Self-Esteem has two meanings: self-respect and self-conceit. The first is laudable, the second something to rise above as worthless. Christian Science provides good reason for true self-esteem by revealing a selfhood that is worthy of respect. This selfhood is God's likeness, the real man, and as such is spiritual and constant in obedience to its Maker and governor. The true self is conscious only of good, is unsullied by sin, and is incapable of anything weak or mean. Spiritual perfection is its law. Being God's own expression, His offspring, the true self embodies the qualities of divinity—love, purity, health, joy, truthfulness, intelligence, and every other estimable element of thought.
To identify oneself as this man and then to live up to that identification by right behavior is fundamental to the practice of Christian Science. One cannot heal himself of mortal errors while believing that they actually belong to him. A greatly loved and often quoted passage from the writings of Mary Baker Eddy, a passage dealing with correct identification, is found on page 242 of "The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany." It reads, "You can never demonstrate spirituality until you declare yourself to be immortal and understand that you are so." And later in the same paragraph are these words: "Unless you fully perceive that you are the child of God, hence perfect, you have no Principle to demonstrate and no rule for its demonstration."
Regardless of such scientific precepts, one is sometimes tempted to identify himself as a sick, discouraged, sinful, or stupid mortal. This is what happens when we allow morbid and joyless moods to possess us; when we permit irritation and fear to fill consciousness; when we let negative beliefs that contradict the truths of Christian Science slip into thought; when we suffer prejudiced, personal motives to bias our acts. Such states of mind cancel out true identification and prevent the demonstration of reality that rests upon scientific self-esteem.
