The ‘only true solution’ to our financial needs

Managing our finances in an uncertain and fluctuating economy can be difficult. When economic upheaval challenges some of our best efforts toward practical solutions, the situation seems ripe for more spiritual answers.

The founder of the Monitor, Mary Baker Eddy, devoted her life to revealing the practicality of the Bible, especially the teachings of Christ Jesus, in daily affairs. She wrote, “The talent and genius of the centuries have wrongly reckoned. ... They have not accepted the simple teaching and life of Jesus as the only true solution of the perplexing problem of human existence” (“Unity of Good,” p. 9).

Jesus’ life and teachings reveal the nature of God, divine Love, as infinite, exhaustless Spirit, the only true source of supply. Surely we can look at what Jesus said and did as a blueprint for action in finding the solutions we seek. He said, “The Father loves the Son and has given him everything” (John 3:35, Contemporary English Version).

Jesus lived life confident that he and others were able to receive all that God gives. Fully cognizant of divine Spirit’s ability to supply everything needed, he was able to feed more than five thousand people on a mountainside in Galilee (see John 6:1-13) and direct his disciple Peter to find tax money in a most unlikely place – the mouth of a fish (see Matthew 17:24-27).

Christ Jesus’ manifestation of the divine power to meet human needs evidenced a commitment to start with the supply side of the problem instead of staring at lack. He lifted his thought above and beyond the surface appearance of limitation to the infinite source of all good – his Father, divine Spirit. And he didn’t expect us to simply admire his example but to emulate it.

The same spiritual source that the great Exemplar knew and proved in his healing and teaching ministry is always available. What undergirded his teachings and proofs is what Mrs. Eddy revealed as the presence of a Science of practical, provable laws that illustrate that God, Spirit – including His ideas – is all there really is, and that in this reality a pure, spiritual consciousness is our only consciousness.

Spirit’s ideas are ever present – not contingent on human, or material, circumstances. They’re also all-powerful, offsetting limited and limiting material perceptions and assumptions.

Seeing through the appearance of limitation or lack in this way isn’t a mere intellectual exercise. It means being willing to turn our thoughts away from fear and limitation and strive to see divine Love’s goodness, which is expressed in tangible ways. It means giving thanks for every opportunity to understand more about the Love that never holds back from blessing its creation with everything needful.

And, like Jesus, we find that being receptive to divine Love’s tender care avails us of the outward expression of that loving care. This takes form in specific ways to meet the day-to-day needs of each of us and our world.

Decades ago, I left a full-time job, including an offer of a promotion with a higher salary, to enter the public practice of Christian Science healing, which means being available full-time to pray with others to support healing. Starting off with limited savings, I learned to trust the infinite resources of God’s abundant supply to meet my needs.

Although it was tempting to listen to those around me expressing concern about the wisdom of making this change to self-employment, I prayed to rely wholeheartedly on the same power that motivated and governed Jesus’ life and resulted in those very practical solutions.

I came to understand and trust the truth that my real income, which is spiritual, couldn’t be limited by how much work came to me or whether or not individuals were able to fully pay for our work together.

As a result of prayerfully embracing those spiritual ideas, I saw my day-to-day needs being met. And I have never lacked for anything necessary to support myself and my business, including the ability to maintain a public office in a busy academic community for many years, which brought through my door many first-time inquirers into Christian Science healing.

Submission to Spirit’s laws of inexhaustible substance gently moves us away from being hypnotized by material evidence of lack and limited good, and leads us to gain more and more confidence in the practical power and tangibility of God’s ability to meet economic needs. This is the solution seen in the teaching and life of Jesus, and it is a solution we can count on.

Adapted from an editorial published in the Nov. 30, 2020, issue of the Christian Science Sentinel.