Jane Austen's classic novel Pride and Prejudice deals in a humorous way with two attributes sometimes deeply ingrained in mortals and in daily life the cause of not-very-funny foolishness and unhappiness. As one explores the true and eternal nature of man as God's reflection, he will find self-respect and respect for others to be more natural. It follows that pride's counterfeiting of self-respect and prejudice's attempts to dishonor others are mortal tendencies and attitudes we can get rid of by turning to the Christ, Truth.
Early scriptural teaching that speaks of God having respect unto His people indicates the basis for all respect. The Hebrew words translated "respect" generally have the basic meaning of to see or know, to look at, face, or pay attention to. As the attention we pay each other reflects divine seeing and knowing, we look beyond the surface of human nature. Christly light reveals both the spiritual ideal and the good reflected in human character. We see and appreciate what often is hidden by prejudice or depreciated by false values.
Respect may well be one of the most prized attributes reflected in human thought. Its absence may be devastating, for then suspicion and distrust hold sway. When we lack respect for ourselves or someone else, we are not paying attention to what God creates, but rather seeing an apparition of mortality. Christian Science enables us to look beyond this mortal illusion to the real creation. This does not mean ignoring unworthy tendencies; rather, by centering thought on the reality of God's all-good qualities, we are more open to the redeeming Christ.
