Obedience is recognized as an essential factor in promoting harmony and maintaining law and order in society. We are aware of the necessity for willing submission to authority and have witnessed the effects of obedience in our homes, in schools, in business, and in the armed forces. Christian Science teaches that God, divine Principle, is the Supreme Ruler over all—the only cause and therefore the only lawgiver. It becomes apparent to the student of Christian Science that complete obedience to God is indispensable in order for him to experience peace, joy, and lasting harmony. Suffering, lack, disorder, friction, sorrow, and war are the direct results of unintentional or willful disobedience to divine law.
The prophet Isaiah assured the people of his day that obedience brings its own reward when he said (Isa. 1:19), "If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land." This Scriptural promise is as applicable and demonstrable today as it was in the prophet's time. It points to the unlimited, unbroken supply of good which is the sure reward for all who seek diligently to know the divine will, and who obey God's commands consistently. How foolish it would be to resist our natural tendency toward spiritual obedience, when we realize that it is this submission to divine authority which alone brings enduring happiness into our experience.
Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, encouraging her followers to be obedient to God's law, states (Message to The Mother Church for 1902, p. 17): "Jesus said, 'If ye love me, keep my commandments.' He knew that obedience is the test of love; that one gladly obeys when obedience gives him happiness. Selfishly, or otherwise, all are ready to seek and obey what they love. When mortals learn to love aright; when they learn that man's highest happiness, that which has most of heaven in it, is in blessing others, and self-immolation—they will obey both the old and the new commandment, and receive the reward of obedience."
