"Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain" (Ex. 20:7). The third commandment involves far more than not swearing or using God's name profanely. This commandment makes a Christian demand for total commitment to God. Commitment is the basic requirement needed to fulfill the moral demand of this commandment, because to not take in vain God's name, or spiritual nature, is to take God seriously, to value spirituality above all else.
Commitment, in this sense, is a decisive moral choice that involves a person in a definite course of action. To commit oneself to Christianity is to follow and obey one God and the teachings and example of Christ Jesus. Thus, to be a Christian involves the individual in a state of total obedience to God's laws of Christian discipline and discipleship. Since Christian Science is defined as the law of God, the Christian Scientist understands that to obey the third commandment is to follow not only all the requirements of Christian living revealed in the Bible, but also those in the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health, and the Manual of The Mother Church— both by Mrs. Eddy. As she writes in the former: "Divine Mind rightly demands man's entire obedience, affection, and strength. No reservation is made for any lesser loyalty."Science and Health, p. 183.
Commitment in Christian Science is the intelligent acceptance of Truth through obedience to the laws of God; it is our response of gratitude to Him for all His goodness and mercy. "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him."I Cor. 2:9. Commitment is the key that opens the gates of heaven, gates that pour forth a spiritual sense of existence, revealing ideas one has never thought before and spiritual feelings one has never felt before. Through commitment the treasures of heaven are revealed to us.
