WE are told in the Bible that "the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever." There are a promise and a prospect in this verse which certainly merit careful consideration. To give this consideration, both the nature and the requirement of righteousness need to be understood, the one to be sought out and the other fulfilled. True righteousness goes far beyond the human sense of being upright or just. In a higher and more spiritual significance the word implies the regular practice of right thinking and acting. In the ultimate it means abiding by and reflecting divine Principle, or living in accord with the highest concept of God, good, forever. Mary Baker Eddy says in "The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany" (pp. 273, 274), "The divine Science of Life alone gives the true sense of life and of righteousness, and demonstrates the Principle of life eternal; even the Life that is Soul apart from the so-called life of matter or the material senses."
At the outset it is evident that this demonstration of right thinking and acting must be individual and continuous. Obviously it cannot be accomplished for us by anyone else. It should be equally clear that there can be nothing intermittent about the expression of man's nature as the reflection of God, for He is Himself unchanging and eternal. Logically regarded, neither changes in worldly conditions nor the mere passage of time can alter or remit the necessity for righteousness. Such a spiritual attitude cannot be dropped and adopted again when it seems convenient. We cannot even swerve a little to the right or left as a matter of policy, if we wish to obtain the blessings foretold by the prophet. Nor should we hesitate to put into practice what we have already learned of the requirements of righteousness.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told his disciples (Matt. 5:6), "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled." Happily for us our Leader has given us all that we can ever need in the way of instruction in the paths of righteousness. Every one of her inspired writings contains the same consistent and logical teachings with this end in view. It now remains for us to foster each righteous desire, to assert our freedom to practice righteousness, and then to strengthen our ability with constant exercise and singleness of purpose. Truth will unfold in our consciousness just as fast as we are prepared to receive it.
We have no more precious inheritance than our ability to hear the still small voice of Truth, but we must make use of it continually. More and more should we adopt and put into practice the art of listening for the Word of God. As long as we continue to listen for and accept Truth, we automatically repudiate and silence false witnesses and recognize the unreality of their evidence, whether it seems mental or physical. Then will our judgment be correct and carry with it the unquestionable authority of Truth which empowers righteous thinking and frees the oppressed, the suffering, and the sinning.
To those who have gained the authority which comes from spiritual understanding there can never come a day when they can relinquish this exalted state. They can never say, "I have done enough, and probably more than my share." As long as there is any evil or discordant evidence put forward there is for each of us the responsibility of repudiating it and asserting in its place the true facts of being, as taught in Christian Science. We must continue in this work until the truth is clearly and forever established in our consciousness. Evil has no existence, authority, or manifestation, except insofar as it gains acceptance in our personal thinking. In its place the infinite reality of good must eventually predominate. Good must finally absorb our entire attention to the exclusion of evil suggestions and all false sense testimony. We should only delay our own experience of the promised peace if we slackened our effort or ceased to manifest spiritual activity in reaching the goal. Error is never too big or too small to be worth immediate repudiation and denial.
In giving us a special word of guidance in her Message to The Mother Church for 1900, our Leader says (p. 2), "The song of Christian Science is, 'Work—work—work —watch and pray.' " Her admonition particularly rules out the subtle temptations of expediency, selfishness, idleness, and deceit —all the result of listening to the suggestions of personal sense, that limited, material misconception of existence which does not recognize man as the reflection of God.
Personal sense is the very opposite of righteousness. One of the greatest blessings conferred by righteous thinking is that it brings freedom from the tyranny of personal sense. We learn that we need not regard ourselves and others as erring human beings with limitations, needs, false qualities, and an undesirable individuality. We do not really have to remain in slavery to ourselves or to others. The righteous thought can at all times know man as the expression of all the qualities of God. He can be nothing more; we should accept nothing less. We should seek to recognize all of good for God's man, not for a material selfhood.
It is so easy to criticize and condemn our fellow man and to say that we should have done so differently if placed in his position. What is this but accepting the suggestion of personal sense? We should be more awake, instead, to what is the true situation and cling to the concept of God's man, forever acting in obedience to His commands and reflecting Love. This attitude inevitably brings healing and blessings to all concerned. The one who has less condemnation or criticism in thought and a greater sense of true righteousness is the one to whom the inquirer is drawn when needing help and comfort.
All righteous thought must emanate from God; therefore our ideas will become less and less tainted with personal opinions as we cultivate righteousness. Our thought will become more and more effective in its healing ability and our words of consolation more easily acceptable to those making their first investigation of Christian Science. We can take no credit personally for these ideas of Truth which come to us; we can but use them and pass them on. In so doing we are fitted to receive more. In the same way we should always be able to rejoice and not be jealous if a friend has a receptive consciousness and is able to hear and give out the message of Truth.
Self-condemnation may sometimes seek to prevent the utterance of testimony to the power of Truth or stop one from giving a word of comfort on the grounds of his unworthiness. Such a thought is but another suggestion of personal sense. Paul's active missionary work after his conversion is evidence that we need not let a personal concept of our shortcomings prevent us from recognizing that we must always accept and utilize right thoughts. If a right thought comes to us it should be used and shared; it is needed and has come to us for a purpose.
Idleness deprives us and those around us of a recognition of the activity of righteousness. Good is forever unfolding, but it is most clear to those who are alert and active in moving along the pathway leading towards righteousness. If we are not taking our place in this forward move, we should ask ourselves if we are not hindering others and probably adding to the work they have to do.
Touching the subtle suggestion of expediency, our Leader counsels us (Miscellaneous Writings, p. 288), "Wisdom in human action begins with what is nearest right under the circumstances, and thence achieves the absolute." Let us remember that it is all a question of what is uppermost in our own thinking. We must get our thought clear first and remember that nothing is ever gained and no progress is ever made in giving in to error, or admitting that false thinking has power or should be dealt with leniently. If we can see the utter powerlessness and impersonality of error, we shall be able to maintain our righteousness and rise above the falsity, so that it neither harms us nor seems to cause confusion or discord around us.
Those near and dear to us are not helped onward by our accepting into our consciousness any argument on behalf of error. Daniel went into the lions' den, but he entertained neither fear nor resentment, nor did he contemplate any withdrawal from his upright thinking and reliance on God. He knew evil and antagonism to be impersonal. We cannot hurt the feelings of God's children, and they certainly cannot hurt ours. Under every circumstance we shall be led onward and upward as we hold fast to upright thinking and refuse to admit that evil can be voiced or accepted by God's child. He can neither utilize evil nor be used by evil. God is the only power. Jesus made this clear in another beatitude, which reads, "Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for their's is the kingdom of heaven." To hold fast to Truth is to be conscious of the ever-presence and omnipotence of God, or good.
Deceit and hypocrisy are still present if our inward thinking and outward speech and action are not in unison. It is easier to adopt a Christian appearance and indulge in small talk than to keep thought on the highest level. It is right to avoid any action which would set a bad example, and it is natural to avoid saying anything which would bring criticism; but if we are to be entirely honest we should measure our thought, speech, and deeds by divine Principle, irrespective of whether the word or act can be noticed by those around us.
Finally it should be seen that the practice of righteousness calls for no elaborate equipment or prolonged training. It can be started here and now with our present understanding. Environment, age, occupation, and nationality cannot hinder our effort. We need only to heed the challenge, "Is this activity, this argument, this appearance which is before us the unfoldment of God's work?" If it is, it is perfect, permanent, and ours to enjoy. If it is not, we must reject it and deny it reality, power, presence, or any ability to influence us in any way, because we know that actually we are God's children, abiding in His righteousness here and now. In this way we shall eventually recognize that the kingdom of righteousness, with its peace, quietness, and assurance, forever is ours.
