Keeping ahead of inflation
The truths and laws in the Bible can show the way out of the apparent morass of inflation. When Elisha, the Old Testament prophet, was approached by a widow whose sons were being taken into bondage by her creditor, he asked her, "What shall I do for thee? tell me, what has thou in the house?" She replied that she had nothing but a pot of oil. Elisha told her to borrow vessels from her neighbors, pour the oil into the vessels, and sell it to pay her debt. She obeyed, and the oil continued to flow until her need was met. n1
n1 See II Kings 4:1-7. What have we in the house? What is our own pot of oil? Is the spiritual law of supply, which operated for Elisha and the widow, available to meet our needs today?
In her book Miscellaneous Writings,m Mary Baker Eddy n2 writes this: "The Psalmist saith: 'He shall give His angels charge over thee.' God gives you His spiritual ideas, and in turn, they give you daily supplies. Never ask for to-morrow: it is enough that divine Love is an ever-present help; and if you wait, never doubting, you will have all you need every moment." n3
n2 Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science.
n3 Mis.,m pp. 306-307.
Elsewhere Mrs. Eddy defines "angels" as "God's thoughts passing to man; spiritual intuitions, pure and perfect; the inspiration of goodness, purity, and immortality, counter-acting all evil, sensuality, and mortality." n4
n4 Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,m p. 581.
Our limitless pot of oil is always the infinite spiritual ideas that God, the divine Mind, is unfolding to man. Spiritual intuition, inspiration, and intelligent thought can provide the solution to every need of mankind. They can keep us ahead of inflation and the restrictions it would impose.
People sometimes look only for material solutions because they believe their needs to be merely material. "Your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things," Christ Jesus said. "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." n5
n5 Matthew 6:32, 33.
God's supply of intelligent spiritual ideas operates through law, not through luck. This was proved to a family whose plans for a long-cherished overseas vacation seemed dashed. An unexpected business commitment suddenly required all the available resources of two of the members. Was there a spiritual solution to this problem?
A starting point was to examine motives. Was this a need or a want? It was certainly not an urgent need, but id did appear to be a valuable educational experience. If it was an appropriate activity for them, the family reasoned, then there was a spiritual idea they could discern that would help them achieve it. If it was not right, the plan must be surrendered. Willingness to accept this opened the way for the needed idea to appear.
They realized that God, divine Love, operating through impartial law, does not give to some family members and withhold from others. The necessity of meeting one legitimate demand should not preclude the possibility of meeting another, since God's supply of ideas is infinite. Man, as the image, or reflection, of God, must include all right ideas.
Close on the heels of this realization came the thought to sell the family car, buy a small one overseas for the trip, and ship it home afterward. The saving in travel expenses was substantial, and together with other adjustments, enabled every member of the family to benefit from the experience. But the greatest value in the vacation was the opportunity to realize more of Love's law of supply, to see that spiritual ideas are always available to care for our needs.
What have we in the house? What angel messages are we hearing today? What fresh spiritual ideas are we ready to entertain? What impartial and universal divine laws are operating for us? The answers to these questions are our pot of oil.
DAILY BIBLE VERSE . . . I will cure them, and will reveal unto them the abundance of peace and truth. Jeremiah 33:6
