A few years ago, I volunteered to serve as president of the board of my neighborhood homeowners association (HOA). I sincerely desired to uphold the bylaws of the HOA, to do right by its members, and to bring new ideas to the table. But when I pointed out areas where the board had been violating bylaws or suggested new ideas, there was pushback. Two longtime board members—one the previous president and the other the treasurer—were particularly antagonistic and critical. Meetings were contentious. I was frequently distraught and complained to family and friends.
Although I attended church and regularly studied the weekly Bible Lessons from the Christian Science Quarterly, I hadn’t really been addressing the issue in prayer. But one day a directive came strongly to thought: “Wendy, you’re the only Christian Scientist on the board. Act like one!” What a wake-up call!
So how, exactly, should a Christian Scientist act? In Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, gives six tenets of Christian Science. The last one states, “And we solemnly promise to watch, and pray for that Mind to be in us which was also in Christ Jesus; to do unto others as we would have them do unto us; and to be merciful, just, and pure” (p. 497). This rule certainly lays out how anyone practicing Christian Science should act.
