"Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (II Tim. 2:15). It then not only becomes the privilege, but it is the duty of a Reader in a Church of Christ, Scientist, to proclaim Truth by a right or correct reading of the Lesson-Sermons, outlined in the Christian Science Quarterly.
In order to show oneself "approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed," the newly elected Reader immediately sets about the task of mastering his tools and the discovery of a correct way to accomplish this task. He does not leave his reading to what is so often mistakenly called "inspiration." Certainly no one would presume to sit down at a piano and plunge into a composition, simple or difficult, without knowing certain fundamentals of piano playing.
The Manual of The Mother Church by Mary Baker Eddy requires that Readers shall read with understanding and be well educated (see Art. Ill, Sect. 6). Education is the effect of both study and inspiration. In an enlightening passage from Nehemiah are these words (8:8): "So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading." It is interesting to note that the readers first read distinctly—then they gave sense to their reading. To read distinctly means to be free from self-imposed limitations by the taking of certain human footsteps—improving pronunciation, enunciation, and the effective use of the voice. Thus by one's study the words are taken into an inspirational sense.
