Don’t let guilt overwhelm you

With growing unemployment and jobs hard to find for many, articles have appeared throughout the media reporting the economic hardships individuals and families are facing.


Several stories report highly qualified individuals with a long list of credentials and experience to back them up but still unable to find work. Under ordinary times, jobs would be easy for them to find. But not today, they despair.


My heart went out to a man I read about yesterday who figured he had the experience and knowledge to easily land another job when laid off several months ago. He wanted to work, was able to work, but couldn’t find a job, and he felt horribly guilty because of his predicament. He wrestled with the belief that it was his fault things were so tough.


We probably all know the feeling, “What did I do wrong that got me into such a mess!” we sigh, when events go severely against us.


Sometimes, we do need an honest examination of our attitude and motives and a major course correction. But other times, condemning our self is not the solution. Forgiving our self is the solution.


I think of several Bible stories where Jesus forgave someone and he or she was healed of a crippling disease or infirmity.

To the lame man on the couch, Jesus said, “Thy sins be forgiven thee,” and the man got up and walked. Wow! Think about it. It was the man’s feeling of guilt that kept him hobbled on his bed for years. Jesus’ lifting of the guilt out of his thought instantly freed his mind and body to walk freely. In other words, the lameness was not the man’s fault and he needed to understand that truth.


Bringing the lesson to bear on our current economic times, for the average worker on the street minding his own business and working to care for his or her family, the recession is not your fault! You did not create it, make it happen, or think it up. It did not come out of your mind, and you don’t have to suffer from it. “Rise up and walk,” Christ instructs.


There are many lessons we all perhaps have to learn in demonstrating over the beliefs of shortage associated with recession, but one of them we can quickly embrace is to not feel guilty for a crime we never committed.


God gives each of us the resources we need to rise up and walk through the valley of limited belief, whatever form it takes, and come out on the other end well and strong. Steps to accepting these resources that meet human needs may require a firm proclamation of one’s innocence from wrong-doing to begin with.


You are innocent of having committed a recession.

God's law of Enough

Many people are looking for jobs today, or fear losing their present position.

While praying about unemployment recently, I found myself mentally fighting the claim that there are not enough jobs to go around. There is a shortage of positions for the large number of workers seeking them, the carnal mind aggressively argued.

I immediately identified the claim as a lie , because I know there is never lack in God’s kingdom. There are enough jobs for everyone, I exclaimed.

And then it occurred to me how important it is to pray for everyone in the workforce when facing the issue of unemployment. It is not well enough to pray only for one’s self to find a job, for if one held in thought the possibility of someone else being unemployed because of unfavorable economic conditions, that same belief could very well hold that person back from finding employment.

We live out what we hold in thought. So if we’re battling the belief that there are not enough jobs for everyone, we need to know that there are enough jobs for everyone.

God’s law of Enough! The phrase formed in my mind.

That’s right! I exalted. We’re all governed by “God’s law of Enough!”

There is always enough good to go around for one and all. It’s the way of universal infinite Love.

When I pray for better health, I never fear not finding it because someone else is struggling with disease. I know health comes from God, and it’s unending, ever-present, built into our spiritual individuality which no one ever loses.

When I pray for more love, I never fear not finding it because my neighbor is fighting with his spouse. I know it comes from God, and it’s infinite, equally available to anyone, anytime, anywhere.

When I pray for supply, I never fear not finding it because my neighbor filed for bankruptcy. I know supply is spiritual, coming from God, in the form of wisdom, love, creativity, and inspiration, and there is never a lack of it. Supply is available to one and all.

Demonstrating enough of God’s good is about understanding “God’s law of Enough.” There is enough goodness to go around for everyone, including gainful employment that demonstrates worth and value and generates a profitable return. The opportunities and possibilities come from God, and they are without limit.

God’s law of Enough. I like it. It rings true. It uplifts and inspires one’s sense of possibility. It takes thought out of the mindless dungeon of feeling hopeless and impoverished, and puts it upon the mountaintop of Truth where the expansive view of God’s blessings and gifts is readily taken in, and enough of God’s goodness is found.

There is enough of this goodness for you too. For after all, you are governed by “God’s law of Enough,” and that is enough!

“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 Cor 9:8

God employs the unemployed

There was a lead article in our local newspaper recently that reported increasing numbers of new companies being formed. This is good news! The unemployed are finding employment. Rather than sitting around and waiting for a company to ring their phone, the article stated, they are taking initiative, looking for good business ideas to act on, and following through with a plan.

I saw this report as a positive sign of one way God meets needs of the unemployed. Not everyone is perhaps “cut out” to be a business owner or manager, but the more new companies form, the more positions open elsewhere. So, it all works together for the benefit of everyone.

Businesses exist to meet human needs. Human needs are great right now. Thinkers and doers who rise to the occasion and meet these needs are going to prosper.

The belief that the present state of the economy is limiting workers from finding profitable work is a chance to prove otherwise. The work we collectively do tomorrow may look much different than it did yesterday, but nonetheless, millions of people are reaching out for progressive ways to live, and those who respond find themselves employed.

The Christian Science practice is certainly one area of work in great demand today. People in ever-increasing numbers are turning to God for help, seeking healing through prayer and looking for spiritually minded professionals to help them.

It seems to me that any area of employment that meets people’s needs is going to be in demand and offer work to those willing to do it.

God employs the unemployed by giving them the ideas, inspiration, wisdom, guidance and direction they need to meet those needs. It takes a lot of humility and persistence to hear these ideas amidst the clamor of mortal mind trying to discourage and stop initiative. But hear those ideas we must, for through them we triumph over the lies of lack and demonstrate supply here and now.

If you don't like your job

What do you do if you don’t like your job?

With unemployment rising, thousands of people are finding themselves out of work and often accepting jobs they would not choose if better options were available. But they’re committed to supporting a family, keeping their debt down and pulling their weight, so they do what they have to do to keep their financial house in order and pray that career choices will improve over time.

So, does one have to suffer in the meantime, harbor discouragement, anger, and frustration about accepting a position they would not otherwise choose?

Absolutely not! It’s a time to grow spiritually and become a better person, employee and worker to prepare for a brighter tomorrow.

When I was a senior at Stanford, I couldn’t decide what job to take. None appealed to me. I settled for working on the family farm. At least it brought in an income, I decided. After a couple of years, though, I hated my job. I wanted out, but I couldn’t see where to go.

God said to me, “Be patient, until a clear path opens before you.” I obeyed, although it was a huge struggle at times. But my patience paid off.

Rather than agonizing over the job I didn’t like, I focused on becoming a more spiritually minded person. I worked on improving my attitude toward others, on being more joyful, wiser, and a better healer.

I spiritualized my work. Instead of picking apples, I harvested inspired ideas. Instead of pulling weeds, I yanked out bothersome ways of thinking. Instead of complaining, I looked for reasons to be grateful and rejoice.

It took three years, but eventually my thought got inspired enough to see a new job possibility that got me excited. The timing was perfect. I was ready to move, and I did. It was in God’s time, and not in Evan’s time. And it was one of the best changes I've ever made.

Divine Love provides for everyone. In Christian Science, we learn to hold the ideal at the forefront of our thought, but we often don't reach that ideal in one step. It typically takes many steps to reach the final destination.

With the economy, we might have an ideal job firmly planted in our mind, but not see how it can be immediately realized. That is no reason to get discouraged and worried. If the ideal seems afar off, there is always a step in the right direction we can take, and with patience, patience, work, and more patience, step by step we outgrow the lesser and enter the more expansive. God’s law of progress guarantees it.

Losing fear of massive layoffs

Citigroup announced today that they will lay off 50,000 employees soon. That is a very large number of workers who will be looking for new jobs. Many other corporations are planning similar reductions in their workforce.

With unemployment growing rapidly this is a good time to know the truth about full employment in order to protect one's job, or to be ready to find new employment if the occasion arises.

I look to the Christian Science practice as the ultimate model for demonstrating successful full employment.

Why?

Because to succeed in the Christian Science practice, you have to demonstrate worth and value without any free rides.

In the practice, you cannot depend upon a company to pay you regardless of your performance. You cannot expect someone to keep you employed for performing tasks that are suddenly rendered obsolete. In general, society does not have sympathy for you or pity you even though you give heart and soul to better other people’s lives. There are a large number of detractors who want you unemployed and mentally work against you to that end. It takes a strong faith, deep understanding of spiritual supply, and firm conviction to succeed at staying fully employed in the CS practice.

Yet, as demanding as the demonstration is on one’s faith in God in the full-time practice of CS, thousands have succeeded. They have faced down the beasts of poverty and lack, seen through their lies, and demonstrated supply in their healing work. Not theoretical airy-fairy supply solely in one’s mind, but hard cash to pay the bills. And many have done very well at it.

A practitioner does not recruit clientele, flood the mail with resumes, or talk himself up to gain business. A practitioner follows the model Jesus Christ has given to let one's light shine. It's their light that attracts the clientele. Christly love helps and heals the patient. And results bring them back.

While praying about employment for several of my patients recently, it occurred to me that every worker, no matter what virtuous field occupied or job opportunity needed, is being asked to demonstrate the model of the CS practitioner to some degree.

With these massive layoff announcements, many of the people losing their jobs did nothing wrong. Their jobs became casualties of the larger economic calamity the world is grappling with. Yet, they still need a job, and the old field they worked in might not exist anymore.

Would this type of scenario phase the CS practitioner? Nope, because the practitioner does not look to the world for help or support. He or she looks directly to God for guidance, and relies upon the resources of Love to continue demosntrating worth and value that creates demand for his or her services.

For instance, a practitioner has to constantly adapt to the needs of the moment. One day, there may be a rash of heart cases to heal. Another day, it might be the flu. Another day marriage problems, or too many bills, or depression or...? A practitioner has to be mega-flexible, always adjusting to the demand of the moment. He is able to do this because he is not drawing upon personal abilities to aid his clients. He is drawing upon the infinite resources of divine Love, which work in any and every situation presented.

Anyone looking for a job, can rely upon these same unlimited resources.

Successful employment is about working for God, not for self.

God is the Head Employer over all, giving workers the talents, skills, ideas, and inspiration they need to demonstrate value and worth. The kind of “cases,” or work, one is called upon to do may change day by day, or year by year, as many workers are finding now with job phase-outs. But when one is drawing upon the Big Boss for help needed, its easier to adapt and meet the demands of the moment.

As an active practitioner discovers, there is never a shortage of people to help and needs to be met. The brighter one’s light, the more the need is apparent and the starker the opportunities staring one in the face.

With today’s economy there is no shortage of people in need of help and services. There is a demand for people to listen better for how they can help others in need. Those who discern the supply that meets the contemporary demand for help will find ample work awaiting them, and they will flourish.

They also will never fear being out of a job again, for unemployment is impossible when working for divine Love. EVERYONE needs Love....