MEN speak of the art of giving, but the Science of giving alone teaches how and when to give, and, most important of all, the source whence all true giving emanates.
The impulse to give love and gratitude, compassion and forbearance, in the service of mankind or in devotion to an individual, has been the inspiration of many a human sacrifice; but, circumscribed within the limits of personal endeavor, it has been handicapped both in its purpose and in its accomplishment. "Only what God gives, and what we give ourselves and others through His tenure, confers happiness," Mary Baker Eddy has written on page 17 of her Message to The Mother Church for 1902. Those seeking to lay their all upon the altar of service, have more often failed owing to lack of wisdom than to lack of desire. Hence the dis-illusionments, the disappointments, the failures, resulting from human efforts embarked upon with eagerness and courage, yet without the essentials which make for true success.
It is only in Christian Science that the individual learns the art of giving and the spiritual nature of that which he has to give, not out of a personal store, limited in essence and in capacity, but out of that pure source which knows neither diminution nor exhaustion, whatever the demands upon it may be. He finds, in fact, that as he gains an understanding of the nature of God, designated by Mrs. Eddy as "the great Giver" (Science and Health, p. 112), it dawns upon him for the first time how and what it is that he, as Mind's expression, has to give.
