When individuals join The Mother Church they voluntarily pledge their allegiance to the religious tenets of Christian Science, which Mrs. Eddy gives in Science and Health. The sixth tenet is a sacred promise of loyalty to the teachings of Christ Jesus. It reads, "And we solemnly promise to watch, and pray for that Mind to be in us which was also in Christ Jesus; to do unto others as we would have them do unto us; and to be merciful, just, and pure."Science and Health, p. 437; It is easy to recite verbatim these beautiful phrases but to exemplify their significance in daily living requires constant vigilance and dedication.
To ensure that our thinking be Christlike, it is helpful to study the character of the Master and become well acquainted with those qualities which one prays to emulate and recognize as his birthright. Bible students find no trace of unkindness or prejudice in the thoughts of Jesus. He recognized God as his Mind, and this inspired conviction lifted his thought to an impregnable altitude of safety. The knowledge of his relationship to God so exalted his thinking that he was able to deny error with authority and to prove his dominion over its temptations. The meekness and might of forgiveness and mercy were native to him. His sympathy and tenderness showed his understanding of human nature at its lowest point and at its highest, when it approximates the divine.
The Way-shower entertained no false beliefs. He dwelt with the truth of being; his spiritual serenity remained unshaken.
All men, regardless of race or nation found acceptance with Jesus. He expressed continued compassion for the Samaritans who were considered bitter enemies of the Jews. The Mind which was in Christ Jesus was not conscious of racial distinctions—of Jew or Gentile, Greek or Roman.
There was no sense of lack or immoderation of any sort in the Master. He knew that man is forever completely satisfied and free. His calm assurance that the individual is in the presence of infinite good enabled him to feed the five thousand at the very hour of their need.
Jesus was constantly aware of his at-one-ment with God. His thoughts were filled with love and strength, for he recognized God's presence and understood His power. Knowing the need for alertness, he was prompted to teach his followers, "What I say unto you I say unto all, Watch."Mark 13:37;
No one is responsible for what others may think, but he is definitely responsible for what he thinks they think. He finds endless opportunities to practice the Golden Rule and to act toward his neighbors as he would wish them to act toward him. This rule provides a high standard of ethics for all Christians in their social and economic relationship with one another. When he is humbly guided by its teaching, one fulfills the Master's commandment to love his fellowmen. An unfaltering obedience to these spiritual demands brings protection from that which is called mental malpractice. Neither envy, nor animosity, nor any other phase of the anti-Christ can make contact with or find any response in a spiritualized consciousness.
Jesus' knowledge of his own God-given purity and that of all true selfhood enabled him to heal the sick and the sinning. The writer is well acquainted with a student of Christian Science who experienced a beautiful healing as the result of her improved concept of others. An angry-appearing rash had inflamed the skin of her face and arms, causing her considerable discomfort and chagrin.
In her honest prayer for enlightenment, she realized that over a period of months she had been displeased with the conduct of her teen-age children and impatient at their erratic behavior. She had occasionally expressed anger when inharmony in the household seemed very real.
One morning she reverently prayed, not for a better skin condition nor for better disciplined children, but for a clearer understanding of God as the Mind of all. The holiness of the Christ flooded her thought. The angels of faith and hope and peace stayed with her.
Within a few days the skin disorder had completely vanished, leaving no trace of scarred tissue. The displeasing deportment of the children was corrected, and a sweeter sense of Spirit's control was established. Surely this was proof of the presence of the Christ.
There is no barrier to good, and children of all ages are amenable to Truth and Love. The externalization of a spiritualized consciousness is the visible evidence of allegiance to the Mind which was in Christ Jesus. Every right endeavor is strengthened and sustained by the source of all good. To watch one's own thinking and prayerfully strive to see the Christ expressed in others constitutes our pledge of allegiance.
The fifth beatitude, "Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy,"Matt. 5:7; indicates the importance of this quality in individual salvation. A merciful thought is never sullied with scorn. To scorn another's frailties is to reveal one's own weakness. To scoff at another's demonstration of Truth endangers one's own progress. Scorn is the very antipode of mercy. Pride and scorn are anti-Christ and are not conducive to the healing ministry. The Psalmist reminds us that one is not blessed when occupying "the seat of the scornful."Ps. 1:1; In her writings Mrs. Eddy sometimes links together the spiritual forces of purity, mercy, and justice.
There is a divine sense of mercy which is higher than the mere human expression of it. Christian Scientists solemnly promise to entertain this Godlike quality in the silence of their innermost thoughts and to express it in their speech and action. Sarcasm and chronic criticism must surrender to the majesty of mercy.
A Christian Scientist watches prayerfully to be consistent in his attitude toward everyone. It has been said that the thinker is rare who can weigh the scale of justice so evenly that he gives to his brother as full consideration as he gives to himself. A better sense of justice will be established in all walks of life as each individual fervently prays for the purification of his own consciousness.
A boundless blessing is found in the promise, "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God."Matt. 5:8; The purity of the Christ proves man's sonship with God. It is a royal quality, supreme in its perfection. A pure consciousness is absolute in its expression of the one Mind, God. It is uncontaminated by any concessions to error. We need a truly enlightened consciousness to understand that God is Love. Love is the Mind which Jesus reverently discerned to be his Mind and the Mind of all God's children. To know this truth is to feel the afflatus of the Christ and a quickened sense of loyalty to the creator.
The Concordances to Mrs. Eddy's writings point to many beautiful statements on the subject of loyalty. Her words are never ambiguous but inspired in their clarity. In "Retrospection and Introspection" she writes, "By loyalty in students I mean this, —allegiance to God, subordination of the human to the divine, steadfast justice, and strict adherence to divine Truth and Love."Ret., p. 50.
