The Waterbury Democrat., 1937-05-17

VeA' warns against "venturing on valor without discretion, which is virtua.- ly meddlesomeness" Miscellaneous Writings. p. 28D; "Be sure that your means for doing good are equal to your motives" Cbid., p. 90) is an- other of our Leaders warnings. To desire to help is not enough: we must be equipped to help.
 The overzealous, yet uneQuipped worker has evidently had long his- tory. Paul in his letter to the Thes- salonians says he has heard about the "busybodies," and exhorts that with quietness they work" Peter also warned his readers against be- ing "a busybody in other mems mat
 ters." Why these warnings? Doubs- less, because some had been so ag- gressive in their methods; had en-
 tered uninvited into the affairs of others; had become off1cious because of their lack of humility; had be- come busybodies, meddlerS. Med
 dlesomeness is not service.
 Another obstruction to usefulness is a phase of selflessness which lacks wisdom. Let us take an illustration far enough from home. In Bleak House." one of Dickens characters is the selfleSs Mrs. Jellyby. Selfless? Surely. Her whole time and thought were devoted to clothing the naked, and educating the ignorant natives of faraway Africa. The trouble was she had no time for the education, clothing, and care of her own chil- dren. All her kindness and care were concentrated on Borrioboola- Cha. Her selflessness was of no use where it was most needed. She did not put first things first.
 To Minister, Not to Rule
 Another obstacle to true service IS a desire for prominence. This made its appearance among Jesus disci- ples. We may read of it in Mat thew's account of the sons of Zebe- dee. No less place than immedi- ately beside Jesus was their desire. This desire for prominence, rather than self-sacrificing service, may pc encountered today. It shows itself in willingness to serve only in the higher offices, in the more promi- nent positions-not in the minor offices. Thus does this phase of selfishness frequently keep its victim in uselessness.
 In the twentieth chapter of Mat thew, Jesus painted in vivid con- trast the worldly great and the use- full Self-effacing servant. He said: "Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exer- else authority upon them. But it shall. mot be so among you: but who- soever will be great among you, let him be your minister; and whoso- ever will be chief among you, let him be your servant" The Chris tian Science organization has been built after this pattern. It has 10 personal rulers. Those who occupy what migh be called the higher offices can do so only by rendering self-effacing service to the Cause and humanity. In this they are following the example of their Leader, who, because of her own life of self-sacrifice, was able to tell us Miscellaneous Writings, p. 34o), "Only by persistent, unre- mitting, straightforward toll; by turning neither to the right nor to the left, seeking no other pursuit or pleasure than that which cometh from God, can you win and wear the crown of the faithful"
 What has Christian Science to say on this subject? Christian Science teaches that God is Love; God IS Mind; the divine Principle of the universe, including man; and that man is made in His likeness, and expresses Him. Man, Gods likeness, then, always reflects Love, intelli- gence, and the government of God. Tn our relationship with each other. we can reflect these qualities, can truly serve our fellow men, in pro- portion to our humility and our un- of Truth. Domination, which is the opposite of true service, has its roots in an exaltation of self .self-importance or self-righteous- ness - which is the very opposite of and is not a characteristic of man as he really is. Is it any wonder Mrs. Eddy has written( ibid, p. 354), Humility is the first step in Christian Science?
 The Love of Money
 Another obstacle which mortal mind sometimes throws into the path of true service is the love of money. Paul wrote to Timothy (Rev. VerJ:
 They that are minded to be rich fall into a temptation and a snare and many foolish and hurtful luSts, such as drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil; which some reaching after have been led astray from the faith, and have pierced themselves through with many sorrows" Jesus saw this temptation and warned against It. He saw covetousness rupturing the lust for money in- vading the temple; men giving their lives to heaping wealth on wealth; and he closed one of his parables with the never-to-be-forgotten words, "Ye cannot serve God and There was reason for this. Jesus was living life of serv- ice; he was teaching his followers to do the same. And he recognized that the lust for money was one of the obstacles to be overcome.
 You and I have seen business or ganizations grow from small be- ginnings and continue to expand for decades. We have seen others rise like rocket and fall as quickly. We know that thoss which have an foundation are those whose primary intention is service: those which are based on the prin-