The exhortation of the Apostle Paul to the Ephesians to "put off... the old man," and to "put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness" (4:22, 24), is a call to action for the Christian Scientist. The Scientist learns that the real and true selfhood of each one of us is spiritual, harmonious, and indestructible—the image and likeness of God, Spirit. He learns also that this true conception of being is gained only by the scientific destruction of the belief in a material selfhood, a supposed selfhood existing apart from God. Further, he learns that as he destroys the beliefs pertaining to this false sense of selfhood, the annihilation of all the ills which follow in the wake of these beliefs is begun.
Mary Baker Eddy says in "Miscellaneous Writings" (p. 1): "Humility is the stepping-stone to a higher recognition of Deity. The mounting sense gathers fresh forms and strange fire from the ashes of dissolving self, and drops the world. Meekness heightens immortal attributes only by removing the dust that dims them." Our beloved Leader thus names humility as a prerequisite to the laying off of this false self with its self-righteousness, self-assertiveness, and self-importance.
Our childlike willingness, nay, eagerness, to lay aside this tattered selfhood is in the measure of our discernment of its unreality. When it is seen that the false self is caused by nothing, backed by nothing, the illusion begins to lose its hold and perhaps slowly but surely dissipates. This process is hastened as we realize that the belief in a selfhood apart from God results only in fettering the individual's capacity, limiting his experience, darkening his joy of living, and weakening his sense of well-being.
