Does doing good bring suffering? Can helping another from pure motives make us vulnerable?
How essential it is to grasp that acting rightly leads to blessings, not suffering. This has wide application, giving us freedom from fatigue, for instance, when working hard, or protection when loving in the face of hate, or sufficient resources when acting honestly and fairly in business dealings.
The last section of the chapter "Christian Science Practice" in Science and Health presents an allegorical trial scene, in which the accused is "Mortal Man." He has watched with a sick friend every night, while also attending to his usual daily tasks and eating at irregular intervals. See Science and Health, pp. 430–442 . As a result, he becomes sick and is condemned to death. However, the "attorney" for Mortal Man, Christian Science, rescues him. A large part of the defense in behalf of Mortal Man is an appeal to the law of divine Love: "Giving a cup of cold water in Christ's name, is a Christian service," the attorney says. "Laying down his life for a good deed, Mortal Man should find it again. Such acts bear their own justification, and are under the protection of the Most High." Ibid., p. 436.
