Worth employing

Being unemployed can be pretty discouraging, especially if one has been out of work for an extended time. Inability to find a job can even fool one into thinking that he or she isn't worth employing, and this can compound the problem.

There is another way to view the situation, one that not only removes this feeling of unworthiness but also helps us find the work that is best for us. Christian Science, in accord with the Bible, teaches that our true identity is made in the likeness of God, Love. Cherished by Love, man has an unlimited, joyful existence. The eternal Christ, Truth, reveals our relationship to God. It enables us to perceive the presence of divine Love and to discern more of our own goodness as Love's child.

Divine Love's will for its offspring is always beneficent; therefore we can trust its guidance. Christ Jesus brought out this point when he said: ''What man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?''

Jesus went on to specify the way to obtain this good. ''Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.'' n1

n1 Matthew 7:9-12.

How can this lead to a job? When we consciously align ourselves with ''the law and the prophets,'' we open ourselves to all kinds of good because we are acting and thinking in accord with the law of God, good.

Since man is actually God's son, he is naturally loving, lawful, and intelligent. Recognizing this to be our true nature, we are able to perceive these and other spiritual qualities in ourselves and others.

The love that expresses divine Love isn't a personal possession that can fluctuate; it is an attitude toward life, a genuine expectancy of good. Loving others - seeing the spiritual good in them - becomes something we do (whether or not we have a ''job'') because it is joyful and satisfying.

So we don't need to wait until we have a job to begin loving our fellowman. Helping someone get his groceries home, comforting a friend in trouble, giving a hand in weeding a neighbor's garden, are all ways to express this love. Since none of them costs money, lack of income can't prevent us from aiding others. Such actions take on even greater significance when we realize that, small as they may be, they have their basis in Christ and provide evidence that we are becoming more Christlike.

As our attention becomes focused lesson personal fears and more on our efforts to express the goodness and love of God, we find our attitude toward employment changing. We see that our real work is to express the divine nature wherever we are. We become readier to ask for and obey God's guidance in seeking a job. And we are able to recognize that, as God's man, we are infinitely worthy of divine Love.

We can expect, then, that we will end up doing work that is most appropriate for us, even if this isn't apparent at the outset. Our prayers and trust in God do have a practical effect. Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, writes: ''Prayer cannot change the Science of being, but it tends to bring us into harmony with it. Goodness attains the demonstration of Truth.'' n2

Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 2

The more clearly we perceive our worthiness to enjoy the blessings of divine Love and the more we recognize the universality of good, the more inspired will be our job quest. We may uncover and develop new talents and abilities we never dreamed were ours. But whether our new job appears quickly or slowly, we can wait patiently on divine Love, God, knowing that His Christ is directing each step of the way. DAILY BIBLE VERSE Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. . . The servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle to all men, apt to teach, patient. II Timothy 2:15, 24