| Moral Courage |
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In our text book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, we are instructed: “Rise in the strength of Spirit to resist all that is unlike good. God has made man capable of this and nothing can vitiate the ability and power divinely bestowed upon man.” What a wonderful, empowering declaration, and yet too often the student of Christian Science is half-hearted about this, and only really strives to apply it when having a problem of some sort. “Moral courage is requisite to meet the wrong and to proclaim the right.”(S&H) Let’s look to the Bible for a thorough understanding. The primary detriment to resisting all that is unlike good is the destructive human tendency to want peace at any cost. The Bible addresses this in passages like the following in Ezekiel: “They have seduced my people, saying, Peace; and there was no peace; and one built up a wall, and, lo, others daubed it with untempered mortar: Say unto them which daub it with untempered mortar, that it shall fall: there shall be an overflowing shower; and ye, O great hailstones, shall fall; and a stormy wind shall rend it.” The desire to make peace without resolving unprincipled action is like trying to build with mortar (or cement) that is not mixed properly, only to have the structure collapse when things get rough. This desire for peace is lack of moral courage. How may moral courage be gained? Our textbook tells us: “Honesty is spiritual power. Dishonesty is human weakness which forfeits divine help.” -- a radical claim that should startle the student of Christian Science out of any complacency. If spiritual power is not being manifested, there is dishonesty that needs to be corrected. The Bible contains a similar passage, where Christ Jesus said: “Every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.” This statement comes after Jesus’ declaration that he came not to condemn, but to save. Another essential quality required for moral courage is described in the textbook: “Whatever holds human thought in line with unselfed love, receives directly the divine power.” This describes the essential Christian nature of divine Science and is consistent with the Bible, as in the following passage from the Gospel of John: “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.” A God-centered life is far more fruitful and rewarding than a self-centered one, as Jesus taught. Moral courage is a quality we can all improve on for the betterment of our body, our church, our community, our world. We have freedom, stability, and prosperity today because of the moral courage of those who preceded us – a good thing to remember when confronted with something unprincipled, and we are tempted to “let it go” in order to avoid disturbing “the harmony!” Mary Baker Eddy provides us with practical guidance in ”A Rule for Motives and Acts”: “In Science, divine Love alone governs man; and a Christian Scientist reflects the sweet amenities of Love, in rebuking sin, in true brotherliness, charitableness, and forgiveness.” Andrew Kidd |