Live true to your high ideal

April 22, 2021 | 18 comments

A frequently sung hymn in the Christian Science hymnal begins:

Be true and list the voice within,
Be true unto thy high ideal,
Thy perfect self, that knows no sin,
That self that is the only real.

“Be true unto thy high ideal!” is a rule for success in the practice of spiritual healing. We must live true to our high ideal to reach the loftiness of our prayers.

A compromised life is a compromised conscience. It’s thought vacillating between right and wrong, not sure where to land, creating uncertainty, doubt, worry and anxiety that stymie action and prevent progress.

A true life is an honest life. Thought knows what is right, follows through with what is right, and demonstrates what is right.

An honest person is not swayed by popular opinion, worried about what other people think, attempting to please others by cowering to their false beliefs, or acting out of fear.

An honest person has an honest mind and a clean conscience. They are on the inside what they appear to be on the outside. They are trustworthy, sincere, straightforward, and dependable. They know who they are, and they live true to their ideals.

The same hymn mentioned above ends:

True to our God whose name is Love,
We shall fulfill our Father’s plan;
For true means true to God above,
To self, and to our fellow-man.
Christian Science Hymnal, #20

God is the High Ideal! When you live true to God, you live true to yourself and true to your fellowman all at the same time. It’s the ideal situation for successful practice of Christian Science.

18 thoughts on “Live true to your high ideal”

  1. THANK YOU ! Evan – have just shared this with a group of Christian Scientists who are praying about the mesmeric claims swirling around the world right now . Just what we need to “ check out “ where we are coming from when confronted with these notions of mortal mind .

  2. This is so helpful, – thank you.
    Whenever I have been faced with controversial decisions, I have received great comfort in knowing that when I have been true to what is right, a decision based on Truth is impervious to attack. Any criticism of me was therefore nothingness, and could have no effect. A true decision is also founded on rock and does not waver under pressure. God, Love, is on your side! You become known for what you stand for, and just thinking of the main characters in the Bible, what strength and success they had through their fidelity to God.
    A practioner once recommended I should sing this hymn through whenever the challenge seemed overpowering. The middle verse is
    God is the only perfect One:
    My perfect self is one with Him;
    So man is seen as God’s own son,
    When Truth dispels the shadows dim.
    It worked!

  3. I’ve been praying to know that I can listen only to God and be able to shut out worldly “opinions” and beliefs, and to know that all of us can actually only hear the voice and leadings of God — the only true voice. So this is perfect for me to hear today. Thank you.

    Greetings and love to my Spiritview friends, friends of the heart. May Love lead us all.

    (P.S. I recently was thrilled to discover that the current weekly CS Bible Lessons can be listened to (for free) anytime by calling certain phone numbers. In US the numbers I have are 1-323-805-8700 and 1-713-595-5210. The lessons are read by the first and second readers of The Mother Church. These phone numbers also connect to Daily Lift and Sentinel Radio podcasts.)

  4. If we are to be loyal to anything, it should be to the promise of Truth and Love as a principle over hate and destruction.

  5. This inspiration is a wonderful expression of our True self ~ who we Really are. When it sometimes appears the entire world seems to be thinking in a different direction on who our true identity is, it is refreshing to be honest with ourselves in knowing what is right with God, even though it may go against the crowd. Thank you for this reassurance, Evan and thank you for the article, Martine. The question if our motive is to “become a healthier Adam or Eve” highlights the placement of our thoughts and steers us to God’s Perfect creation of ourselves and everyone, rather than a limited, finite being.

  6. “ Honesty is spiritual power” (page 453:16 Science and Health)
    This is a profoundly practical truth for “living true to God, and true to oneself”
    Thanks for sharing everyone.

  7. Each SpiritView morning I think “ah ha! this is it!” and each day it is… with fresh, new ideas, elevating my thought, and delighting in the developing ideas brought to the Sunday School table from my fellow students, everyone bringing his or her gift. Today I thought about having not had a very specific Ideal of myself for a long time; yes, I’ve generally adopted the concept of being God’s child, but what more would that be? I’m working on a more concrete and thorough exploration of what that really means; what specific characteristics and qualities do I express individually, uniquely?
    I love the article Martine has shared- it is so very clear!
    Actually, I love what each one has brought, as I do each day, especially the issues and challenges we’re taking care of, because these elicit adn receive generous and loving assistance from SpiritViewers.
    Love today and always

  8. Thank you Heavenly Father, Evan and all.
    This blog and supporters helps keep thought tethered to sanity, reality.

    1. Yes, so true Anna, I loved “tethered to sanity and reality.” We sure do need that!

      Also I just read the article Martine was so kind to share on our freedom to choose what we accept as real vs unreal about God and about ourselves. A real gem, very clear, powerful and easy to understand. It quotes this from Unity of Good by Mrs. Eddy (p. 60), “Mortals are free moral agents, to choose whom they would serve. If God, then let them serve Him, and He will be unto them All-in-all.”

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