IT is frequently suggested to us in human experience that certain acts on our part will raise or lower our social or business status or that we shall present a better image if we conform to various customs. But what of our status and image as expressions of God, divine Principle?
Christ Jesus, always aware of his true worth, denounced the false status-seeking of the scribes and Pharisees by warning his disciples against following their vain ways. He described these men as endeavoring to impress the popular thought instead of doing their works to the glorification of God; as reveling in the pride of pomp and power and seeking the seats of honor in the synagogue where their position might be acknowledged by others. He stated that they sought praise and adulation of men through public instead of private prayer and further publicized their own importance by the use of various symbolic articles of clothing and imposing titles.
Our Master outlined the correct and natural method not only of living with but of loving one another when he said (Matt. 23:11, 12): "He that is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted."
Our Leader, Mrs. Eddy, reminds us of our true status and how to attain it when she states in her Message to The Mother Church for 1902 (p. 2), "To live and let live, without clamor for distinction or recognition; to wait on divine Love; to write truth first on the tablet of one's own heart, —this is the sanity and perfection of living, and my human ideal."
A student of Christian Science was proud of his forebears and of his family's leadership and prestige in his community. He imitated traits in his father and grandfather that he was informed were family characteristics of success. When he began to manifest certain incapacitating physical difficulties that were thought to be inherited, he sought the advice of a Christian Science practitioner.
After analysis of the circumstances and the so-called human beliefs which produced them, the practitioner directed the student's attention to a passage of Mrs. Eddy's in Science and Health (p. 178): "In proportion to our understanding of Christian Science, we are freed from the belief of heredity, of mind in matter or animal magnetism; and we disarm sin of its imaginary power in proportion to our spiritual understanding of the status of immortal being."
The student saw that the only true status of man is spiritual and that human pride, being a counterfeit, not only would hinder progress but would be detrimental to health and well-being. Furthermore, he realized that if he believed in the laws of heredity at all, it was necessary that he accept the undesirable as well as the desirable traits of his ancestors.
The student determined not to allow the self-indulgence of pride of status or false belief in human heredity to rob him of the true inheritance of spiritual perfection derived from his Father-Mother God. He saw that his only duty was that of expressing Godlike qualities and loving his neighbor as himself. Not only was he healed of physical difficulties, but he gained a much greater sense of affection for all mankind.
Whether conscious of it or not, everyone must face this question: Is my development dependent upon what people think of me, or does it derive from my expression of God as His image—my true status?
When we attempt to imitate others, our thoughts tend to deflect from our own individuality and to hinder our progress. Appearing in the guise of good, mortal mind presents many suggestions, such as the desirability of seeking status through emulation, keeping up with the Joneses, purchasing certain brands of merchandise or makes of cars, and living in what are known as preferred neighborhoods. While the objects of such suggestions are called status symbols and are supposed to indicate a mode of human progress, this may not be true progress at all; it may be only human will producing its own useless idols and reflecting neither permanence nor substance.
In striving to progress willfully instead of prayerfully allowing God, divine Love, to lead the way, one is deflected in his course from sense to Soul and suffers in the attempt. In "Miscellaneous Writings," our Leader says of humility (p. 356): "This virtue triumphs over the flesh; it is the genius of Christian Science. One can never go up, until one has gone down in his own esteem." She says further of humility that "it is indispensable to personal growth, and points out the chart of its divine Principle and rule of practice."
An outstanding Old Testament example of the ennobling effects of humility is found in the story of Jacob's son Joseph, who was sold by his brothers to the Ishmaelites and was subsequently taken to Egypt and purchased as a slave by Potiphar, the captain of Pharaoh's guard. Potiphar quickly appraised Joseph as worthy, giving him full charge of his estate and all his possessions. Joseph refused the temptation to be unfaithful to his master; but tricked into believing that Joseph had betrayed him, Potiphar had him cast into prison.
Had Joseph chosen to be unscrupulous he could have had position and lived a life of ease in Potiphar's house. Instead he entrusted his welfare to God, Truth. He refused to taint his conscience by cheating, by falsehood, or by any other form of deception. He elected, rather, to follow God's direction in all that he did.
When he was cast into prison, divine Love "gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison" (Gen. 39:21), and Joseph was put in charge of all the prisoners. Later, when Joseph had opportunity to be released from prison by interpreting Pharaoh's dreams, he modestly credited God with the knowledge and power to pacify a troubled monarch by saying (Gen. 41:16): "It is not in me: God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace."
This enabled Joseph to express the interpretations with such conviction that Pharaoh was assured of their veracity. He discerned in Joseph the God-inspired qualities of trustworthiness, wisdom, and discretion and raised his status by giving him a position in the kingdom second only to his own.
It is well to note that Joseph's rise was not the result of conniving or human maneuvering, nor did he bow down to the false gods of pride, lust, intemperance, deception, despair, hatred, or impatience. Joseph loved and trusted God, not because of any material benefits which he might derive from this, but because he understood God to be his only benefactor at all times wherever he was.
Now, it is proper to progress on the human scene, but it should be done in the way of God's appointing. Let us ask ourselves what it is that we really seek. Is it recognition in our community on the social, intellectual, or business level? Is it satisfaction in the achievements of our children? What of the encouraging support of our friends? These may come into our experience as a result of conforming our lives to divine Principle, but they will be byproducts rather than goals.
In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus portrayed the lily as being more gorgeously arrayed than "Solomon in all his glory" (Matt. 6:29), and he listed several human necessities, implying to his listeners that their heavenly Father knew their needs even before they thought of them. Then he said (verse 33), "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."
The foundation of man's real status is the constant and consistent knowledge that he expresses all the qualities of God, now and always, because no individual is ever separated from divine Love.
