Status seeking seems to be a driving force on all levels of society. The urge to be somebody accounts for much that can be called progress, for it often brings out the finest in human effort. Lacking spiritual motivation, however, it may bring out the basest. More than one hundred business executives were asked, "Is it possible for a man to move up through the ranks of management solely by honest, decent methods?" The overwhelming answer was: "No. It is not possible." Shady practices, double-dealing, and riding roughshod over others were listed as necessary to advancement.
According to Christian Science, one's real status is not advanced or gained by sordid, devious, and unethical means. This real status is made clear in the first chapter of Genesis, which declares that man is created in God's image and likeness. Mrs. Eddy writes in Science and Health (p. 120), "The Science of Mindhealing shows it to be impossible for aught but Mind to testify truly or to exhibit the real status of man."
The carnal mind's argument that in today's competitive world only the aggressive and ruthless survive must be exposed for what it is: a lie. Man's status as a spiritual idea of divine Mind is complete in goodness and power. The qualities of intelligence, judgment, alertness, integrity, diligence, and so forth, by which an individual legitimately gets ahead in the world, are already his as the reflection of God.
