CMP Review 2024-09-05

September 5, 2024

I always thought that “Ourselves” was such a quaint title. As a book intended for young people to learn about how to understand and manage oneself, I could think of more fitting titles. How about “The Nature of a Person” or “Self-Management”? Or “You as a Person”? Or even, “Yourself.”

As I read the book the first time, and then the second and the third, any sense of quaintness dissolved. Here was no little manual about “you.” Here was a guide about how to live a life dedicated to service: animated by the love of God and the love of man.

Only then did I learn the real origin of the title. Charlotte Mason was not merely gathering children around her to talk about “ourselves.” Rather, she was quoting a beautiful prayer from the communion service of her church. A prayer that is not so common these days but may still occasionally be heard.

In a sense, it is a book about self-knowledge and self-direction. But not as an end in itself. The Apostle Paul urged us to offer our bodies as “living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God.” He said that this is our “spiritual act of worship.” I am so thankful for Miss Mason’s timeless volume. It shows us how to worship in this way.

@artmiddlekauff