Mrs. Eddy writes in Science and Health (Pref., p. x) "The divine Principle of healing is proved in the personal experience of any sincere seeker of Truth." Only sincere seekers of Truth can prove the divine Principle of healing. Those who are not sincere in their desire to know God, Truth, do not find Him and His law of healing. They continue to investigate human theories and mortal opinions based solely on conjectures. These theories are not founded on rules proved to be demonstrable, as are the teachings of Christ Jesus and of Christian Science.
We need a sincere, wholehearted desire to follow Jesus' example and the rules of Christian Science in order to demonstrate this Science, with its spiritual healing. No subject or skill can be mastered through only partial adherence to its rules. There can be no divided allegiance. The Bible confirms this. It says (Matt. 6:24): "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon."
Christian Science is true Science—the Science that Jesus demonstrated in his ministry. Yet some people will say that they can accept only part of its teachings. This is like saying of arithmetic, "I believe that two and two are four, but I cannot believe that three and three are six." It is either human will or ignorance that prevents one from sincerely acknowledging the truth in its entirety.
With a certain' emotional sense, some people like to dwell on the Bible statement, "God is love" (I John 4:8). And they derive some measure of satisfaction from it. But they may not be willing to admit that God, who is Love, will, when understood, heal sickness by spiritual means alone. They may feel that God needs matter in the form of drugs to aid Him. A sincere Christian Scientist agrees with Mrs. Eddy's words: "Metaphysical healing seeks a wisdom that is higher than a rhubarb tincture or an ipecacuanha pill. This method is devout enough to trust Christ more than it does drugs" (Miscellaneous Writings, p. 369)
As a rule, mortals are not willing to give up their own personal sense of things. They pride themselves on a personal ability to decide how they want to live and how to attain happiness, health, and security. And yet Jesus, the wisest and greatest of men, was humble enough to admit that he of himself could do nothing. He relied on the divine Mind, God, to provide a way of life, security, health, joy, and wisdom.
We do not have to continue to let a personal sense of wisdom deceive us. We can stop thinking that we or others have a private ability unrelated to God which enables us to know how to be happy, wealthy, or healthy or how to run a home, a business, or a marriage. We can turn to God and ask for understanding and teachability. We can pray as Solomon did (I Kings 3: 9), "Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad."
Reliance on God's unerring direction will save us from foolish mistakes and heartaches. Putting down human will and yielding to the divine will bring joyful fulfillment of Truth into our lives.
If we do not desire the undivided garment of the Christ, the whole of Truth, we are not completely sincere in our love for Christian Science. The sincerity of our Leader in seeking the Christ is beautifully depicted in her words in "Miscellaneous Writings" (p. 369): "Meekly we kneel at our Master's feet, for even a crumb that falleth from his table. We are hungry for Love, for the white-winged charity that heals and saves; we are tired of theoretic husks,—as tired as was the prodigal son of the carobs which he shared with the swine, to whom he fed that wholesome but unattractive food."
Some individuals who want to be healed of the effects of drinking may still desire to continue to drink, as they put it, moderately. Some who want to be healed of the degenerating effects of gambling may on occasions still want to gamble for small stakes. They say they believe in moderate, and therefore harmless, gambling. Some who want to be rid of the effects of smoking may still want to smoke in moderation.
How ludicrous are such specious stands! If the devil can convince mortals that it is permissible to indulge in evil temperately, evil will begin to seem harmless, even good, to them. To that extent they cease to have one God, good, and become idol worshipers, bowing down to a power apart from God. If anyone sincerely desires to be healed of the effects of drinking, gambling, or smoking, he must also be willing to understand the importance of forsaking entirely these false attractions. When one gives up false pleasures, he does not diminish his happiness but enjoys more abundant living, more permanent satisfaction. By forsaking the false, or unreal, one gains the true and real.
Mortals may desire to be good, but not too good. Yet in goodness lies their salvation. Difficulties arise from their not being good enough—not being sufficiently Godlike.
God is Truth. According to the first chapter of Genesis, the real man is the image and likeness of God. Therefore man is the idea, or reflection, of Truth. Sincerity is a quality of Truth; therefore each one of God's ideas possesses sincerity. Spiritual truths accepted in thought destroy the aggressive mental suggestion that it is difficult for men to be sincere or wholehearted in their allegiance to God, Truth.
The carnal mind would ever tempt the children of men to belittle man's Godbestowed integrity and fidelity. It would convince them that they do not sincerely want to be, or cannot be, Christlike; that their faith is weak; that their desires are fleshly. What a joy to know that these suggestions are lies, that they do not emanate from God, and that we can destroy them by knowing what is true of God and man! God, Truth, is omnipotent, all-powerful. There is no secondary power that can separate man from Truth's omnipotence. What a noble work of God the real man is! We show forth this perfect man of God's creating when we are sincere in our expression of the qualities of Truth. Because we have divine authority and the spiritual strength and wisdom to reject the carnal mind's false beliefs, we cannot be forced to express any of them. God's love is impartial as well as universal. All of us are capable of demonstrating sincerity and godliness because these qualities are ours as heirs of God.
The Bible states, "We have the mind of Christ" (I Cor. 2:16) In reality we do not have to acquire it or wait for it to come to us at some future time. We have it! It is only the false claim of the serpent, mortal mind, that deceives us into believing we are insincere, sinful mortals. The image and likeness of God, our real selfhood, is not mortal. It is immortal and true. Let us rejoice in our real manhood. Let it shine forth in all its glory for all the world to see. Then may this benediction be fulfilled in our lives (Eph. 6:24): "Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity."
