CHRISTIAN SCIENCE demonstrates that we experience what we believe to be real. This is true concerning the motives we believe govern men. If we accept as real the appearance of selfishness in another, we shall experience selfishness in our relationship with him. But if we understand that selfishness is not a motive because Spirit, God, is the only motive power governing man, we may see the unreality of any selfishness that appears and replace it with Spirit's motive power. Our own experience will be proportionately harmonious.
To what qualities are we directing our efforts when we present Christian Science to others? Through these efforts we declare what motives we believe govern men. Since Christian Science is the Science of Christ and Christ is the true idea of God, Science appeals basically to the Godlike qualities in human consciousness. When presenting Christian Science to human thought, we are effective in the degree that we appeal to the spiritual qualities. We are ineffective in the degree that we appeal to the mortal, selfish belief.
When we see someone as a mortal who wants something for himself and believe that we can interest him in Christian Science by promising him the satisfaction of selfish wants, we evidence a misunderstanding of the nature of Science. But when we see an individual as in reality a spiritual idea and recognize his spiritual yearning to find freedom from the fetters of selfishness in true living as Love's expression, we thereby affirm the truth of Science. This affirmation has the power of Truth, and action based upon it will succeed.
