How well I remember my feelings as a teen-ager when reading great classic novels of tragic love! The characters seemed a cut above ordinary mortals, whose humdrum lives called for less extreme sacrifices. How magnificent, I thought, to love that deeply and suffer accordingly! As a young actress, I was attracted to tragic roles, ignoring the fact that my talent lay more in the line of comedy.
Later, however, after suffering severely from lost love myself, I was reminded of Mrs. Eddy's words, "The selfish rôle of a martyr is the shift of a dishonest mind, nothing short of self-seeking; and real suffering would stop the farce."Miscellaneous Writings, p. 288. Real suffering did stop the farce, but not until I was willing to admit that no suffering, in and of itself, bestows greatness on its victim.
God doesn't reward us for remaining perpetually brokenhearted over a lost love or for playing the self-appointed role of a martyr for some personal cause. The only commitment worthy of our total devotion is our commitment to let our lives express universal Love. Only through fulfilling that commitment can we find glory and find, too, companionships that bring joy rather than despair.
