One of the writer's university professors frequently admonished his students to do some worthy thing each day, even though disinclined to do so, and to continue in the doing until the disinclination was mastered. "This," he said, "is self-discipline. It develops character." But true self-discipline can be achieved much more effectively through the understanding of man as ever governed by his cause, divine Mind. This fact is elucidated by Christian Science.
Webster defines "discipline," in part, as "training or course of training which corrects, molds, strengthens, or perfects, esp. a faculty or faculties." We learn in Christian Science that in the universe of God, Mind, there are no faculties needing to be corrected, strengthened, or perfected, for all that Mind creates, partakes of its perfect nature. Mind's creation is its spiritual ideas, which intelligently and harmoniously function under Mind's government. The orderly operation of Mind's government precludes the possibility of inefficiency, inharmony, or deficiency of any sort. This great truth forms the basis of scientific thought.
What, then, is the need for self-discipline? Evil claims the existence of a mind apart from God, and this mind is designated in the Scriptures as "the carnal mind." Mary Baker Eddy in her writings calls it "mortal mind." This false sense of mind arrogantly argues that intelligence is in a material brain, that life is in a mortal body, that substance is matter; and it claims a believer in its lies, called a mortal man.
