirit? How this inquiry shifts the scene of possible contention from some vague foreign front to the field of battle in our own consciousness, exactly where or in whatever situation we happen to be!
