ANYONE thinking of employment does well to consider the statement made by Mary Baker Eddy in "Miscellaneous Writings" (p. 118), "Be of good cheer; the warfare with one's self is grand; it gives one plenty of employment, and the divine Principle worketh with you,―and obedience crowns persistent effort with everlasting victory."
True employment might be thought of as the effort one makes to demonstrate true consciousness, which is eternally filled with good. It is one's effort to prove that man reflects love, intelligence, joy, integrity, peace, and to maintain one's confident recognition of God's power to supply all that is humanly needed every moment. This employment is always available right where we are. We do not have to search for it. There is plenty of work to be done at any period of human experience.
Christ Jesus spoke of true employment when he said (Matt. 6:31-33): "Take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?... For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."
Seeking the kingdom of God, or understanding and practicing God's laws, is a task all in itself. And this work has its satisfying remuneration even as business positions do. For, referring to food and drink and clothing, Jesus said that these would be added. They will be apparent to us after we have recognized that God's kingdom is established in consciousness.
God is All. And, of course, He has all. It would be impossible to conceive of God as lacking in any way. Christian Science teaches that man is God's image, in accordance with the statement in Genesis (1:27), "God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him." An image of anything reflects all of that which it images forth. Therefore, if God has all, is lacking in nothing, then His image, spiritual man, must reflect all; he must be lacking in nothing.
The human individual at times seems woefully lacking in many things. But this is because he has not put off his mortal, limited concept of man as something besides God's image. It is one's putting off of mortal, limited thinking and accepting in its place the true concept of God and man that constitutes true employment. It is a constant effort, a joyous task, yes, a "warfare with one's self" to do this.
The mental effort to declare the truth instead of accepting the mortal, material testimony of things, Christian Scientists have well termed "prayerful metaphysical work." It is joyous work. It requires earnest effort to prove God's allness and matter's nothingness. But the warfare and its rewards are grand, and the harder we devotedly work, the easier that work becomes.
When one is faced with the necessity of obtaining a position, it may seem that the first thing to do is go out and search for it. Such a one may think that in his spare time he can study and seek the kingdom of God. But the divine rule for solving problems is, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God." The position, or solution of the problem, comes only after we have sought and found the kingdom of God.
This divine rule must be obeyed as carefully as one would follow the laws of chemistry in order to get a certain chemical result. Anyone desiring divine help in finding a position must first see God's infinitude. He must seek to understand God's laws and to practice them in his thinking and acting. Then he will be better guided to that which is needful in his human experience.
A Christian Scientist proved this when she found it necessary to go back into the business world after she had been out of it for several years. It was during a time of world-wide financial depression. Positions were very scarce for those much younger and more experienced than the Scientist.
In order to be obedient to Jesus' rule for solving problems, she first devoted a period of time to quiet study and prayer. After she had thus obeyed the part of the rule to seek first the kingdom of God, she felt inspired to take any human footsteps which might be necessary to locate work. It came to her then to go to a certain large office building where there were many offices of the profession in which she had previously been employed and to ask for work at these various places.
She was still humbly willing to seek the kingdom of God by following divine guidance rather than mere human will. So at each office door she came to, she would silently ask God to direct her. If she felt no inspiration or urge to enter, she would continue to the next door until she came to one she felt guided to enter. In this way she kept her thinking refreshed with the realization of God's presence.
At each place she was told there was no work for her. But she mentally rejected this suggestion. She kept on with her real employment, that of denying the material sense evidence of lack and limitation and affirming what was true concerning her as God's child. So she would leave her name and address at each place and ask that she be called should any work come up in the future. She continued this until five o'clock that evening. No position was given her. However, she refused to be discouraged and instead thanked God for her day's work, the work of looking for a position. She thanked Him for the work of holding thought steadfastly to Him.
When she returned home, she was informed that someone in one of the offices she had called upon that day had telephoned and had left a message that temporary work was available to her. She accepted this offer. When that work was finished, she was given another temporary position. After that she accepted a permanent position which was offered to her in another nearby office.
All of God's promises are kept, but we must do our part in being obedient to His demand to keep Him and His kingdom in consciousness. This obedience to God's demands is our true employment. And this employment includes a right reward.
Mrs. Eddy speaks of those in God's service in her Message to The Mother Church for 1901, where she writes (p. 1), "Beloved brethren, to-day I extend my heart-and-hand-fellowship to the faithful, to those whose hearts have been beating through the mental avenues of mankind for God and humanity; and rest assured you can never lack God's outstretched arm so long as you are in His service."
