Children in whom self-government has been cultivated by their parents usually grow into adults who have this God-given asset in good measure. Others who reach adulthood with their inherent self-discipline still only in latent form often feel incapable of tackling a goal that needs concentrated and consistent effort.
Christian Science can help anyone who suffers from a discipline problem, whether he is trying to improve his education, develop greater skill in a sport or craft, or deepen his grasp of Christian Science itself. Disciplining one's character is no end in itself. In Christian Science it is one of the stepping-stones to spiritual progress.
At present it is not usual for true progress to be seen explicitly as the yielding up of material concepts in exchange for an understanding of the divine Mind. Humanity at large is still thinking of economic, political, nutritional, medical, moral, intellectual, and other deficiencies as the sources of its problems rather than as the results of its basic problem, a material concept of being.
