Something to be grateful for

One of the liberating truths Christian Science has helped me understand over the years is that happiness attached to Spirit is endless. Happiness attached to things, status and position is fleeting.

I remember in my early days of youth, that when my goal was to earn money, I was never satisfied. I always needed more. Genuine happiness was always just out of reach or not quite yet attainable.

Once I learned that “Happiness is spiritual, born of Truth and Love,” as Mary Baker Eddy wrote, I dropped looking to money and things for joy, and found it in Spirit. I found a deep abiding peace within that I’d never known before. And it has stuck with me.

In today’s economy, which is tough for many, millions of people are severing connections with things, position and status, either by choice or not. Jobs have been lost, income reduced, homes foreclosed, job searches lengthened. It’s mortal mind fodder for getting down on life, feeling depressed, hopeless, and even sorry for self. And it needs to be guarded against.

Any downward spiral in morale can be checked by remembering what the most important things in life are and being grateful for them. The things that matter most are not the temporal items that can be taken from us. They are the spiritual things built into us.

God made us joyous beings. God made us happy beings. God made us complete beings, independent of cash in hand, job status, or societal standing.

When I traveled to South Africa about 8 years ago, I was struck by the severe poverty endured by millions. Huge shanty towns, with homes made of cardboard, tin roof, and dirt floor housed thousands and thousands of residents. Some people looked sad, to be sure, but there were also signs of great joy and happiness. Children, not weighed down by worry and fear, played with delight through the alleyways. Woman greeted us with big smiles and happy welcomes at stops we made. Men carried themselves with dignity and determination to make something of themselves. Where it might seem unimaginable to find signs of hope and joy, they were easy to spot.

There is a spiritual dignity in all of us that is greater than any trial we face. We are spiritual beings endowed with worth, value and importance that far transcends any material status quo.

We are not the money we make, the position we claim or the reputation we garner. We are more. We are valuable beyond any economic measurement, loved beyond any human evidence of it, and worthy beyond any other’s estimate. We are spiritual. We have eternal life and ability to live it. Our help comes from God, and no picture of lack in this world can deprive us of it.

When there seems to be little materially to be grateful for, we can count our spiritual blessings. We can think. We can see beyond the picture of lack. We can find hope in God. We can love. No one can stop us from expressing love.

And in love, we find life. It is enough to meet the human need.

Money and marriage

I’ve heard it many times from different people over the last few months, “A shortage of money in the household is causing strain and stress in my marriage.”

According to some polls, disagreements over how to manage money is the number one cause of divorce.

So, it’s vitally important to spiritually defend one’s marriage during these economic times, from conflict over money to keep the marriage happy and healthy.

How to do this?

By understanding better that money is not the wealth of the home. Love is!

Marriage is all about love, giving, caring, sharing, working as one, forgiveness, and cultivating mutual understanding. If money ever becomes a divisive issue, than a couple has forgotten what their marriage is all about.

Marriage is about working problems out in love.

If anything, economic hardship would strengthen a marriage, not weaken it, because it would call forth the very best qualities in each spouse to figure out how they were going to deal with current economic conditions.

It’s a trick of the carnal mind, or supposed evil influence at large in the world, to convince a person that money is the leading issue when faced with financial shortfall. Money is never the leading issue. Wealth is not dollars in the bank, but understanding, inspiration, fresh insight and humility in the mind.

When two people work together in love, they find answers that solve problems. They gain more productive views, an expanded sense of possibility, willingness to go in a better direction, and are receptive to God’s help.

Anger, hate, resentment impoverish. Love, forgiving, sharing and caring enrich.

Love is the greatest wealth a married couple could ever have, and it comes freely from God. There is never a shortage of it! And it’s the most important resource to keep flowing in a home that is going to survive and thrive.

If the bills pile high, and the bank account draws low, it’s not a time to get angry. It’s a time to love—and more than ever.

Protect marriage from stress over finances

I read an article in the newspaper this morning about marriages falling apart over strains on family budgets. From studies I’ve read in the past, turmoil between spouses over finances is a leading cause of divorce.

So, what should a couple on a tight budget do?

From a spiritual point of view, a healthy step would be to defend the marriage from worry and anxiety over money! It’s a wise pre-emptive course of action for those who want to stay happily married through tough times and flush ones.

It helps to remember that a successful marriage is not built upon a savings account, but on love.

True love can survive any financial crisis. Love endures. But we may have to defend the presence of love in our home so that family members are not tempted by impatience, fear, anger, ill-will, or any other enemy to peace and harmony that might cause temporary strain over spending priorities.

Love forgives. Love understands. Love is patient. Love is kind. Love is open-minded. Love is humble. Love unites. Love works things out. Love is wealth! When a husband and wife make expressing qualities of love a priority, misunderstandings and disagreements over how to manage money can be resolved.

It’s more important to love than to get one’s way.

Recessions are short. Love is forever.

When the riches of love are acknowledged and lived abundantly, human needs are met. Mutual understandings are established. Harmony reigns in the home. The family will have everything it needs to flourish and move forward, even if times feel tough for a while.

It takes prayer and effort to keep a marriage together and flourishing. With all the negative news blaring over the headlines about people struggling with finances, this is definitely a time to not let one's guard down and get unconsciously sucked into the belief that these fears can become our family's fears. The resources of divine Love are ample, overflowing and available to all. Our job is to put them to use and reap their benefit.

Love, love, love...we can never do enough of it.

All the best...

Stimulus that works

There’s active debate in Washington D.C. about what kind of stimulus is needed to jumpstart the economy. Some type of package will pass legislation, few observers doubt, but many wonder whether the proposed expenditures are going to create needed jobs and produce the right kind of effect.

One fact is for sure, federal debt will increase massively, and that’s not enjoyable news to hear from anyone’s point of view.

I’ve been thinking about alternative forms of stimulus to consider.

In times of financial distress, it’s tempting to think the primary need is for more money. Obviously, bills have to be paid. But money is seldom a final solution to any financial trouble. It’s more wisdom, discipline, better planning, sounder reasoning, honesty, integrity, gratitude and their kin that build solid financial houses that stand and weather the storms of human fear, uncertainty and irrational emotion.

And where does this wisdom and insight come from? It comes from God, the source of all intelligent action to begin with.

What will benefit our economy first and foremost is a spiritual stimulus of wisdom, ethics, intelligent planning, and compassionate understanding.

Prayer opens the mental door to ideas from above that lead to the profitable and productive use of available resources. God freely dispenses these ideas to the listening mind and backs them up with the ways and means needed to fully implemented them.

I pray that every decision-maker in government listens to the divine Mind for direction and acts upon divine Wisdom coming their way.

An infusion of morally and spiritually progressive ideas from divine Mind that lead to a sounder economy for the long run is the kind of stimulus I’m rooting for right now!

"And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work." II Corinthians

Supply is ideas

Many people are frightened about how to pay their bills with job loss, mounting debt, rising health-care costs, shrinking pay checks and threat of foreclosure. “How do I get more money?” many wonder.

The spiritual remedy for fear of financial lack is to understand that supply comes first and foremost in the form of ideas. And it really does! Every form of supply you’ve ever had started with an idea in someone’s consciousness, and if it was a good idea, it came direct from God to the one who received it.

Mary Baker Eddy got it right when she wrote, “God gives you His spiritual ideas, and in turn, they give you daily supplies” (Misc. p. 307).

It’s not dollars we need first, but ideas. Financial houses that are out of order are crying out for better, wiser management which stems from better ideas on how to manage the affairs of that household. These ideas come from God, the source of all productive and profitable ways of thinking.

If our attitude is blinded by the belief that we need more money, it is typically closed to what is really needed, and that is better ways of thinking. Any financial mess can be straightened out through reason, discipline, improved choices, and making the hard choices that need to be made to rectify the errors that took over. This is all accomplished in mind, in thought. It doesn’t happen first on the financial statement, but in the thinking of those pouring over the statements.

Sound businesses are run on sounds ideas. Valuable employees express thinking that has value. Solvent households are managed by attitudes that demand balance and order.

Every financial decision happens in thought. Money flows through channels according to the thought that directs it.

When faced with impoverished financial conditions, the pressing need is for more inspired ways of thinking and managing one’s affairs that demonstrate solvency. These inspired views come direct from God, the source of all inspiration to begin with. Prayer helps us hear them.

The first need for a strong financial condition is not for money, but for ideas! The funds will follow…

Life is more than money

When I read news about the latest billionaire to commit suicide because of huge financial losses from making poor investment decisions over recent years, I thought, “If these people understood what life was all about, they would not commit suicide.”

Merckle, heir to a pharmaceutical fortune in Germany, and the investor who took his life, lost $1.4 billion investing with ponzi-scheme artist Madoff, as well. He has had his share of bad news.

But life is so much more than money! I ask, "How can thought get so lost in the illusion of monetary wealth that all sense and reason vanishes from thinking, and no reason to live can be found just because money was lost?" This should not be so…

Money is no big deal in the eternal scheme of things. God sustains us forever regardless of how much money we have on earth. Money comes and goes, but the riches of Spirit are forever ours.

Yes, we are accountable for our decisions and must at-one for our mistakes, but there is no better place to make adjustments than in the here and now. Committing suicide does not make one wiser, more intelligent, or a better decision-maker. It is an illusion of escape that must be overcome too.

It’s better to face our problems now and rectify them. God gives us the help we need to align our affairs with principle, build on a better foundation, make amends, pay off our debts, fix our problems and conduct business with integrity.

If there is a need to live super modestly, compared to the past, while making adjustments, that is okay. That could be a good thing. Humility is wealth. Living humbly can be a very progressive step, bringing thought closer to God, teaching the riches of gratitude and valuing the simple things in life.

Life is so much more than money.

Life is spiritual. It’s a gift from God. It’s precious and to be honored and respected by living it.

Fame, fortune and portfolios come and go, but not life. Life is a constant. It is the goodness, love and peace of God embraced, valued and expressed moment by moment. We all can experience the blessings of life, divine Life, independent of what financial numbers cross the screen on any given day.

Life is bigger than the numbers, even when there's a minus sign in front of them.

The better bailout

The news is filled with corporations and businesses flooding Washington D.C. with requests for bailouts. The automakers’ plea for $25 billion has been tabled by Congress until December. Congress wants to know what the industrialists would do with the money before opening their wallet, if they ever do.

With the government borrowing gargantuan sums of money to fund these bailout plans, I ask, who is going to bail out the government? When does it all stop, and planners start thinking in terms of paying off debt instead of incurring more?

I love the Bible’s admonition, “Owe no man any thing, but to love one another.” I’ve used it many times in my adult life when tempted to go into debt for something I didn’t absolutely need. Obedience to its literal interpretation spares one from much worry about debt, it seems.

I’ve gone with less material things at times and made more modest purchases as a result of following this rule, but it’s a worthwhile trade-off. It’s much more enjoyable to live modestly and with contentment and genuine peace of mind, then to have things and torture over how to make the next payment.

The greater need in our economy is not for larger and bigger monetary bailouts, but for increased spiritual understanding of how to manage one’s economic affairs with wisdom, foresight, intelligence and wisdom. These qualities come from divine Mind and are freely available for anyone to utilize and express. Humility, receptivity to better ideas, and a willingness to listen avails the desiring mind of the knowledge needed to adjust, change course, and prosper.

This world is filled with talented business people and money managers who know how to run a business and keep it solvent.

We all express the one Mind, and as we humbly listen to each other, learn from one another, and pray to God for guidance and wisdom, divine Mind will bail us out of this crisis with spiritual resources that do no incur more monetary debt.

Divine Mind has the resources to do the job. These resources are not first more money, aka more debt, but wise ideas, inspired possibilities, improved ways of doing things, and more sound models to emulate.

Divine Mind’s pockets are infinitely deep, and loaded with the treasures of truth and love that meet economic needs.

Let’s dip into those pockets and find the spiritual insight we need to chart a healthier economic course for our country, our neighbors and the world at large.

A moral-based economy

One of the recent fears voiced by economists is over the drastic drop in consumer spending. This is a bad thing, they contend. Consumers are cutting way back on how many times they eat out. They are delaying major purchases for cars and appliances, and overall looking for ways to save cash so they can pay their bills and reduce debt.

When I read in the newspaper how evil reduced spending was for the economy, my inner moral voice rebelled. Something is wrong with the logic here, I protested.

When my family has too many bills to pay, we cut back on expenditures, save up and pay off our debt. It’s a sound way to manage one’s financial affairs. It keeps one out of hock to predatory creditors. Why would it be any different on a national level? I asked.

The economists reason that less spending, translates into fewer products purchased, which means less jobs to produce those products. That is bad for the economy. Granted, people need to work to earn money to pay their bills. But when spending more money than one has is advocated as a virtuous act, something is wrong with the reasoning. A fundamental change is needed from the ground up when morally unsound practices are preached as healthy for one's well being.

How to remedy this error? I wondered.

I look to Jesus for guidance.

Jesus lived in a Spirit-based economy. His primary motive was not to earn a monetary profit, but to live a spiritually productive life.

An economy motivated by pursuit of monetary profit above living moral and spiritually sound principles, is going to advocate unsound practices, like “It’s good to spend beyond one’s means.” Seeking the ends of earning a profit above all else, compromises morals to get there.

It seems that one way out of this financial conundrum is to make the pursuit of sound moral and spiritual living the number one goal above earning a monetary profit. Put seeking spiritual profit at the top of the list of desirable achievements. The money needed to pay bills will still come, per God's law of on-going provision, but vital principles will not be compromised on the way.

I don’t know how many years, decades, or centuries it will take for mankind to learn the value of putting spiritual goals above purely monetary goals, but the laws of God will get us there someday. It’s inevitable.

Won’t it be invigorating to wake up one morning, and read on the front page of the newspaper, “Morals at a record high today!” or, “People growing spiritually at record pace…” or “Time spent in prayer on the increase!” These are indicators I could get excited about…

“Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Jesus Christ

Supply is freely given

Two days ago, while I was opening my mail, I came across a beautiful thank you card with an extraordinarily large check enclosed. The sender of the gift owed me no money, but was sharing “out of his abundance,” he wrote, for healing time we had spent together in years past working through a severe challenge he had faced at that time.

I have witnessed this type of unexpected and munificent beneficence many times over the course of my Christian Science practice. Each time it happens, I am increasingly humbled, for it wallops over the head any residual belief in my thinking that supply is something we have to go out and get. It is not. Supply is not a material commodity that is obtained through toil, strife and competition. It is a gift from above that comes to us through the grace of God as we sincerely serve the divine will and perform His work faithfully.

The more I pray about the economic turmoil the world faces today, the more it seems there is a crying need for a total revision in mankind’s belief-system as to what supply is and how to have it.

Conventional thought views supply as a material commodity, like money, that needs to be gotten, saved and doled out.

Jesus Christ taught a different concept of supply. He did not spend time counseling his disciples on how to earn money, manage debt and get rich. In fact, Jesus had little respect for money as an ideal to cherish and work for. “Seek treasures from above,” he instructed. Yet, all of Jesus’ human needs were met, monetary included.

Jesus saw supply as ideas coming from God, pure and simple. Supply was not money. Supply was not things. Supply could not be measured materially. Supply was infinite Love loving, divine Mind inspiring, and Life living. Pursue these ideals and your human needs will be met, he taught.

Now, what would happen in society if everyone understood this ideal for supply and lived it? It would totally revolutionize people’s priorities and goals in life, and change what they pursued with their time and energy. It would keep us out of economic messes like the present one we're dealing with.

Instead of getting caught up into the trap of thinking the purchase of more things leads to happiness, and building up credit card debt as a consequence, thought would be focused on getting more spiritual understanding. Unnecessary debt would be avoided.

When buying a home, instead of thinking, “I need a bigger house than I can afford,” and extending one’s finances a bit too far, thought would be finding reasons to be grateful for whatever size space was affordable. And payments that were a stretch would be avoided.

When building a business, instead of trying to be the biggest and most impressive, and possibly expanding operations with debt faster than the company can reasonably pay off, management would be practicing contentment, humility, and gratitude while working to increase the business through sound economic principles. These “supply-qualities,” from God would keep the balance sheet well adjusted and in the black.

Supply is not money. Supply is ideas and understanding coming from God, that in turn, when lived out and expressed faithfully, translate into human needs met.

Going into the Christian Science practice forced me to accept supply on spiritual terms years ago. I had to let go of my old profit-pursuing ways that had been learned in class at Stanford University and then honed in the family business where I worked afterward.

In the practice, one has to demonstrate supply coming to you. You do not go out and get it like business people and employees are taught to do through their own effort. And what I learned is that supply comes to me first as love, understanding and ideas from God. As I act on this supply and share it with my fellowman through my practice, they in turn show gratitude by meeting my human needs. And to reason a bit further, it really isn’t them, personally, that supply me. It’s the divine Love they feel within that inspires them to give. So, supply really is always coming from divine Love no matter what human channel it appears through or from.

Around 1993, I was accepted for Normal class, to be taught in Boston, which was education that enabled me to become a CS teacher. Between lodging and airfare, the trip was going to cost several thousand dollars, money which I did not have. It never occurred to me that I would not have it. Supply was right ideas coming from God, I understood, and this education was a right idea to strengthen and progress my practice, I was confident.

One week before I was to leave for Boston, a man came into my office and handed me a $5000 check, saying he did not need it and wanted me to have it. I about fell out of my seat, yet, I did not, because I instantly knew what had happened. God had inspired this man to give me that money so that my expenses would be paid on this trip that God had planned for me to go on all along. It was the full circle of divine Love bearing fruit, and everyone was blessed in the giving and the receiving.

Another time in my practice, I started to worry about paying for major expenses in the future, like buying a car, having children, and putting them through college. I did not see humanly how that was ever going to happen from my very modest earnings. One Saturday morning, a woman came to my front door, shoved fistfuls of cash into my hands and said, “God told me to do this. Take this money, and I don’t want to hear anything about it.” She turned, and promptly left.

I was stunned. We had no debt and our bills were paid. We didn’t need the money. But it still happened. After I closed the door and asked God what lesson I was supposed to learn from this blessing, the little voice said, “Evan, never ever worry about money again. I will always meet your needs. Stay focused on being a good practitioner.”

I realized that God sent that woman to impress upon me in a concrete way that my fears about future monetary needs were groundless. And God was right. We’ve never lacked. We live abundantly. Looking back over the last twenty years, we've always had a car to drive, and now we're preparing to send our daughter to college next year.

Supply is not material. Supply is not money. Supply is not limited. Supply is infinite. It is ideas coming from God. It is divine Love loving us, and we have only to open up and receive the divine gift freely coming our way.

I could write much more on this, but I think I’m getting a bit lengthy here…more to come later!

Enjoy your supply coming from God today…

Does money make you happy?

Now here’s a new angle on what makes us happy that I hadn’t read before.

An opinion piece in The Christian Science Monitor titled, “Does money make you happy?” by Arthur Brooks, claims that feeling successful is more closely related to happiness than having lots of money.

One can have a wad of cash, but if they don’t feel successful in their work, they’re less likely to be happy than someone who has little wealth but feels very successful in what they do, Brooks contends.

Of course, I thought, this explains why so many people who have modest wealth, still live a very happy satisfied life.

It’s not about the money. It’s about a feeling of completeness, wholeness, spiritual worth and value lived and demonstrated. We feel good when we are successful at our work, assuming the work is something we love to do in the first place.

Brooks points out that we should not compromise the work we do for money, because we’re probably sacrificing happiness too. Money gained cannot measure the success we feel when we build a strong family, grow spiritually, and nurture friendships. Money is a poor measure of true success, and should not be confused as such.

Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed the article. You might too.

Worth and value

"The real measure of your wealth is how much you would be worth if you lost all your money."

~ Anonymous

What if no such thing as debt?

Too much debt is a common complaint of many callers these days. It’s ironic that in a time when the economy is supposed to be strong, with full-employment throughout most of the country, the USA anyway, millions of people sink deeper into debt, frantically trying to keep their financial heads above water. Something is not right here!

One day, recently, when I was praying to see someone’s financial solvency and to see them abounding in God’s unlimited supply of infinite resources, the question lobbed into my thought, “What if there was no such thing as credit with which to incur debt?” I wondered what the world would be like in such a case.

It may sound preposterous because debt is such an integrated part of many people’s lives. Yet, this is not true for many people I’ve known over the years. I’ve known people who never go into debt. They loathe debt. They avoid it at all costs. They may have bought a modest home with a mortgage to put a roof over their family’s head in their early years, but by and large they stay out of debt. They’d rather go without then put a balance on a credit card and have to deal with the consequences later. And they gain great peace of mind from never having to deal with debt. I have seen the contentment in their demeanor. They are usually very humble people, not into show, not caring whether they keep up with the neighbor’s purchases next door, and not judging their substance by how many possessions they own. They have found a spiritual contentment within that satisfies them beyond the acquisition of any material thing. And this spiritual contentment keeps them out of debt to the world.

It’s a good question to ask oneself if struggling with debt. What if there was no money to borrow? What would you do differently when balancing income with outgo? How would your long run decision-making change if there was no credit card you could reach for when short on cash?

I like the question because it requires one to quit relying upon a material vehicle for supply and hopefully drive desire closer to the divine source of all supply.

One problem with ease of credit is that the human mind starts relying upon the material credit rather than upon God for supply. It creates a false sense of reliance that sooner or later has to be reckoned with.

God is the source of all supply that lasts and truly meets human needs. Cash is easily spent and gone, but God’s supply, coming in the form of wisdom, sound decision-making, spiritual-mindedness, love, humility, obedience and unselfishness meets needs over the long haul. Spiritual supply keeps us out of financial debt.

And that’s where our gaze should be focused for long term solutions to financial crises—on the long run! There may be some short term uncomfortable adjustments to make while getting back on track with aligning with true supply—spiritual supply—but the long term rewards will be immense.

God can give us more than any amount of debt could ever provide.

If struggling with debt, ask yourself, “If there was no credit to gain, how would I live differently? Where would I go for help? And what kind of help would I be looking for?”

Moses found water in the rock and food falling from the sky. Peter found tax money in a fishes’ mouth, and thousands saw a few loaves and fishes multiply to the joy of all.

We too, can find what we need “in a fishes’ mouth,” and water from the rock—from the most unexpected places—and see good multiply before our eyes. God can do it! When we cease to let the temptation of debt blind our mental eyes to seeing God’s ever-present supply at hand, we see possibilities that we didn’t see before, and the perceived need to acquire debt goes away. We find we can live without it just fine!

Our true debt is to God—for all the blessings divinely bestowed upon us waiting to be used. Pay this heavenly debt, and debt to the world will get paid off.

Who is the richest?

Forbes magazine came out recently with their yearly list of billionaires around the globe. It appears that fascination with wealth and adoration of riches ranks high on the interest list of many readers these days.

After briefly reviewing the roster of mega-wealthy individuals and some of their business accomplishments to accumulate such wealth, I wondered when a top-selling magazine would someday publish a list of the spiritually richest people around the globe.

Wouldn’t that be a change—a recognition that possessing the treasures of Spirit ranks above the accumulation of temporal things!

I mused about who might be listed as the spiritually wealthiest in the world, but soon quit for I realized that the riches of the Spirit belong to all of us. No one has anymore of the wealth of Spirit than anyone else.

In Christian Science we are to see everyone as a child of God, as fully endowed with the riches of Spirit without limit. We are to see past the outward picture of materiality to the spiritual reality in Mind, and there we find the truth that lasts forever.

And in Truth, we all are equal benefactors of God’s infinite grace and love!

From a human point of view, the observing eye may see people who do good deeds and spread love as being spiritually wealthier than others who live a self-serving life. And this is true, from an outward point of view. But Christian Science takes us deeper, into Spirit, where every man, woman, and child is the offspring of God, and not the product of an earthly environment or worldly past.

When we look beyond material appraisals to the spiritual truth, every single one of us is as equally wealthy as another. There is one God, and one reflection of that God—the perfect man.

The wealthiest person in the world is the one Person, God, of whom we all reflect in our own individual unique way.

So, rejoice in your birthright. You are rich! You are wealthy! As a child of God, you possess greater wealth than the world can ever offer—the wealth of Truth and Love coming from God, and eternally yours.

You are richer than billions of dollars can ever offer, and wealthier than Forbes magazine could ever measure.

We don’t have to wait for a magazine to publish this good news to be assured of it. We can each live out from it today.

Alleluia!

“Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.” Jesus Christ

Smiles and money

Here’s a new take on supply I hadn’t considered before a few days ago…

Having enough money to pay bills is like having enough smiles to share with other people. Both are effect, and neither is cause.

For example, take love and smiles.

Understanding that Love is cause and a smile effect, we never fear having enough smiles to share with others. We know there are an endless number of thoughts available to inspire smiles, and that we can readily access those happy thoughts whenever we want to. We never fear a shortage of smiles because we never fear a shortage of “smiling thoughts.”

The same rule applies to supply and money.

Supply is not money. Supply is God. God is the sum and substance of all true value and worth. The more we understand that Truth and Love are the infinite resources of the universe supporting and fulfilling all life activities, we never fear lack because we know that we are inseparably connected to this boundless supply of Spirit. We can access “supply thoughts,” at any time, and those divinely inspired thoughts, in turn, manifest in the human experience as needs met.

Supply is never in the thing that humanly manifests supply anymore than love is in a smile. A smile manifests love, but a smile is not the substance of love. And likewise with supply; money manifests supply, but it is not the substance of supply.

So, don’t get mesmerized by the belief that money is your supply. It is not. God is your supply and He is infinite, unending. There are no limits on your supply just as there are no limits on Love. Love and supply are one and the same.

Be clear that God is your supply and you will never fear having enough funds to pay legitimate bills anymore than you fear having enough smiles when approached by dear friends.

Now that truth, my friend, should give you something to smile about!

“My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Paul

Where does supply come from?

I have many patients who call for spiritual help to meet their financial needs. Mountain high debt, unpaid credit card bills, unemployment, low paying jobs, and slow business are common complaints that cause people to fear for their fiscal future.

Can you sympathize with any of these economic concerns?? Many people do…

Adequate supply was a metaphysical concept I had to find peace with early in my healing ministry.

I left a good paying job to become a full-time Christian Science practitioner, which is a self-employed position. When I began this career I saw little opportunity to earn money.

However, the purpose of a Christian Science practice is to solve problems spiritually, so I sought a heavenly perspective to solve the dilemma of how to serve God and pay the bills at the same time.

Hope started to dawn when I gradually saw that supply is not something we get, but godliness we give. And the substance of supply doesn’t come from a human source. It comes from God.

For example, in my healing practice the provision that would meet my need, I decided, was not incoming dollars to my bank account, but outgoing love for my patients.

Money comes and goes…and mostly goes. Can you relate??...

But the love that heals is from God and it flows without end.

As I truly turned to God for my supply of healing love, my practice would prosper, I reasoned, and my financial needs would be met in turn by patients who were grateful for my help. And so it has been.

Once I understood clearly that supply is the unending love of divine Love, and not a quantity of currency, I lost my fear of ever having enough. It is a very peaceful and untroubled mental place to be, I can assure you. And you can find the same quiet place too.

The supply you’re looking for is not in another’s pocketbook. It’s in God, and comes to you in the form of wisdom, intelligence, insight, creativity, contentment, gratitude and love that enable you to do your work well.

Supply is the infinite omnipresence of good that never vanishes, depletes or falls short.

As objects of divine Love, we are the beneficiaries of God’s endless inexhaustible blessings.

God has already provided for every need we could ever possibly have, and as we truly accept the divine gifts constantly bestowed upon us, and express them faithfully, we lose fear of lack.

Supply doesn’t come from a client, a customer, a bank, a corporation, a company, a trust fund or a government.

Supply is spiritual. It is of God. It is the infinite superabundance of divine Love,--the ever-presence of good,--and its yours now. Accept it as your own and reap the benefits.

And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work. Paul

You have all you need

Have you ever waited for more money to come in before you felt like you had enough funds? Have you ever waited for another person to come into your life before you were willing to accept your completeness? Have you ever waited for a sickness to go away before you accepted you were healthy? It’s a tricky thing, how mortal mind convinces us we lack unless a certain material condition is first fulfilled.

Jesus taught exactly the opposite when it came to demonstrating enough. He never waited for a material factor in the world to change before he acknowledged enough. When faced with thousands of hungry people to feed, he didn’t wait for food to show up before he acknowledged there was enough to go around. He went to God, acknowledged there was enough to go around, and then the loaves and fishes were manifested outwardly in abundance.

When faced with sick people wanting relief, Jesus didn’t wait for the person’s body to change before he acknowledged they were well. "Rise and walk," he commanded before there was any outward evidence the lame man could walk. And the man walked.

Twenty years ago, at a time when I feared not having enough money to meet family needs, a lady knocked on our front door early one Saturday morning. I answered, and she handed me a fistful of cash, telling me she didn’t want to hear anything about it. She insisted God had told her to do it. She then turned and left. I stood on the porch awe-struck. I didn't need the money, but I figured I needed a lesson.

In trying to understand what had happened, I realized it was a messenger sent by God telling me that I never needed to worry about having enough money to pay bills. God was our source of supply, and God would ensure we always had everything we needed, whether it was grocery cash, a roof over our head or tuition to pay the kid’s college bills fifteen years into the future. I took the lesson to heart and have rarely worried about having enough money since, and we’ve always had enough even when earnings were very modest.

When we have God we have everything. What more could we want?

Fear over supply is like owning the largest apple orchard in the world and worrying about having an apple to eat. Ridiculous! You would have more apples to eat than you could possibly know what to do with. Likewise with God, when you know He is your source, you never fear lack. There is no lack in God, only abounding substance every minute, every day, every time.

Enjoy the omnipresence of good--the omnipresence of God--and worry no more. You have all you need.

The Fisherman and the Industrialist

A rich industrialist was horrified to find a fisherman lying comfortably beside his boat soaking in the warm afternoon sun. “Why aren’t you out fishing?” asked the industrialist.

“I’ve caught enough fish for the day,” said the fisherman.

”Why don’t you catch some more?” questioned the rich man.

”What would I do with them?” asked the fisherman.

”You could earn more money,” said the intruder. “Then you could buy a new motor for your boat and go into deeper waters to catch more fish. Then you could buy nylon nets and catch more fish and make more money. Then you could buy another boat and make more money, and then get a fleet of boats to make even more money. Then you would be a rich man like me!”

“What would I do then?” The fisherman asked.

”Then you could really enjoy life!” The industrialist answered.

”What do you think I’m doing right now?” replied the contented worker.

Ka-ching!

Have you ever been tempted to believe you need more than you already have?

A consumer oriented society preaches the pursuit of happiness through consumption. Yet, experience teaches us that money does not buy genuine joy. True contentment is a feeling found within, not a discardable item bought at a store.

We can learn from the lesson of the fisherman. Be happy with what we have, and bask in the eternal presence of God’s omnipresent goodness.

We have all we need to fully enjoy life here and now.

More money

“I need more money,” a man struggling with debt lamented. “Can I expect my prayer to produce more dollars to pay bills?” He wondered.

Have you ever wondered the same?

When people see bills piling up on their desk, the temptation to conclude they need more money runs high. More money will pay the bills, but for a permanent solution to debt, more than dollars is required.

Wisdom, intelligence, order, discipline, foresight, honesty and integrity are the assets that meet financial needs over the long run.

Many people have received windfalls of cash, only to see it spent in short order because they hadn’t yet gained sufficient knowledge and understanding on how to manage funds wisely.

It’s not currency, in and of itself, that makes one rich. Intelligent ideas and their inspired action is what enable people to manage their economic affairs with prudence and economy and see financial needs met permanently.

So, if praying for more income, pray for an income of wise ideas and perspective. These ideas come from God, and they are coming in abundance. As we listen, we hear.

God sends His angels to your side, and they in turn inspire you to do whatever is necessary to exercise financial dominion. The primary need is always spiritual. Money is a secondary factor.

After miraculously being fed by a spiritual multiplication of loaves and fishes in the wilderness, a multitude of seekers sought out Jesus wanting more. Jesus fled their pursuit. When the crowd caught up with Jesus, they asked him why he had left them behind. He said it was because they were comforted by the loaves and fishes rather than by the Word of God which he preached. He rebuked their pursuit of material gain, and told them it was spiritual understanding they should be seeking. “Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life…” he instructed.

Yes, it’s okay to pray for supply, balance, and abundance in your life. But pray for these qualities to be manifest in your attitude, perspective and state of thought first. The intelligent decision-making and funds that manifest these qualities outwardly will follow.

It doesn't take money

A friend was saddened to tell me he had cancelled a trip to a sunny beach in the south because the travel was going to cost too much. He needed to save funds for attending work related conferences over the next year. “It’s sad that I can’t do something special for myself,” he lamented.

“It doesn’t take money to do something special for yourself.” I told him. “Happiness is spiritual, born of Truth and Love,” Mary Baker Eddy wrote.

“It’s not where your body is that makes you happy, but where your thinking resides. You can have some of the happiest times of your life where you are right now if you are in a proper state of mind,” I explained.

What does it mean to do something special for oneself?

For me, it means doing something that brings a feeling of goodness into my life that I hadn’t been previously experiencing.

The key phrase here is “feeling of goodness.”

People often make the mistake of believing the goodness they seek will be found in a material place, person, or thing. I’ve learned from experience that this type of goodness is fleeting!

Once you leave the beach, then what? Once the meal is finished, then what? Once the other person loses interest, then what?

True goodness is spiritual, coming from God. We have access to it regardless of where we are located geographically. It is not found in a store, nor does it cost money. It is free, given to us by God. And we find it spiritually, through prayer and quiet time with the Divine.

A feeling of goodness comes in the form of peace of mind, inspiration, joy, gratitude, love and contentment.

“If you want to do something special for yourself,” I said to my friend, “take time out of your busy schedule, quietly go to God, and pray for increased spiritual mindedness. The joy you find in feeling close to God will stay with you forever, and you won’t worry about increasing your credit card debt in the meantime!”

It doesn’t cost money to have a good time. But it may take humility in appreciating how easily one can have a good time if open to spiritual possibilities.

The most important things

I talked to an audience of adults about valuing the most important things in life.

I asked the question, “When you turn 95 and look back over previous decades, what accomplishments will be most important to you? The money you earned, the house you bought, the title you gained, or the friends you made, the family you prospered, and the love you shared?”

After the gathering, a stately and elderly gentlemen with all the trappings of worldly success and executive status cornered me at my car in the parking lot. He was crying. He told me, “You don’t know how lucky you are to have the most important things in life figured out at an early age.” He said no more, but reading between the lines, I felt he had learned the hard way over his career to put love for others above love for his work.

We all need priority checks on occasion. We need to ask ourselves, "What is most important to me, and what should be most important to me?" Is it to earn that higher wage, get that promotion, and beat out my competitor? Or is it to help my friends, support my children, comfort my spouse, grow spiritually with God, and love more?

The things of the world come and go, but the love of God we live and share stay with us forever.

What’s your choice?