CONTENTS
Part 1
FOREWORD
I. PROSPERITY THROUGH SPIRITUALITY
II. THE MAGIC OF MEEKNESS
III. CONFIDENCE THROUGH KNOWLEDGE OF TRUTH
IV. INSPIRATION IN WORK
V. FREEDOM FROM DEBT
VI. THE RICH MENTALITY
Part II
EXPLANATORY
VII. IN THE QUIET OF THE HOME
Treatment I. THE HIGHROAD OF PROSPERITY
VIII. PROSPERITY BEGINS AT HOME
Treatment II. RICHES THE GIFT OF GOD
IX. THE HOME REFURNISHED
Treatment III. BLESS, PRAISE, GIVE THANKS
X. OUR UNLIMITED CAPACITY
Treatment IV. ” MY CUP RUNNETH OVER”
XI. THE AGE OF MIRACLES STILL HERE
Treatment V. GODLINESS, THE SUBSTANCE OF RICHES
XII. JESUS CHRIST IN THE BUSINESSMAN
Treatment VI. CHRIST IN ME, MY PROSPERING POWER
FOREWORD
This hand-book of PROSPERITY was written from the basis, that thought is a substantial influence in the world like electricity, steam, heat and light. That man can control, direct, transform and dissipate his thoughts in the same way that he manipulates the forces that are evident to his five senses.
If the man who takes this book has studied psychology and metaphysics from this viewpoint, he doubtless has had proof of this thought-power. If he has not, then let him approach this book with a fair mind willing to investigate and not to judge until all the evidence is in, and a thorough trial has been given to the practices and applications, recommended.
In many cases, the simple perusal of the book will be sufficient to bring about a marked change for the better in one’s affairs.
But the most earnest desire of the Author is, not that one shall be merely prospered in his worldly affairs by this volume, but that the little book shall prove the door of a new life. And that the reader shall go on, studying other works, of like nature, until he knows all the joy and freedom that have come to the many, who have found their peace and happiness by living the principles that are here upheld.
The Author will always be glad to hear from those who have been benefited by these teachings.
Los Angeles, Cal.
A. R. M.
Easter, 1913.
Part I
Principles and Practice
PROSPERITY
The Power of Right Thinking to Bring Success
I
Prosperity Through Spirituality
“Both riches and honor come of thee and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might and in thine hand it is to make great and to give strength unto all.”
—I Chron. 29:12.
It is now established in the minds of many people that health of body is a legitimate result of spiritual knowledge, and eventually will be one of the signs of a practical follower of Christ, but these same ardent believers, many of them, find it difficult to believe that health of circumstances can be demonstrated in the same way, and is as legitimate and true a sign of the understanding of spiritual law, as the healing of the body.
Approaching the subject of riches with a fair unprejudiced mind, we shall understand why it is, that they have been largely in the possession of the unspiritual, instead of the children of God, to whom the heritage rightfully belongs.
Worldly riches have been feared, despised, condemned and even hated by spiritual aspirants, because of ignorance of how to be in them, and yet not of them— to possess them, and not be possessed by them. Doubtless this attitude is less deceiving than the other error: greed, worship and the fear of losing riches. But the really Wise avoid both attitudes through knowing world wealth to be but a reflection of the real riches, which must be sought first, last and always. Having found the richness of heaven you cannot escape the richness of earth unless you purposely repudiate it.
The rich state of being is The Promised Land that belongs to the people of God. Its occupancy by the selfish and carnal is like the Hittites, Canaanites, etc., possessing The Promised Land, at the time the Israelites began their march, under Moses, out of Egypt to regain their own country. The land according to the spiritual spies (Num. 13) was most desirable, a land flowing with milk and honey, a land of the olive and the vine. This innocent land was sweet and pure and goodly even though exploited by the heathen. So are worldly riches, impersonal, good, useful, commanding the world’s respect.
Let us be true and not despise that which shadows a divine blessing, nor yet, on the other hand, lust for that which is not the real riches, for “how hardly do they that trust in riches enter the kingdom of heaven!” a saying that applies to the eager, anxious poor, as well as the besotted rich. It is not money itself that is the root of all evil—money is nothing of itself but a symbol. It is the love of money that makes the terrible trouble in families and between friends, and spoils the candidate for spiritual powers and illumination.
The first step in prosperous attainment is to have the right attitude of mind and heart towards world wealth. To see that prosperity and spirituality must be wedded here upon the earth and Man must be the word that makes the marriage.
Too long has prosperity been looked upon as material and carnal, like the untrue wife described in Hosea II. Forgetting the source of her riches, “she did not know that I gave her corn and wine and oil and multiplied her silver and gold”—a Dame Fortune, the scarlet woman, fickle and false.
Too long has spirituality like an austere monk, ascetic, condemnatory, impractical and exclusive, repudiated her and not known “whom God hath joined” man cannot keep asunder. That old spirituality is dead—all hail to the New, that does not put off the kingdom of heaven to a state after death, but realizes that, here and now, is the place and time for the riches of the kingdom to be made manifest.
Man, like an officiating priest, marries these that have seemed two, and even in opposition, by (1) believing in their union, (2) by revealing their true character. Prosperity is spiritual, and Spirituality prospers.
Prosperity is of God, like Life, Health and Strength. It is man’s privilege to use these divine gifts as he wills; he may use his strength to knock another down; he may use his health to impose his appetites on others, but these uses do not lessen the fact that strength and health are the gifts of God.
Man may misuse his prosperity, may ascribe it to sources, dishonest and selfish, but those are his mistakes—the truth is still that that which is universally good in itself is of like origin, the Good, and prosperity originates with the All-Prosperous One, who makes all things good and very good and never knows failure.
There is not one good that man pursues but, when regarded in its purity and from the highest viewpoint, cannot be identified with God. “I am the Lord thy God which brought thee out of the . . . house of bondage” (Ex. 20:2). I am the Lord your Good that delivered you from that great trouble, that saved you from that mistake, failure, or other liability—the evil that beset you.
Prosperity is the presence of God. It is that expression of comfort, power, beauty and freedom, that is always associated with the kingdom of heaven, and whenever the advent of the Christ-reign is described, the language of earthly richness is used, and the scriptures teem with heavenly attributes and comparisons, drawn from the prosperous things and men of the world.
Identifying Prosperity with God, we see this to be the truth of its being: that it is omnipresent and universal. Being everywhere, one does not need to go from place to place to get it. Find it within. Then you carry it with you—you are yourself prosperity. Like Whitman you can say “I seek not fortune, I myself am good fortune.” You find it in the business you have now, you fulfill the promise declared of him who delights “in the law of the Lord and in his law doth he meditate day and night . . . whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.” (Ps. 1:2, 3.)
Being universal, the prosperity that is one with God expresses itself in everything and through everyone. It manifests in your life as general good luck. All the kingdoms of the world yield their best to you. In the vegetable kingdom your plants are healthy, your crops are abundant and not subject to drought, frost, pest, or blight; in the mineral kingdom, the gold and silver, the treasures in the rocks: diamonds, coal and oil are uncovered to you; in the animal kingdom, your cattle increase and keep in fine condition; in the kingdom of man, you are magnetic, blessed with friends, initiative, executive, efficient.
Prosperity, seen to be one with God, is not temporal and changeable. It is eternal. It is not limited in its expression. It is manifest not only in the ordinary ways of the world, but also it includes prosperity in health and in strength, in honors and in pleasures, in love and in learning.
‘The prosperity of the worldly-minded has the proverbial wings, and always there is a skeleton at the feast of the unprincipled and ignorant rich. How superstitious they are! They build fine houses and dare not move into them, because forsooth! rich men have died on being snugly settled in new houses! How fearful they are of competitors! How discontent with the amount they have! How little hold they have upon health and life and their loved ones! Riches without spirituality are Dead Sea fruit. The substance and lasting joy of riches is knowledge of Truth.
Let us return to the statement that spirituality prospers one and consider how it does so. First, it gives insight into human character, so that one knows with whom to associate in business, what are the things that men want, how to please. Second, it inspires confidence within, and invites the confidence of others in us. Third, it increases the fellowship feeling, gives a lively interest in the welfare of even strangers, making one magnetic. Fourth, it gives a clear head, sober judgment, common sense. Fifth, it gives poise, and trust as to the future. These are a few of the reasons, others will be disclosed as we pursue the subject.
Good luck is not a thing of chance. It is not a fatality, nor a matter of our stars or our karma, but its cause lies in a law, fulfilled either consciously or unconsciously, the latter with most people, the former with the enlightened.
One of these laws is Acknowledgment of the Real Source of our fortune. This law was fulfilled by Abraham, who would not receive anything from the king of Sodom, “even to a shoelatchet and that I will not take anything that is thine, lest thou shouldst say, I have made Abram rich” (Gen. 14:23) and this law was enjoined strictly upon all the Hebrews. For the tendency of the mortal is to ascribe his success to his own skill or labor, foresight or energy, forgetting that even these are gifts of God, and that they are being applied daily by others, but without success.
Our God dwells within us, our real I AM. It is likewise the I AM of everyone else, and cannot be claimed by any mortal ego as his exclusively. It is the same One in us today, that spoke to the ancient Israelites, and now gives us warning of the way to be eternally prosperous, that
“When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the Lord thy God for the good land which he hath given thee.
Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God, in not keeping his commandments.
Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein;
And when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied;
Then thine heart be lifted up and thou forget the Lord thy God,
And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth.
But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God; for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth.” Deut. 8:1014, 17, 18.
Cultivating an intimate communion with the divine I AM within us, we are led from one expression of prosperity to another, along a sure road whose every step is scientific and inspired. This inner guide is called the Holy Spirit by Jesus Christ, again the Spirit of Truth and the Comforter. It is impersonal and universal, and yet, its Voice can be heard unmistakably by those who will not give it a personal cast (as when it is called “spirits”—what tricks and folly, and even outrages, have been perpetrated in such delusion!) nor ignore its great commandments, given through the prophets.
This inner Guide has been called by a variety of names such as “something in me,” “my impression,” intuition, business sense and even it has been called the ”prosperity-microbe” by a well known American wit, who says that he never could be rich because he never had had the “microbe.” That once, many years ago when Bell, the telephone inventor, was first placing his stock on the market, he saw that it was a good investment. He therefore drew out all he had in the bank—it was only $30,000—and was on his way to buy preferred Bell Telephone shares, when he was met by an officious friend, who laughed scornfully at his simplicity and persuaded him to return with his money to the bank. “And so I just escaped being a multi-millionaire, because I did not have the microbe” he mournfully concluded. He had it, but did not know Its Name and nature.
A young Chicago broker, who enjoyed an ephemeral Napoleonic flight among the bulls and bears on the Exchange, was besieged to give his secret of knowing when and how much to buy, and sell that was making him such a phenomenal success. He confessed that it was no exact system that he could define, but impressions, “Something in me prompts me to do it and it is irresistible!” he said. But his power was of short duration, for he did not know that it was the Holy Spirit, and therefore he did not seek knowledge of it, so as to know when to abandon those foolish pawns, which are nothing to the Spirit that chooses the nobler instruments of men’s hearts and minds, instead of stocks and bonds. When ethical laws are ignored and crossed, no ordinary illumination can keep the novice in spiritual powers from making a failure.
It is possible to ascend great heights of success, under the tutelage of the Holy Spirit, and never become falsely entangled with the moral law, as witness one beautiful character, who was led to the discovery of remarkable mines in Wisconsin, and to establishing a beautiful home in one of the most favored spots in California, where she had a chapel and healed many sick people. She heard the inner Voice from her youth and, like Abraham, she had been assured from the beginning, that if she were obedient to all its instructions, that great riches would be hers and, like Abraham, when she became rich she acknowledged the One Spirit, Lord God of the whole earth, as the Source of her prosperity. I refer to Mrs. Chynoweth of Edenvale near San Jose, who published a most interesting paper for years, describing her wonderful, indeed thrilling, and romantic guidance and protection by the Spirit.
Settling it in one’s heart that the law which the Master gave, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things after which the nations seek shall be added” is sound, scientific counsel for the establishment of eternal prosperity, let us proceed to fulfill the injunction. And let us, early in the pursuit, strictly regard that First. So shall we discover that, in a new sense, shall the ”First be the Last,” in that, to seek first the kingdom of God truly, we must make it our last or final search, and our only pursuit.
This means that we are not in Truth for its perquisites but for Itself. It means a certain indifference to “the things added,” even to a carelessness as to how long they seem in coming, utter disregard whether they ever come—such is the paradoxical state of mind of one, who knows such riches inevitable.
Meditate daily upon the pure Being of God, both under the name of Prosperity and under all the other names, as one with Prosperity:
GOD IS
- Prosperity. 2. Omnipresence. 3. Omnipotence.
4. The Good. 5. Life. 6. Health.
7. Love. 8. Wisdom. 9. Peace.
10. Purity. 11. Faith. 12. Truth.
ALL ONE.
Copy the above upon a card, to be put in some convenient place for ready reference.
Begin some definite practices as follows:
I. Keep a handy little notebook, to jot down helpful thoughts, original and otherwise.
II. Identify Prosperity (1) with all the other names of God (2) to (12) not all at once but from time to time and watch what masterful thoughts will arise. Thus we reason: Since God is Prosperity (1) and God is Omnipresence (2) therefore Prosperity is Omnipresence that is, prosperity is everywhere, in all I meet, in my business, in whatever I put my hand to. I do not need to move from place to place. Yet I can go and prosperity will follow me. Everything and everybody prospers me.
Since God is Prosperity (1) and God is Omnipotence (3) Prosperity is Omnipotence, my prosperity is all-powerful, even though it seem but a grain of mustard seed, yet it can move mountains. Nothing can keep it from me. It prospers itself. Nothing succeeds so like success.
Since God is Prosperity and God is the Good (4) therefore Prosperity is the Good, that is, in the Highest, prosperity will bring me good only. It will not bring me pride or folly. It will not mislead me or make me unspiritual. True prosperity prospers others, being of the same nature as the one who makes two blades of grass grow where only one grew before. My prosperity benefits my neighbor—it is not parasitical, it is the presence of God.
Since God is Prosperity (1) and God is Life (5) Prosperity is Life, that is, there is life through my affairs. There is no waiting for the death of anything or anyone to bring me prosperity.
Prosperity (1) is one with Health (6), that is, there is no exhaustion of vitality and energy in bringing prosperity. Prosperity (1) is one with Love (7). In the Highest, universal unchangeable love, not selfishness and greed, is the key to prosperity.
Reason in this way ad libitum, always taking each name in its highest, ideal meaning.
III. Combine Omnipresence (2) with every one that follows from (3) to (12).
IV. Combine Omnipotence (3) with each that follows from (4) to (12). And so go through the list.
What is here recommended is a practice, tint has ever been given by spiritual teachers from the most ancient Oriental times, and especially endorsed by Jesus Christ in his words “Watch and pray always,” and his direction, “that men ought always to pray and never to faint.”
If the Orientals thought prayer always meant a beseeching and asking for something, then Paul would never have given the instruction “Pray without ceasing.” He knew that it meant communion with the omnipresent One, our Life and Very Self, and a communication of the vital blessed gifts of God.
The worldly-wise man who grows rich, thinks money, prices, property, ways and means, devices, night and day, for a prosperity that is but as a breath of wind. The man who would know eternal prosperity thinks God, night and day, until he sees and knows nought else but that one supreme blissful presence.
II
The Magic of Meekness
“Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.” —Matt, 5:5. “Happy are the dispassionate: for they shall inherit the earth.” [Another Translation}.
When abstinence from theft in mind [envy and covetousness] and act is complete in the devotee, he has power to obtain all material wealth.”— Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali.
We have long been willing to acknowledge the powerful place that mind occupies in our affairs, that is, through its objective phases, not subjectively. Men point to inventions and arts, writings and buildings, business and science, as the noble fruits of man’s intellect, and the necessary means, with other externalized thoughts, by which mind influences the world. But to think that there is a way for thought to work more directly upon these outer affairs is as difficult for some, as it would have been once for one to believe that an electric current could be used without a conductor, definitely placed by the hands of man. Just as the Marconi telegrams do have conductors, though invisible to men’s eyes, so thought-force is conducted and applied, though the avenues are still unsensed by mortal man.
Science is slowly working with thought, experimenting and collecting data. And certain ones in the van can hardly restrain themselves from publishing their own convictions, that thoughts can be felt and measured, analyzed and described, as heat and electricity have been, by their effects. But science is conservative. It is philosophy, now beginning to acknowledge intuition as a factor in acquiring knowledge, that will keep men abreast of the times, and be the best handmaiden of the new thought and theology, whose influence can no longer be denied.
Sufficient for us, that all over the world men and women are proving that thoughts are the greatest means and substance upon the whole earth; that thoughts can be read, and their vibrations felt, most distinctly; that they create atmospheres that are attractive or repulsive according to their character; that it is a crying necessity that men be educated in this field, so that they shall not be exploited by the unscrupulous, nor fall into such errors themselves, but join the great thought-forces that make for righteousness, that is, the health and happiness, wealth and freedom of a man’s neighbor as well as himself.
The word, silent or audible, is the conductor of thought, and the trained mind knows what words to use, and what thoughts to make positive, and what negative; and how to keep the true thoughts free from adulteration of false notions, opinions, sentiments and fears.
In the last chapter we dwelt upon the thoughts that constitute the true positive attitude of the mind, that makes for success through spirituality. But not only must we know the right positive way of thinking, but also we must know the right negative way of thinking. For in the realm of appearances, there are both the positive and negative to be correctly manifest, in order to rightly reflect the things that are. To try to fill our mentalities with true thoughts, while clinging to old false ideas, is like trying to fill a full ink-bottle with milk, without emptying out the ink, with the result of having neither ink nor milk but a useless liquid.
Out of the many affirmations of the last lesson, let us select these, “God is omnipresent” and “God is good.” Combining them we have “Good is omnipresent,” the first great axiom of the true Science of God. It is as simple as two and two are four and it is as important. It is the scientific basis of the true and lasting optimism.
When the mind has “a reason for the hope” that is in it, then hope can pass into certainty, and even, at the times when experience and the senses would utterly sweep away a groundless optimism, one can abide in cheerfulness, until its wisdom and its effectiveness arc proven. Prosperity and cheerfulness are boon companions and one always attracts the other. ”Plenty and good cheer” has passed into proverb.
That the realization, “Good is omnipresent,” may be with one continually, the mind must be given over to that kind of thinking, night and day. The old scriptural instructions, to “love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength,” and to “meditate on His Law night and day,” to “pray without ceasing” and to “acknowledge Him in all thy ways” can be fulfilled only by determined refusal to entertain the opposite thoughts and feelings. Thus the mind refuses to meditate upon evil and failures, wrongs and losses, fears and worriments.
Every time an unhappy thought arises, wisdom displaces it with a silent statement of the allness of the Good. Reason becomes the schoolmaster, and the sense testimonies are set aside. Not only do we remember the Lord our “God, for it is He that giveth thee power to get wealth,” but we learn to forget the old ways of ascribing our riches to material sources and personal efforts. In remembering the Lord our God, we are reminding ourselves of the All Good, and this means a forgetting of evil.
There are people, who are suffering from conditions of poverty, because their minds are filled with memories of losses and failures. If you think about loss, you produce what you think about. Sometimes it is not a meditation on the loss of money and things, but upon the loss of friends, or reputation, or some other good, that seems to have no connection with one’s financial welfare.
Socrates says “He that grieves much is a magnet to attract waste of property.” Cease to grieve, or entertain sad memories of any kind. One student of truth had a revelation as to the cause of her failures, upon hearing these words of Socrates. She could trace the beginning of the long time of hard luck to the day, when she was overwhelmed by the loss of a darling son. She grieved and grieved, although she was in the truth, and knew that she was not loyal to her principles in continuing such indulgence. But with this awakening, she resolved to put away her sorrow, and remember that her son lived throughout eternity, and no longer deny the presence of the All-Good. And from the day of that resolution, her affairs revived, so that today she has a deep seated consciousness of God’s eternal supply, and demonstrates it daily.
Our thinking is assisted by our speech, so let our determination be to speak on the bright side and refrain from talking about “hard times” and “money being scarce,” and other forms of financial straits.
Man himself decides the character of the times by his mental attitude. Man controls the currency, he can make it free, or congested, at will, and sometimes one man can be the key-log of a whole situation, continuing the “jam” by his own stolidity, or causing an easy flow by his freedom.
As an illustration of the difference it makes to an individual, whether he talks “hard times,” or simply refrains from such speech, a gentleman told me the following as an actual experience:
There were two merchants in a town in Southern California, both in a flourishing state, until a time of financial panic, which put the character of each to the test. One talked of the bank failures and the gloomy outlook, the other was full of assurance that it could not last, and had only cheery answers to all the pessimistic speculations, and never indulged himself in any talk on the negative side.
About twenty miles from that town, lived a young man on a ranch, which he was developing, while depending for his living upon a monthly remittance, which came from his home in England. He knew of nothing that was taking place in the rest of the world, as he had no newspapers, receiving his mail only when he drove to town, which was at long intervals of time. On such visits he always laid in a good store of provisions.
In the midst of the panic time he went to town, stopped at the store of the optimistic merchant, and ”stocked up” liberally. Then he went over to the other merchant’s place where he intended to buy just as freely. He found “that merchant standing idly at his door, and exclaimed at finding such a dearth of customers. Thereupon the merchant launched forth with his tale of woe, which so affected the young man, that he ceased all further purchasing, and soon started for his ranch, resolving to hold to his money, although England at the time was not in the least moved by the local stringencies of America. And he said the optimist went through the hard times with little falling away, while the other merchant did not recover his old status until long after the panic had passed.
It is as foolish for men to hold back their money at a time of national, financial difficulties, as for the motorist to shut down on his power before ascending a hill. But what could change this natural action of self-preservation but spiritual insight, and regard for one’s neighbor’s welfare, equal to the regard for one’s own.
Three dominant ways of carnal thought must be emptied out of the mind: (1) the belief in evil; (2) in materiality; (3) in the mortal self; and daily, three dominant spiritual ideas must take their place: (1) the belief in the All-Good; (2) in Mind as the one substance and cause; (3) in the God-Self as All in All.
The power to set aside one’s human self-hood, through realizing the Self that is divine is called Meekness. This word is not commonly understood, being generally associated with weakness and lack of spiritedness. Whereas no one can be truly meek who is not strong and spirited.
Moses has been cited as the most marked example of the meekness that inherits the earth. Full of fire, and charged with power, he did not use these for his own personal advantage. But he wished all to stand at the same place that he had reached. One of his followers, Joshua, once grew very jealous for his master’s glory and power, and asked permission to stop certain young men in the camp from prophesying, because they had not been ordained to that work by the great Moses. But the mighty man replied to his disciple in these noble words:
“Enviest thou for my sake? Would God that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit upon them!” Numbers 11:29.
There are people, who do not go on to their prosperity, because they are so full of the earthly selfhood— all the time thinking of their rights, and seeking to exalt themselves, and demanding acknowledgment from others of their righteousness and ability. Pride prevents them from doing work for which they are especially adapted, and which they could honor and exalt, if they entered into it with the right spirit. Egotism makes them insufferable to others—even to those who would otherwise be glad to prosper them. Envy makes them bitter, and even malicious, in their action and speech so that men, who are in a position to choose their associates, avoid them. Covetousness and greed make them overreach the mark, in placing value on their goods, from which, again, fear may make them run to the other extreme and undervalue their work and cheapen themselves. Ambition blinds them, and after many failures, leaves them stranded, wallowing in pessimism and poverty. All because they did not know how to let go of that mortal self-hood, the “little I,” and so enter into the power of their mighty Meekness.
Meekness is freedom from pride, envy, greed and egotism. It is a certain emptiness that has a wonderful drawing power.
The principle of Meekness is the same as that of the vacuum. It is that which keeps all good in circulation. What the vacuum is in nature, meekness is with the rich Substance of God. Without a vacuum, that continually demands filling, the movements of nature would cease. It is the vacuum that draws the air into the lungs, that pulls the sap up the trees. And in mechanics it is the secret of the useful pump and the mighty steam engine. O, the mystery of the vacuum! Who can compass it?
Even when men have but a little of this Meekness, it has made them rich. It is the key to the prosperity of many a “self-made man.” With small beginnings, letting no pride stand in his way, he has gone steadily ahead, often quite free from envy before the success of others, and even, when at the pinnacle, so free from vanity as to do menial things, if exigency requires it, and not think himself lowered by anything he does. Yet, again, he may lose that meekness — he may forget and let pride and egotism arrest his development, all because his meekness was not grounded in knowledge but was an unconscious gift from his God-Being.
When one’s God-given meekness continues through life, then one’s prosperity includes, with riches, great honor and position.- The world loves to honor the man who loses himself in the Cause for which he stands. It was this quality in General Grant that made it easy for the world to honor the United States, in honoring him. His silence, his freedom from egotism, his modesty and freedom from all demands as U. S. Grant, opened wide the gates for the inrush of praise and gifts. The world lay at his feet. He needed only the Christ-knowledge to have placed him forever beyond the reach of failure.
The full Meekness of the Christ is established in the consciousness, that is right valuation. In it there is ever the seeking first the kingdom of God, and there is a perfect deliverance from the pursuit of material things. They follow, they seek him. He does not need to run after them, they are drawn to him as fervently as steel to the magnet, for he has the Substance which they shadow. Those who pursue material things are always just missing them, and not until they do not care, and may even have forgotten their ardent desire for them, do they come and settle down in their world. The Talmud says “Who runs after greatness, greatness runs away from, but who runs away from greatness, greatness runs after.”
Turn that rich desire-nature of yours into realization, that there is nothing for you really to pursue. All that you have sought, all that is worth the having, you already have, you already are. Awake! Arise! Come to yourself and rest in the great Truth of the ages, that the one desire of our heart is, and always has been, GOD. And God we have, and God we are. For there is naught else to have or to be. Perceiving this, you fulfill the injunctions of old for very joy’s sake, ”hearkening diligently unto the Voice of the Lord” wherever uttered, upon the lips of fools or in the oracles of masters, in song of bird or of poet, in the roar of the earthquake or in the still small voice within. And ever hearing and obeying, the prophecy is fulfilled in your life:
“And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee.”
“Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field.”
“Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store.”
“Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out.”
“And the Lord shall make thee plenteous in goods, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground.”
“The Lord shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand.” Deut. 28:2, 3, 5, 6, 11, 12.
In conjunction with the meditation, given at the close of the last lesson, meditate daily upon the following, learning the words by heart, and repeating them, until there is an answering thrill within you at each repetition:
/ AM THAT I AM, the rich fountain of your abundant supply within you. By the power of the Spirit, my rich substance is now overflowing into every avenue and expression of your Life.
My presence and my power, working all things together for good, is felt and seen in everything you put your hand to.
I AM THAT I AM, your Very Self, filling your whole being and all your world. Where I AM, there is only Good, and therefore I declare, there is no place in all being for evil; there never can be any failure; there is nothing to fear.
Where I AM, there is only pure Spirit, divine Mind, the eternal rich Substance of God. Therefore I declare the nothingness of material things. They have no power to attract or bind Me. I know no greed for possessions. I have all that is real, and I covet nothing that passes away.
Where I AM, there is only Love, that loves and gives to All, and therefore I know no envy or jealousy, no pride or selfishness.
“Come unto Me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.”
“Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me; for I AM MEEK and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.”
“For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
III
Confidence
Through Knowledge of Truth
” Be sure you’re right, then go ahead.”
“Because thou hast asked this thing … I have given thee a wise and understanding heart . . . and I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches and honor.”—/ Kings 3:11, 12, 13.
One of the most essential concomitants to prosperity is confidence — self-confidence and confidence in others, trust in the outcome of an undertaking, and assurance that one is in the right, and bound to win. Without this deep, interior faith, one cannot draw the confidence of others, and so have the co-operation of all those, whose aid and abetting, can give actual standing in the business world.
Everything works for, and to the credit of, those who “know in whom they have believed,” and who have great principles for the foundation of their confidence in themselves, and in their enterprise.
Credit is one of the greatest business factors, if not the greatest, in the world today. It would be impossible to carry on the commerce and trade which are so general, active and immense throughout this world, if it were not for the great credit system. There is not enough money coined to be the medium of exchange necessary to, and equal to the ratio of, the business transacted even in one day, nor is there time, or facilities, to affect the exchanges, that even the banks would require, if suddenly all credit were removed from affairs.
So potent is Credit, that even the touch of the hem of its garment, has been known to save a man from financial death. A story is told of the power that the Rothschilds yield in the realm of Credit, that once a man whose business was on the very verge of ruin but who, with a little restraint put upon his creditors, could pass by the crisis in his affairs, appealed to one of the great Rothschilds (who knew him but slightly yet believed his story), for a word, an endorsement, a loan, that would pilot him through the dangerous straits. The giant-financier said to him:
“My friend, I have an errand down the street, just take my arm and walk with me.”
And so, as intimate business friends, they passed among the brokers of Paris. It was enough. His creditors stayed their claims, the crisis was passed, and the man’s business was saved. It was Thought that did the work, the greatest power in the world.
To know when to have confidence, where to place it, and how to retain it, these are some of the questions. There are those who are not succeeding, because of an undue caution and a lack of trust. Or, in giving credit, they have lacked judgment, or dealt with a slack hand, or get into bondage because of fear.
Then there are those, who think they cannot trust anybody—that all men are dishonest, and they will trust no one, until he, or she, has been proven trustworthy. Experience has been their hard and bitter teacher.
In this world of appearances, there are two kinds of trust, a positive, and a negative. The latter is the trust of the ignorant, and unless there comes wisdom and understanding, theirs may prove even a false trust, which will and must finally pass away. Innocence can trust and be justified, for innocence is divine. Ignorance and innocence are not synonyms, as some suppose; there is no perfect innocence that is not based upon intuitive knowledge. It is when the innocent one begins to mix with worldly knowledge that failure follows. Then their trust in people becomes a mere looking to the mortal, and their trust in God is in a being, who is far away, with partialities, and of uncertain character. And presently their faith is tried, and it cannot stand because their knowledge, being of a worldly nature, is according to appearances, and has not real foundation.
True Trust, the positive confidence, that nothing can take from you, is trust in the Godhood of everybody, and everything. You trust yourself, because you let your Divine Self guide you. You know that the Lord in you can do everything, and you let It’s wisdom direct you, and give you skill and insight, inspiration and understanding. You may need to remind yourself often of the One in whom you trust, if you have hitherto lacked confidence. Or, if your old confidence was a kind of self-conceit, brazen yet weak, when you pass like the apostle Paul, from the old boldness to the new meek, yet fearless, confidence, it will be good to say,
“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me,” Phil. 4:13.
This is the Wisdom, of which Solomon sung and wrote, whose price is above rubies, “For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold,” Prov. 3:14. It was this understanding, that brought to that king all his riches and honor. With it, you cannot be poor. Mines of rich ore are discovered by it. Timely inventions spring forth from it. Secrets of nature come with it. Business foresight, judgment as to human efficiency, right valuations as to land and commodities, are some of its gifts. The category of advantages, that accrue with divine understanding, is too long and universal to be written about in these lessons—only taste and see.
By this light, you look for the divinity in everyone, even the dishonest, and that One will come forward. By having your eye single to that One you will also be able to discern as to the errors that hide it, and there will be no confusion in your mind, as to human nature. You’ll not put your “trust in the flesh,” nor “in princes,” but ever in the One that is trust worthy.
Be sure the Lord is on your side. Your sense of righteousness is keen enough for that. Business ethics are not different from others. Business is not business with the Spirit left out. It is only a dead and cold Moloch that in the end will consume the fairest and dearest that you hold in life. If you abandon scruples and conscience you must not sink, but rise on the wings of your Godhood, a law unto yourself, and the Supreme Benefactor of the whole human race.
Certain good people fear to be rich, lest they should fall into the snare of riches, and miss their way into eternal happiness. Learn to pray that you be “not led into the temptations” of any God-gift. The Spirit can protect you from every liability, if you but remember. The saying, ”How hard it is for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God” (Mark 10:24), applies to the poor as well as the rich, for many are the poverty-stricken who labor under the delusion, that they would be completely happy if they were only rich. It is our attitude towards riches that determines whether they are a stumbling-block or not. Good people search the Scriptures, and gather together the many texts that show that riches belong to the righteous! No longer deceive yourselves into thinking Jesus was poor! At any moment he could have had all the wealth of the world at his command. Compare two statements which Paul makes about the Master as to his poverty and his sin, that both were but an appearance:
“For he made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him,” 2 Cor. 5:21.
“Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that though he was rich, he became poor that ye through his poverty might be rich,” 2 Cor. 8:9.
It is not money that is the root of all evil, but the love of it. Let money be nothing to you; and let us not talk of “wanting to be rich because of the good we could do,” but let us see we wish to be rich because it is right, and it belongs to the daughters of the King, and the princes of God.
There is never any occasion in all one’s life for losing faith, or for entertaining doubt. The man who “doubts not in his heart,” according to the Master, can “have whatsoever he saith,” Mark 11:23.
Faith is persistency, which is rooted in the knowledge that “this good is for you, and you can have it.” When Jesus wished to illustrate the faith that wins, he chose an example of persistency that won its way because of its own nature, and not because of justice, or love, or any other reason. He cites the case of a Judge who neither feared God nor regarded man; and a widow came to him, demanding that justice be done her in a certain cause. At first the Judge pays no attention but the widow troubles him so with her determined claims, that at last he yields to the widow, “lest by her continual coming she weary me.”
By this analogy, the Master would give insight as to a Law, by which one can receive his own, even though neither merit nor love have succeeded in bringing it to him. Another peculiar parable to illustrate this power of persistent prayer is given in Luke 11:5 to 10, “because of his importunity.”
When tempted to complain and to say, “I’ve always tried to do right, and to be good, and I’ve never wronged anyone; I don’t see why I should be so poor and suffer so P* close your lips on that utterance before it can come forth, and rise in your mind above the law of cause and effect, of reward and punishment and take fresh hold of the thought:
“My Good is for me, whether I deserve it, or not, and I can have it now, and I do have it this moment in Spirit, and now, it can manifest!”
Once a young woman came to San Francisco from a country town, an orphan and friendless, desiring to get work. She soon found that her lack of experience in work handicapped her sadly. She was unattractive and without tact, silent and colorless. But she had a marvelous tenacity. .At last she got a position in the United States Mint, a most difficult thing to do, unless one has excellent endorsement. She remained there three years, because her political sponsor was such a man of influence. Someone inquired one day as to his personal character, and she replied, “I know little, or nothing, about him beyond the brief conversations, that I had with him before getting my position.” And then she told her simple story of how she succeeded, where hundreds had failed.
When she heard that women worked in the Mint, she went to the Superintendent to ask for a position. He was a polite man, and answered her courteously, that there were no vacancies. In a few days she applied again. Receiving the same answer she left a self-addressed envelope, asking the Superintendent to let her know when there would be a vacancy. She presented herself, after that, numbers of times—every few days. At last the Superintendent must have pitied her ignorance, and perhaps admired her simplicity, for he condescended to explain to her that without “influence”—the endorsement of some statesman or other man of great public power, or position—she could not be accepted. She asked him to name such a man. It happened that a certain Congressman had arrived in the City that very day. She went to see him, took his specious promises in earnest, and haunted his office day after day, until at last to get rid of her he wrote the letter that gave her the place. It is the story of the Widow and the Judge repeated, Luke 18: 2 to 7.
Many a man, and woman, has succeeded by just such simple faith. It was not the mere going; nor by a bold impertinent annoyance; nor was it an ordinary aggressiveness, but a deep childlike trust that took every one at his word and knew no failure.
It is wise never to approach another with the idea of non-success. If you have such impression, either recover from that lack of faith on your own part, or make no attempt to see the person.
Faith in the good-will of people, when it is based upon your respect for their True Self, often forces them, for very peace of mind and self-respect, to show forth their better side. So well is the law recognized today in trade, that clerks and other employees are being educated by their employers to welcome all with a pleasant face, and, whether customers buy or not, whether they are polite or not, to be invariably courteous and agreeable themselves. Such is good, common business sense.
A noted merchant-prince of Chicago had the following printed, and freely distributed among his patrons and employees, as the ruling “Idea” of his great store:
“To do the right thing at the right time, in the right way; to do some things better than they were ever done before; to eliminate errors; to know both sides of the question; to be courteous; to be an example; to work for love of the work; to anticipate requirements; to develop resources; to recognize no impediments; to master circumstances; to act from reason rather than rule; to be satisfied with nothing short of perfection.”
The finishing and sealing of eternal Confidence in yourself, your fellow-man, and your world, lie in the realization of the Truth of these two master thoughts: 1st—That your Richness is a blessing to all creation; and, 2nd—That it is the Will of the true God, that you shall be a great Success on earth, as well as in heaven.
The old thought, that one cannot be rich but at the expense of his neighbor, must pass away, and every practice that has had that thought for its basis. True prosperity adds to the richness of the whole earth, like the benefit conferred by the man who makes two trees grow where only one grew before. The parasitical belief of prospering by the sacrifices of others has no place in the mind that thinks true. My benefit is your benefit, your success is my welfare, should be the basis of our wealth.
It is the divine will, that you shall be a self-reliant, self-supporting being, strong, upright, efficient, a nobleman of God’s realm, able to command all the elements, and to use and beautify all creation, through knowledge of the Self and union with God.
It was in man’s disobedient view of the Lord, that he judged Him a harsh, austere task-master over poor slaves. Now we know that we do not honor God with such a view, but we see Him as He is, the lover of all; the true God, who wills that everyone shall enter into joy and freedom, while yet on the earth, by co-operating with the only Will there is, which seeks always and everywhere the Good and Happiness of the whole.
IV
Inspiration in Work
“Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.”—Ecclesiastes 9:10.
“Not by might nor by power but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts” [Forces].—Keck. 4:6.
Every human being is a dynamo of concentrated, creative energy, ever seeking avenues of expression. And when the right avenues have been found, and there is nothing that prevents the free and full manifestation of that energy, then heavenly joy is realized, and continues, as the fruits of that work return and glorify their source.
Work is divine, and everyone who is normal in mind and body, loves work—not labor, but work, for there is a distinction between work and labor. The first is the creative activity of God, congenial, united with love, inspired, one with play and one with rest. True work is subject to our choice, never obligatory, nor limited by time or space. It is done from the heart, and there is no curse upon it, for the worker obeys the inner Voice, and ever seeks Its sanction in all he does. But labor is work, mixed with false thoughts and feelings, and therefore its fruits are not happiness and freedom.
It is ignorance of one’s divine origin, and unspiritual living, that bring man to the place where he must labor in the sweat of his face, become a slave to others, and have imposition, cruelty and injustice heaped upon him. To escape the misery and degradation of undesirable and brutish labor, man must get knowledge about himself and his fellow beings, and above all, know the true God, and the reason of Jesus Christ’s coming, and the Way to live his Life.
Men may change their environments and their masters, may seek new work, and make new laws, but as long as they are content to sit in spiritual darkness, and ignore the God within, the problem of labor will go unsolved. Social and economic systems grow out of man’s views of life, and the passions that dominate them. If these are radically wrong, then the systems are false, and only as Christ-ideals are held uppermost in mind, and human passions are turned from earthly power and money—the passions of the poor, as well as the rich—can new systems rise, true laws be enacted, and the curse of the old order pass away.
Everyone has a congenial work; it is that, which men can do most happily and successfully; wherein they can feel themselves in tune with their own soul, and the souls of their fellow beings.
The most direct way to that work is by The Rule of the Word.
To the novitiate in spiritual methods, this will need explanation and enlargement.
First of all, let us understand, and agree upon this, that All is Mind; that matter and motion; the two components into which scientists classify all the parts and phrases of creation, are, in other words, mind-stuff and its play upon itself—in the Highest, God-Substance and God-working.
Thought is mind in motion, and every activity upon this earth began as a secret thought. The nature of an activity can be decided by the quality of the thought that was its origin, and the thoughts which followed and were its modifiers. When a thought comes out of abstraction into the definite form of a word, it is like captured electricity, and can be conserved, directed and used, as its speaker wills.
As- iron-moulds determine the forms of the melted metal that is poured into them, so the Word decides the outer form, which thoughts are to take in the realm of appearances.
As moulds are patterned after certain ideals in the mind of their creator, so our words should be spoken from our higher consciousness—the heavenly ideals that are now true in God.
The Rule of the Word is to speak ever, in the present tense, the Truth as it is in God, using positive affirmations with the Good only, and negative statements as to evil. It is to look to the Word as the God-appointed means of bringing into the visible our Good, which still seems invisible to our earthly senses.
There is a direct line between you and the work that you desire to do, the position which you can best fill. That line remains ever the same, and you move along it by the power of your True Word, and the Truth you speak is that which applies to your divine Self, which is ever in its right place and doing its harmonious and happy work.
Following this Rule you declare:
“I AM now in my right place.”
“I AM now doing the work I love to do.”
According to appearances, these words may seem untrue. But you are not ‘speaking from that view-point, but from the realm of the Real. “But,” you may say, “if words are such powers, will not such statements keep me in my present position and work, which are both so undesirable?”
Not unless that position and work are quite transformed, and become truly representative of your heavenly state and activity. This sometimes takes place under the Word.
As you continue gathering spiritual thoughts, and ruling your silent mental speech, as well as your audible words, according to the highest ideals, you may discover that you are where you are, to redeem certain traits of character that militate against your spiritual advancement, and therefore interfere with your earthly prosperity also. Then you will be wise, to cast yourself fervently upon the Divine Presence to move you and to place you, just when, and where, the Supernal Will decrees, while you still hold the True Word.
By so doing, one saves oneself many unnecessary, even painful, experiences, the result of the unregenerate nature interfering.
Often one does not know just what work would be most congenial, or may even feel that one is not yet fitted for the work that would most appeal; in either case, the Christ-abandonment to the Divine Will is wisdom, and perfect trust in the love of our heavenly Father, the surest road to that wherein lies our supreme success.
Eliminate every false thought from the work in which you are now engaged, and whether you be employer or employee often meditate upon such thoughts as these:
I cannot grow weary in well-doing. I cannot be overworked. No mortal can enslave me. No person or institution can bind me. I am fearless and free. No false system can use me or abuse me, I am God’s free man, I am God’s noble man.
I labor not for the meat that perisheth but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life which the Son of man shall give unto me. Nothing is laborious to me. I am not a hireling. Money is no object to me.
I serve the Lord in All, lovingly, faithfully, abundantly, and I trust the Lord in All to serve me richly, honorably, truly.
I am redeemed from every curse of labor. I am not duty-bound.
In secret, as well as openly, I do my best. All my work is on honor.
Competition is nothing to me. Another’s success cannot take my success away. My own comes to me. I have no rivals. I know no enemies. I rejoice in my neighbor’s success.
Slander cannot hurt me, for I envy no man. Bitterness and strife have no place in my affairs. Only the elements of harmony can enter into my business. I draw to me those that love truth and honor.
I fear no lack for my Loved Ones. They attract prosperity even as I do.
I gravitate to the highest, most valuable, most useful and happiest position and work, which I can now fulfill to the honor of man and the glory of God.
Emerson says in Spiritual Laws: “Each man has his own vocation. The talent is the call. There is one direction in which space is open to him. He has faculties silently inviting him thither to endless exertion. He is like a ship in a river; he runs against obstructions on every side but one; on that side all obstruction is taken away, and he sweeps serenely over God’s depths into an infinite sea. By doing his work he makes the need felt which he can supply. He creates the taste by which he is enjoyed. He provokes the wants to which he can minister. By doing his own work, he unfolds himself.”
When one has no position at all, and everything is crying out in him, and through those near and dear to him, for the sustenance which he still feels must come by the law of cause and effect, as he seems not yet to realize the Absolute, what then?
The same Rule of the Word applies to him, as to others, but more than anything else, let him attend to the Spirit of rich service and divine guidance within him.
Perhaps there has been too much running to and fro and whipping oneself into strenuous search after work with, all the time, a sense of the uselessness of it. Then it is wise to stay, like Alary of Bethany, “still in the house,” until the inner message is brought “The Master is come and calleth for thee.” An illustration of this in a Truth-student’s experience will serve best to convey the instruction intended:
A man whose wife had been healed of a severe case of rheumatism, had long been out of work because of his appetite for drink, which had not only caused his discharge from many good positions, but had drawn upon him most bitter invectives from his last employer, who had suffered certain losses through his failing. This “Captain” (he was called) swore at him, and told him never to show his face in his (the Captain’s) place again.
But the man had been wholly healed of his intemperance, through his wife’s spiritual treatments, and all appetite for liquor had left him forever. Nevertheless, as he went to and fro through the City looking for work, no one would take him, because, as they would say, “You said before you had sworn off and would never drink again. We cannot trust you.”
The wife was trying to help with her word, but she was young in the thought and, needing more instruction, came to me to ask what to do next.
“He has gone everywhere he knows,” she said, “and is ready to go more, although he feels it will not be any use, and that there must be another way.”
Since he was beginning to get this impression, I said :
“Now he is ready to ‘stand still and see the salvation of the Lord!’ Let him not go out of the house again for work, unless he has a strong impression from within, but let him speak the Word: I have my true position, I am now in my right work.’ ”
He did so. It required fortitude and strength of character to abide by it. But he knew enough of the principles of Truth to wait and trust.
In a day or so, the mail brought a letter from that same Captain, to whom he had not presumed to go, after the terrible dismissal he had received, couched in polite language, saying that he had heard that he (the man) had been looking for a position, and that there was an opening in his old place, if he desired to come back. He took the old position, where he remained many years after, until he finally went into business for himself.
Fill the heart and mind with desire to serve, regardless of whether there be recognition of your value, or just recompense for your good work, and there will gather within you a rich quality, which can always be sensed by a man of large outlook, making him respect your application even when ignoring ordinary demands.
A successful man in Vancouver, who was attending a Prosperity Course which I was giving in that city, furnished me with an example of the success of this method in his own experience as an employer: A few days before, as he was loading, or rather superintending the loading, as stevedore, of a great number of barges with lumber, two men came to him, one after the other, asking for work. It was not uncommon, and would have passed by unnoticed, as he told them he had all the men he wanted, but for two incidents. The first was, that each did the same thing though strangers to each other. After receiving the short, quick dismissal of the stevedore, who was exceedingly busy with a “rush” order, the first man went and sat on a pile of lumber to watch the workers; the second did the same thing, sitting down near the first one.
As a great load was being swung around by a derrick, it began slipping, and the stevedore shouted for the other men to come to the rescue. Some were excited, some were slow, and as the stevedore called for more, the man who had been second to ask him for work, sprang forward with the rest, and gave his best, not only then, but continued working on for the rest of the day. At the close of the day, the stevedore touched him on the shoulder, and said, “Come tomorrow, my man, I want men like you!” And he gave him the position next day, with the thought that he would keep an eye on that man. While the first applicant was lost to him as a pebble dropped among many others.
Further points to be considered in obtaining employment, will be brought out in our next lesson, which will also be devoted to the way out of debt, and aiding others to pay their indebtedness to us.
Through all the success that comes to us in our worldly business, let us never forget that we came to this earth on one Special Errand alone, and, in as much as we accomplish that charge, are we really successful. Truly there is but one Business in all God’s world, that is, to prove our own divinity, and the Godhood of the whole race, in proving that God is All there really is.
V
Freedom from Debt
Owe no man anything but to love one another; for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. Love worketh no ill to his neighbor: therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law. —The Apostle Paul.
Wherever there is a sense of indebtedness there also is honor; and where honor abides, wealth and power are near at hand, for in Spirit they are never separated: “Both riches and honor come of thee and thou reignest over all; and in thy hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all,” 1 Chron. 29:12. And so surely as a debtor gets understanding, by which he can keep his trust as well as his honor, he will never be harassed by his creditors, nor be brought to shame or want.
It is a matter of wonderment to some people that they are” trusted so implicitly by their creditors. Yet the reason is simple. Men are continually reading each other’s thoughts, and when there is a determination to do right by one’s neighbor, this state of mind is written upon the face and in the actions, as well as radiating through the aura, and if the creditor will but trust his impressions H* debtor then becomes simply a good investment.
As that wise Jew, Paul, declared—and a spiritual Jew is a masterly financier—the key to freedom from debt is Love that seeks the good of his neighbor first, last and always. For with Love is that respect, that honor that is a perpetual magnet for riches, even though they are passed along as rapidly as received, and one may not appear to be rich through accumulation. The truly rich are those who have plenty to spend, and spend that plenty, not those who have plenty to save, and save it. The miser is not rich. The prodigal is nearer to prosperity, even in his ignorance, than the thrifty who never learns to spend.
Perfect love casts out fear as to one’s continuance in prosperity, and guides one into the Way where indebtedness is no burden, but a convenient and harmonious arrangement, where each is benefited, and each is sure of the outcome.
But the debts that we made in folly and selfishness, that hang over us like a pall, and drag upon us from the past, so that there seems no deliverance! What of these? And those that, it would seem, could only be paid with a life-time of labor, and yet no prospect of funds lies ahead of us?
“Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.” Though your debts be “scarlet,” they shall all be cancelled, for such debts in the affairs are like sins in the character, and the Christ-law must be known, and applied, to bring perfect freedom. In the prayer which Jesus gave to his disciples, as a pattern, we have this law, embedded in the words, “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.”
As you open the way by which your debtors can be free to pay you, or not, according to the great equity of God, the way of your freedom will be revealed. Let us consider the mental philosophy of “forgiving our debtors,” so that they may be helped to pay us, if not with money, by something valuable to us. It may be revealed to us that an old score in some former existence has been balanced, and they really owe us nothing. At any rate, it is not true for us to hold any thought or feeling against our neighbors, no matter how false their attitude towards us, but at all times to have such a state of mind regarding them, that they shall feel comfortable in our presence, and even glad to think of us.
People often keep others from paying them, because of mentally harassing their debtors. They wonder with indignation why so and so does not pay that bill, and perhaps they talk him (or her) over with a mutual acquaintance, until, if character were clothes, he would not have a rag to his back. Perhaps one hears that the debtor is spending money freely—buying luxuries—and the rumor adds fuel to the flames.
In the meantime the debtor is exceedingly uncomfortable every time the thought of that creditor comes into mind, and he shuns him. If he sees him coming, he will cross the street, or in some way avoid a meeting. He may even hate him. Finally, he succeeds in so dismissing that creditor from his mind that, when he is ready to pay his debts, that one does not come into mind at all. This sense of uncomfortableness is also the reason why one who has received a favor of money loaned, is so often not a good friend after that—the burden of obligation chafes him.
If, because of Truth, you will not think evil of your debtor; that he is dishonest, or untrue, or selfish, or weak, or poverty-stricken, but will hold him in his noble, honorable, true being, you will easily and happily come into his mind, just at the right time, with the desire to do the right thing by you, and also the ability. This was literally demonstrated in the experience of a lady, a student of Truth, who, among many others, had loaned a man a sum of money who made a failure in the venture, in which all the money had been sunk.
He left the town, followed by anathemas from all his creditors but this lady. She kept her mind upon his true self, and whenever the subject of his delinquencies was broached, she never spoke against him, but always, “He will pay me. I have no fear. I trust him,” or words of like meaning.
Then news came that he had “struck it rich” in Alaska, but it brought no hope to those creditors who had decided that he was thoroughly bad. But the lady soon received a letter with the full amount of her loan in it, and the words, ”You have never said one word against me, and so I pay you first. The others can wait.” This lady exercised the real forgiveness, which is not a sentiment but a power. She forgave or gave-for the false appearance of fraud, the true thought of the Real Man, with the result of proving that what she declared was true.
Our debts are forgiven us by the same process of the Law of the Good—substituting freedom-from-all-indebtedness for the former bondage; and healing the cause, our weakness or ignorance and bringing forward our good judgment and insight.
With the new mind, many errors fall away, that have not been seen as errors, although their basis was some limitation, or belief in evil. Thus one ceases to hold back money from fear, or save it up for “a rainy day.” When there comes an over-flow of money, then to bank the surplus may be a matter of convenience, and not fear.
There should be no waiting for others to pay us before we will consider paying our debts. Doing our part may supply the impetus for our debtor to do his, as when a single $5 piece has been known to pay $20 indebtedness in a family by being circulated at the right moment.
Pride and conventionality are displaced, and debts may be paid in very small sums at a time, and inspiration guides us as to whom payment should be made first. Sometimes a hard thought is being held against one, so that it is like a curse, preventing the free flow of one’s blessings. A true step taken may relieve the whole situation. A dollar paid to a man who thinks what you owe him is a bad debt, may relieve a congestion in the thought causes back of your affairs.
A lady had been owing her music-teacher for her last lessons over a year, because she never had the amount, fifteen dollars, on hand when she thought of him. She resolved to put aside her pride and fixed ideas of how he should be paid, and send him a dollar at a time until the debt was cancelled. After mailing a letter of apology enclosing the dollar, she received a most cordial reply full of protestations that she did not owe him anything, begging her to dismiss all thought about it, as she had paid him many times more than that amount in pupils, to whom she had recommended him. The attempt she had made well repaid her; for not only was the debt cancelled, but the expression of appreciation that she received was a surprise and a delight, as she had not considered the favor she was doing him, but only the benefit she was conferring on those who became his pupils.
Through meditating on the divine desire within you to bless your neighbors, there will rise a joy in paying them. Also, a faith that others enjoy paying you, and you will not dread, nor hate, to present a bill.
Sometimes letters and other papers are so embued with the false thoughts which are held when they were being prepared, that they come like a blow, or an insult, and quite miss their intention. An illustration of this fact was given me by a member of one of my classes: Miss M., a healer and teacher, had given many treatments and lessons to a wealthy lady, who had made no movement towards payment, and finally Miss M. concluded that she was waiting for a bill. Feeling it to be thoughtless on the part of her patient to wait for a bill, and with a combination of resentment, impatience and indignation, she sat down and wrote the bill and mailed it. Now the lady was generous and just, and also a good student of Truth. If she had not been, Miss M. would have waited long for her money.
“For,” the lady said, “the moment I took the bill in my hand, I had such a feeling of resentment, impatience and indignation against you, that I almost threw the bill into the waste-basket, with the vow that I wouldn’t pay you for a month! Then I remembered my principles, and instantly I knew that those were your feelings about me, and I had been reflecting them, and I immediately came down here to pay you. Be careful, young lady, what you think, when you send out bills!”
The question has sometimes risen, ought we to contract debts when there is no money in sight to pay them? Unless there is the true supreme assurance from within, that the money to pay such debts is already on the way, it is better to fast and pray until such assurance come, than to put oneself to too great a test. The demonstration of faith is not the venturing into debts, but the realization of the means to meet debts, even before they are contracted.
In accordance with the statement given in our last lesson, I will herewith give some further thoughts about obtaining employment.
Keep well in mind the understanding that you are no mere machine, but always a brother, and a fellowman—a sister and a member of God’s family. There is nothing so interesting to personalities as personality, and especially a personality that is also interested in personalities. Approach those from whom you expect favors with interest in your face, that has sprung from communing with the Spirit within them, and whether the favor be granted or not, take the decision as from the Spirit at that moment — not necessarily final — and so maintain a high standard of respect between you. It will not be forgotten and next time you apply, it will be easier to get into the “good graces” of the one in power.
Some good advice was given to a young man, who had been spending days looking for work, until he was greatly discouraged. The man who gave the advice, had just made the stereotyped reply, “Sorry, but I’ve nothing for you,” and as the young fellow was turning sadly away, he added:
“But young man, I can give you a piece of advice, which, if you take it, will get you a position soon. It is this. Never again approach an employer with that gloomy face. Smile, look cheerful and you’ll succeed.”
The young man thanked him and put it into practice. As he kept thinking upon cheerfulness, and smilingly received one refusal after another, he grew light-hearted until, at the last place he applied—a coal yard—as the same old answer was given him, he turned and went through the yard whistling a merry tune. The man called him back.
“You seem to be a pretty cheerful fellow! I like such men round me. Come here tomorrow, and I think I can make a place for you.”
He received work from that time, and never forgot the valuable advice of his stranger-friend.
Never expect to succeed by appealing to another’s pity or sympathy; nor by bringing forward your need or lack, weakness or ignorance. Let your main thought ever be, “How can I serve you?”
A few aphorisms are added for your meditation:
Riches are a state of mind. Richness should circulate through our affairs as air does in the lungs.
Nothing succeeds so well as success; nothing prospers so well as prosperity; therefore never put on a “poor mouth.”
Freedom in giving and receiving is the law of healthy supply. The Lord [Prosperity] loveth a cheerful giver.
Do not save up for a “rainy day”; for they will come as long as you prepare for them.
Money must not be clutched. It loves freedom. Carry yourself as one who owns the earth, for you do. Business instinct is spiritual intuition applied to affairs.
Money invested in spiritual things is not loss, but gain, a hundred-fold.
“Consider the lilies how they grow.” They have a law within themselves by which they draw to themselves their own sustenance.
Get into the current of the stream of Prosperity and your boat will be carried along all right without interfering with your neighbor.
VI
The Rich Mentality
Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.— Matt. 6:20.
A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things.—Matt. 12:35.
They shall prosper that love thee.—Ps.l22:6.
Then shalt thou prosper if thou takest heed to fulfill the statutes and judgments.
— 1 Chron. 22:13.
Why transgress ye the commandments of the Lord that ye cannot prosper? Because ye have forsaken the Lord he hath also forsaken you.— Chron. 24:20.
Acquaint now thyself with him and be at peace: thereby shall good come unto thee. Receive I pray thee the law from his mouth and lay up his words in thine heart. If thou return to the Almighty thou shalt be built up … Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks. Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defense and thou shalt have plenty of silver.—Job 22:21 to 25.
Riches are primarily a state of mind and not a matter of accumulation of money or things. Having a rich mind will necessarily be represented by plenty of the world’s goods, either in possession, or at command; but to have millions,, and to lack the fertility of mind to place them, is to be like the mule that bears rich ore on his back out of the mine—he knows only the burden of it and none of the richness.
Men and women of assured income, who have not known the interior wealth, have led miserable lives of fear, lest thieves should rob them of everything, and some have gone insane with the dread of poverty, and spent the last days of their earthly existence in hourly expectation of being sent to the poor house because of their indigency. Paupers in mind, they cannot recognize riches when they stare them in the face.
Therefore the wisdom of the great Philosopher of Life: Seek first to be rich towards God and let the earthly riches follow. For then is the problem taken hold of at the right end, at its source, and one escapes the folly of so many poor ones who have put the cart before the horse, seeking riches first and the spiritual life last.
Everyone who comes into the world has a rich aura, the gift of his heavenly Father—it is his “living” from the Source of all wealth. Most of us seem to have been prodigal sons, letting our rich consciousness be frittered away by the delusions of sense, until we find ourselves bound to mortality, and far from happiness, heaven, our home. But we know that even then, if we only remember and “come to ourselves,” we can return to the rich consciousness by keeping our face steadily towards our Father’s house, that is, “seeking first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.”
The rich aura that surrounds and fills each of us, is the reflection of the Divine Mind, and it contains all the elements of every expression of richness upon the face of the whole earth. Its thoughts of goodness are the reality of gold; its consciousness of freedom lies back of the silver; its purity is the substance of the diamond and all its virtues are portrayed in the gems of the earth. Its life fructifies the very soil, its beauty and grace determine the forms of fruit and flower. Its culture pictures forth in the arts of man, according to what development man has given himself towards that Rich Mentality.
As long as man looks outside himself for all the causes of his fortune or misfortune, he does not find this law of thought and feeling, by which he may be prospered. In man’s attitude towards this Rich Mentality, which is in truth his Divine Mind, lies the explanation of many an unusual experience in his life.
Certain habitual thoughts and feelings towards God and the spiritual life have made a man’s fields yield more richly than his neighbors, although in every other respect the soil and the seed were the same. Crops have been delivered from pests, and also protected, so that a blight or frost or other enemy could not harm them. Illustrating this, a story was told the writer by a student, about his father, who had a remarkable proof that a “praying man” comes under divine protection, even in his fields.
This gentleman said that his father, Mr. N., was a successful fanner in England, who, in raising potatoes, had united with a number of his neighbors in leasing a long strip of land, dividing it so that every farmer had two long rows of potato-hills. They bought seed together, ploughed and sowed at the same time. Mr. N. had a most practical idea of the presence and power of God in a man’s affairs, and so while planting his seed, he invoked the blessing of the Almighty upon it, for he believed’ that all his prosperity came through remembering God in all his ways.
When the time came to gather the potatoes, the farmers found that a potato disease called “dry-rot,” which appeared that year for the first time in England, had attacked every tuber, making almost a total loss to each farmer but Mr. N. For when he turned over the soil in the two long rows of hillocks, not one potato in the whole of his tract had been touched. This made a very deep impression upon all the country round, especially as Mr. N. ascribed his protection to the goodness of God in answering his direct and believing prayers for the yield of his field.
All that one puts his hand to comes into this Divine Aura, and if a man consciously, or unconsciously, cooperates with it and fulfills its laws, that will take place, that is written (Ps. 1 :23) “whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”
This Rich Mentality might be compared to a field of rich soil which each one owns. If it seems unyielding as to prosperity, then it is not recognized and cultivated. It may be like a wilderness, full of weeds, yet yielding a certain increase. Such are the fields of the spendthrift, the sordid and the care-ridden. Perhaps it is unwatered, like the Great American Desert, which has been proven to be so fertile when well irrigated. Then ignorance of this great law of prosperity is the cause, or a forgetting the truth about oneself, one’s source and powers.
The desire in the heart of a man to be self-supporting and independent is because such is the divine intention. The revelation of this inner eternal supply establishes the consciousness of endless prosperity.
“As the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself,” John 5 :26.
Richness circulates through the body of one’s affairs, as air in the body of flesh. And as, through intelligence and power, one controls the breath, so should the welfare of our circumstances be subject to our mind.
A lady in Southern California realized this power of control once, to the great advantage of an important crop. Her home was in the midst of a large orange grove which was then in full bearing, and promising a fine revenue that winter, with which they hoped to recuperate their fortune, and once more be on their feet. She had a neighbor whose financial history had been almost identical with her own, for both, with their husbands, had invested in adjoining lands, planted and raised orange trees, which had already yielded several crops. But the neighbor did not believe in the power of mind, but scoffed and antagonized so much, that the lady ceased to refer to the Truth and its powers in her presence.
One night a report was carried through the town, that they were liable to have a black frost before morning, and that every man had better “smudge” and so save his orchard. “Smudging” (some may not know), is producing a smoke from specially built fires, thus warming the air and keeping it moving so that the cold air cannot bite the tender fruit. Now it so happened that the husbands of both ladies were away. The neighbor came in wringing her hands and crying, “What shall we do! No one to help us—we cannot do it alone—our crop will be ruined!”
The lady, Mrs. R., tried to console her but her own heart was heavy, and she had little success. After the neighbor returned, she walked the floor trying to calm herself with Truth, repeating over statements as to the allness of good, and the nothingness of evil, in every variety of declaration, that came to her. Presently her faithfulness was rewarded. She remembered what her teacher had said, as to the power of Mind to go forth and heal the plants, and she spoke aloud: “God can protect my orchard! The presence of God is there, and even now folds it round about, and keeps it from every harmful thing.” She remembered “there shall no evil come nigh thy dwelling”; she recited the 91st Psalm; she remembered the words spoken to Job beginning, “He shall deliver thee in six troubles” including “neither shalt thou be afraid of destruction” and ending “the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee” (Job 5:19 to 23) and she was filled with trust and a mighty consciousness of power. An impression came to her of her orchard, being covered over, as with a great canvas, and she lay down upon her pillow and slept like a child until morning.
The black frost came, and every orchard, that had not been smudged, came woefully under the blight. Every orchard but that of Mrs. R. in which not one orange was touched, although her neighbor’s crop was a total loss.
It was a nine-days wonder and many were the congratulations. She was young in the thought, and told no one of her prayers, although her neighbor suspected the source of her victory, for she never again scoffed at her belief.
When discouragement and despondency settle down upon a man, or when discord, misunderstanding or bitterness distract and tear the inner man, his very cattle and his other creatures show forth his state of mind in their condition. Lift up your mind, get hold of the Spirit, throw off those mean feelings as you would shake off the flakes of snow before entering a warm room.
Practice repeating words of cheer and spiritual promises, and meditate upon the very opposite thoughts to those that .drag you down, until there comes an inner change. And the longer it takes you, the more should be your persistence—the fact of its taking so long shows how sadly you needed the practice. Remove the curse from that unrented house, by mentally filling it with loving, attractive thoughts, changing its atmosphere from that deadening, repelling character that people feel, even as they approach a place, making them decide against it before examining it. Read Isaiah 35 and 11:1 to 9 and 65:16 to 25 and give your mind and heart to the fairest pictures of concord and harmony that they raise.
You are not building up this Rich Mentality. It is already there in all its fullness and perfection. It is your part to uncover it, to co-operate with it, to believe in it. Then like the lilies of the field, the law that is within you can operate and draw your own to you.
We perpetually remember that the one who is prospered by a knowledge of Truth brings prosperity to the whole earth, for he draws heaven into the earth, and Love is the law of his life, causing him ever to lead his fellow-beings to the same law within themselves that he has found in himself.
As vines that are pruned, only bear the better and fuller fruits, so let us see all the forms of hardship and wrong and failure through which we may have passed in former days, but as the times of our pruning, and because we are alive let us know that Life to be Prosperity itself, the Rich Mentality, containing the greatest fortune that earth has ever known. And now is the time and here is the place that we prove ourselves the masterful Word of the. Almighty, pressing the Kingdom of Heaven into the earth, until poverty shall be known no more, nor any poor, but all shall come to their thrones, glorified Sons and Daughters of the Most High.
Part II
Six Spiritual Treatments
EXPLANATORY
In the following Treatments, the first thing that is considered is the right attitude that one should take in the home-life, so that the Truth may work in our secret thoughts and feelings, when our life seems separated from business and we are not being put to the test in strenuous affairs.
The second consists of a meditation to read, letting the ideas sink into the heart, and bring forth original observations, of which the student should make notes in a convenient notebook.
The third is the Treatment which is to be read for oneself, as though the Inner Voice was uttering the words, and our spiritual reason confirming them.
The Treatments proper always begin with Listen to Me!
Not only read them for yourself, but silently read them to others, who are feeling stress in their circumstances. Be orderly in this, and write down the names of those whom you are treating, and the times of treatment. And seek to realize what you are saying to them.
In giving these treatments to yourself or to others, pause with impressive realization at each mark, and if the Word is doing its work, there will come a definite feeling of power and satisfaction, both to the healer and the one being healed.
Even though this feeling does not come at first, the Truth in the words will do the work, often to the surprise of the young student, whose faith is weak or undeveloped.
Remember the virtue there is in Repetition and as one progresses more rapidly in learning a language, or acquiring an art, by having the lessons close together and the practice constant, so it is in the spiritual acquisition of the prospering power. Missionaries give the first two years of their noviate—almost all the waking hours of each day—to learning the language of those whom they have come to save. The human mind seems slow. Let us possess ourselves in patience and in due time we shall reap.
VII
In the Quiet of the Home
The real Home of each one of us is Heaven and the bitter home-sickness of so many of the race will never be healed until Heaven is found within.
For the longing of men and women for a spot that they can call “home” is but a form of spiritual homesickness. And the Student of Truth is wise who will not seek the healing of that malady through acquiring the outer home, for, without the conscious union with Heaven within, they will only acquire burdens with the house, that they desire to be their home.
But by developing the home-realization within, every place where they shall relax and spend the quiet hours of their lives, will be a happy nest—a sheltering abode— drawing others with its home-charm, as well as expressing their own deep, holy peace.
In the quiet of your abiding place, be it a flat or a garret, farm-house or hotel, bungalow or hall-bedroom, radiate the richness of your Soul, until the transformation of your room, will reveal the achievement of your true thoughts.
Never take the worries of your business into the family life. Take your faith there, when you consult your loved ones as to your affairs. The only connection, that there should be between your business and your home, is that of spiritual cheer and an abiding scientific optimism.
As you stand at your front door say, “Peace be unto this house!” And be sure that you never let your peace depart from you! Hold your peace forever!
TREATMENT I — THE HIGHROAD OF PROSPERITY.
Meditation. “Come, let us reason together!” God is the true source of all the riches in the earth—”The silver is mine and the gold is mine, saith the Lord of hosts” (Haggai 2:8) and you are the offspring of the Most High, heir of all the richness of God and you are here to express that richness through this body and in this world.
There is a Highway of Prosperity—the King’s Highway—the road up the Mountain of supreme success, that has an easy grade, where the travel is ever smooth, and where they that walk therein know no more worry or fear, or strife or hard times, or slavish work or failure. They live and let live, and they are consciously secure, forever, from all sense of deprivation or lack.
The uninstructed follow by-paths in seeking their wealth, where there is much stumbling and blindness of chance, where burdens pile up, but the travelers never reach the heights. All these sidetracks end in gullies and pits, for all that is gained must eventually be given up. Men enter them as short-cuts to wealth, and though some of them cross the real Road, so intoxicated are these wanderers, that they know not the Way even when their feet press its fair track, long miles at a time.
The right view of Prosperity as God’s own presence, not to be refused or despised, but to be seen as the legitimate expression of the spiritual life, comes to “the man whose eyes are open,” and he seeks understanding so as to think and feel, speak and act according to the Law that operates, to make bodies healthy and circumstances wealthy, as one and the same work. The body is wealthy that has health, and the – circumstances are healthy that have wealth.
Listen to me! The Highroad of God’s Prosperity is unlimited wealth, ** riches that are eternal “and the Life that is endless ease and comfort.” This blessed Road is not far from you; “it is not divided and set off from your life” or the life of anyone. ** For it is the Omnipresence of God.”
Because this Highroad to prosperity is the omnipresence of God, “you are in it now,” you cannot miss the Way. “Your mind is set right now.” And mind being the cause of all that manifests in your life, ** its right thinking will show forth right conditions in your affairs. “Your Father is rich.”Your Father has “enough and to spare” “and His decree is that you shall prosper “in whatsoever you put your hand to.”
Your heritage is boundless wealth” and the Wise One within you” reveals to you the laws ** by which your own comes to you. “Jesus knew the deep laws of Spirit” by which he could pay his taxes, “furnish the finest wines for the feast, ” and feed multitudes with overflowing abundance. ** You have the same Intelligence in you, ” for it is the Mind of God ” opening up the Way of your supply. **
Now you are on the Highroad to the riches ” that will never fail. ” You are coming out of mortality’s dream. ** As a mortal you have been rich a thousand times in lives gone by. “What did it profit you? Nothing. “Now temporal richness is finished.” Enter into the riches ” “prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” “Because you seek the riches of God first, ” you must have the other also. ” It is the law. “You have the Word of Christ for it.” Being rich towards God, ” rich in loving service to humanity, “rich in goodness of character, “rich in holy wisdom and devotion to God and His Christ, ** you cannot miss the riches of the world. ”
God’s prosperity flows to you without effort. “It is the divine gift. ** It comes, not by hard work of head or hand, ** but by the Spirit. ** Inspiration leads you to your expression of happy usefulness. ** You find the work you love to do, “and it pays. *
Debts are no part of your life. “The light of the Christ-mind shines on your Way, ** and shows you how to cancel every debt. ” Spirit keeps your mind at ease. ** You need never worry. “Worry never does anything. ** Now you let trust-in-the-Almighty-Good displace all anxiety, ” and give you rest. ” What is to be ** of God’s good state and accomplishment, ** is done already. ** Therefore your debts are already paid in the divine Mind. “Honor and equity take you out of indebtedness. ** You are not a debtor, ** you are a good investment. ** You make rich returns. ” You are a Bank, not a bankrupt. ** The law of the Spirit in Christ Jesus makes you free. **
Every day brings you fresh inspiration. ** Every night brings you innocent sleep and righteous rest. **
Every experience means the closer communion with God. ** Nothing can daunt you. “Nothing can discourage you.” You touch the Highroad of God’s prosperity ** and you are wafted along the Way on winged feet. “Honor and riches are yours,” and your peace no man can take from you ” now and forever more. *
IT IS DONE.
VIII
Prosperity Begins at Home
Every household can prove itself a center for the expression of God’s prosperity, no matter how small its beginnings may be. As a mighty oak is but a spindling twig at first, but, through faith in itself, and the loving encouragement and protection of nature, becomes the tower of strength, that is the admiration of all that behold it, so one’s spiritual demonstration of prosperity may seem a weakling at first. But, if you temper the winds of fierce race-suggestions of the reality of poverty, and keep your faith steadily centered in the rich God-life that dwells within, your prosperity will prove itself an established presence, that no fluctuations among the nations, or untrueness among individuals, can move or destroy—your wealth, like your health, will be eternal.
But let no home work for itself alone, and neglect its neighbor. For the joy of demonstrating God’s presence, in any form, is that that consciousness can be given to our world. Sometimes one must consider one’s world first, in order to come to one’s individual expression of prosperity; for there is always a stage, where selfishness must pass away, that one may go on into greater power and prosperity.
It may seem that selfishness has given people prosperity, but that manifestation is crossed and recrossed with decay and death, and only the spiritually ignorant walk that path. What are millions to you if they cannot save your life, or heal you of blindness, or bring you love? Yet thousands are dying, or going into insane asylums, or leading a life of sorrow, whom the world envy because of their wealth.
The riches that come through Truth are permanent, and are companioned by all the joys of heaven, because they are not confined to property and affairs, but are universal, and express themselves through every department of our being.
TREATMENT II. RICHES, THE GIFT OF GOD.
Meditation. The Laws of Spiritual Prosperity are the very reverse of the laws of worldly prosperity. In divine economy, you do not gain by “saving up for rainy days,” you do not lose by spending, the more you give away the more you have. You do not earn divine riches, therefore you do not have to work hard for them, either mentally or physically.
It belongs to your creative consciousness to love to work, and by fearlessness concerning supply and support, you can gravitate to your congenial work, which will be valued highly by the world because art will enter into it. “Art is love for one’s work.”—Elbert Hubbard.
Time and wages belong to slaves. We come out of Egypt by ceasing “to work for a living” in our mind. Whatever work you are engaged in now, become an artist in it, by putting soul into your service. Educate yourself to find divinity in your work and in your associates, whether employer or employees. When you have learned your lesson, you will graduate easily into a congenial, because your own, vocation.
The Spirit knows spirit only, and in its realm there is no bargaining, no buying and selling, no wages, no hirelings, no laborers, no rewards or punishments, no merit or demerit, no deserving, and no unworthy, ones.
All is Love, and everything is done for Love, and all the fruits of Love are gifts.
Listen to me! The substance of Prosperity is spiritual ** and it enfolds you and fills you, ” breath of your breath ** and the fullness and perfection of your life. ” This rich substance is a gift to you, ” it came with you into the world; * you never earned it ** and so it can never be taken from you. ”
Riches are yours ” whether you deserve it or not. ** You are a Prince with God. “Princes are rich without earning their wealth.” You are heir with Christ, ” and all, that the Father hath, is yours. ** The silver and the gold are mine saith the Lord ” and all that the Father hath is mine, saith the Christ. ”
Your Good takes care of you. As you were nourished and protected from the beginning, so now. You came with a world of wealth. “Now by the power of God within you, you draw it into manifestation.”
You lay up riches in your heart. “God gives you Trust in place of worriment.” God gives you Faith in place of fear. “God gives you Forgiveness to take the place of bitterness.” God gives you Inspiration and takes away plodding. “God gives you Insight instead of scheming. ** God gives you Interest-in-your neighbor in place of selfishness. “God gives you Honest Ways to replace all trickery.”
You rise above the plane, and law, of cause and effect. ** You dismiss from your mind all sense of injury. ** Mortal man is nothing to you. ** Wrongdoing on his part cannot make you suffer. ** The Spirit rights all wrongs. ** You do the right thing by your fellow-man. “No one’s curse or hatred can keep you from your own. ** You look not to man “for your support.” God is your sufficiency “and the source of all your riches. ** God is for you “what can man do against you?”
You live in a world of freedom ** and you give everybody and everything freedom. * You give money freedom. “You do not clutch money. ** You let go and trust.” ”Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord!” ”
You go to your happiest work. ** By the Spirit within, you find your place. ** Your Genius goes before you ** and makes channels to express itself. ”
Angels of prosperity surround you. “Angels of prosperity work for you.” Everything you put your hand to, prospers. **
You are now opening the Way, ** by which your riches can take tangible forms in your world. ”
Prosperity seeks you, ** and must find you. “You are in its Way ” and it cannot miss you.”
You bear witness to the presence of prosperity, ** by your carriage, ” you hold your head up; ** by your poise, ” your back is not bowed; by your courage ** you put your best foot forward. **
You are in the Current of Prosperity. “All things in your affairs move smoothly, with the Current. ** And your heart is at rest, ** for your prosperity is sure. ”
ABIDE IN PEACE.
IX
The Home Refurnished
The home is the bulwark of the nation, and anything that builds up the home and contributes to its ideals, strengthens the race, both within and without. For the home is also the place to picture forth heaven, and often it is the training-school for wild, crude mortality wherein it learns the joys of peace, order and loving service, a preparation for heaven here on the earth.
Each home that is consecrated to this ministry of the Christ message and healing, becomes an example of purity and harmony to those seeking heaven on the earth. Perhaps your ministry cannot yet be an open one, but it can do a silent work by its hospitality, comfort, restfulness and love. The very walls can sing of goodness and truth. The common furniture can caress us, the homely fare can give us sweetest satisfaction.
Fill your home with blessing. Remove every suggestion of discontent. If there is a room that savors of selfishness, or of impurity, or of deadness, in its mental atmosphere, heal it. You can do it by a half-hour of silence in it each day, in which you meditate upon the omnipresence of heaven, declaring for some special expression of heaven, centering there.
The richness of your spirit must enter the place where you reside, even though it be a cellar or a hall bed-room, and permeate it. The ease and comfort of a rich consciousness must radiate from your personality. For riches draw riches, and prosperity gravitates to the things and the people that are like it, especially when backed by principle. There are people who look prosperous, and yet, are undermining themselves by a false state of mind; and there are people who are rich but do not look prosperous, and they are missing some of the good things that belong to them.
The kingdom of heaven appears, when there is a perfect harmony and unity between the without and the within.
In proving God to be the health of your circumstances, see to it that your home does not contradict your faith. There is a great law fulfilled in “putting one’s best foot forward.” Business men know that it is a good investment, for the later success of their projects, to have a good office, well furnished. The habit of beginning with poor equipment makes new enterprises long and slow in reaching success.
When an instrument is tuned too low—like a harp, violin or guitar—then one string is raised to a proper pitch and the rest keyed up to it. Sometimes one can raise the whole vibration of a house, and the household, by introducing some rich, up-to-date feature, and then keying all the rest of the establishment up to that vibration, even though many days go by before it is finished. Act wealthy, talk prosperously. Be a free avenue through which riches may pass to all. The world needs to learn the spirituals science of wealth, and your home can be a class room.
TREATMENT III. BLESS, PRAISE, GIVE THANKS.
Meditation. There is no greater prospering power than the word of Blessing, of genuine praise and of thanks from the heart—especially towards those people, and about those things and events, that have seemed to curse us.
As these utterances must not be merely from the lips, it will require skill, discernment, inspiration and a prophetic sense to find that, which one can praise in our enemies, be thankful for in misfortune and bless in treachery. And the very exercise itself will enrich one, like the sons, in the fable, of the wise old father, who had four lazy sons, and in dying, told them that he had nothing to leave them but a field. But in that field was buried a treasure. So when he died they vigorously dug up that field. But they found no treasure. The next crops, however, that grew in that ground yielded four times the ordinary crop, and then the sons knew that the treasure in the field was what they had put into it— their own energy and faith.
Practice skill and discernment in finding the good in the people who have injured you, and the failures that have burdened you. Let the Spirit inspire your thanksgiving and open your prophetic sense, to see the blessing that is coming out of it all. The exercise is enriching, both spiritually and materially.
Listen to the Divine Voice within you. “It guides you. It cheers you.” It shows you the Way of righteousness ** and eternal prosperity. **
The divine approval overshadows you ” and protects you. .” Your heavenly Father awaits lovingly your return to the spiritual life and its ways” and runs to meet you, saying, ** Thou art my beloved “in whom I am well-pleased.”
“The blessing of the Lord ** it maketh rich.” ** The Lord in you ” blesses your whole world ” and the act enriches you. ** You give your heart and mind “to blessing everybody and everything.”
You bless them that curse you. “You do good to them that hate you. ** You know no rivals. ** You have no competition. ** All that is done against you, helps you. ”
Your destiny is to know ” the secret of prosperity. ** You cannot fail. ** Your success is decreed ** from the foundation of the world. ”
The Spirit opens your eyes ** to see the Way of it. ** There is a straight line ” between you and the next successful step, ” and you go forward upon it. ”
Fear passes utterly away. “You are calm and trusting.” Your confidence inspires confidence. ”
You lay up treasures in heaven. You do good and forget it. ” You give freely your tenth—your tithe.” And you reap an hundred fold. ” “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse ” that there may be meat [substance] in mine house, ” and prove me now, herewith ” saith the Lord of hosts ** if I will not open you the windows of heaven ” and pour you out a blessing, ” that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” (*
No anger can undermine you. ” No envy can corrode your affairs. ” No selfishness can rust you. ** No greed can overload you. ” You are God’s free instrument of distribution. ”
Riches flow to you ** and through you to bless all the world. ** You freely receive and you freely give. ** No foolish accumulation burdens you. “No loss disturbs you.”
You bring faith into the storehouse of Plenty. “You bring love into the storehouse of Opulence.” You bring knowledge into the storehouse of Abundance. You bring goodness into the storehouse of all your Prosperity. ** And they return to you in all the world’s forms of wealth ** unlimited, unceasing, full, perfect and free. **
REST IN DIVINE BOUNTY.
X
Our Unlimited Capacity
Contentment is one of the richest jewels that a home can have, and when its foundation is knowledge of Truth, it abides forever, and becomes a powerful magnet, to draw to itself, the best in people and in things.
When contentment is mated with poverty, there is usually some false reason at the root of the matter. Sometimes it is a yielding to circumstances as inevitable—a kind of fatalism, but oftener it takes its rise from the religious training, especially the doctrine that Christianity and poverty are logical associates, and that the Greatest of all the Christians, himself, was poor, having “no place to lay his head.”
We know now that we cannot call Jesus Christ poor, any more than we can think of the king of England as poor, simply because he has no money in his pocket. Jesus had command of forces, that could have made him a Croesus in a moment, but he would not be cumbered with property.
If one chooses to go without, all right. But to be forced to go without, and even to be in debt, is not a free state and therefore not true Christianity. For has not the Christ said, “Ye shall know the Truth and the Truth shall make you free?”
The old preaching from the pulpit, that one cannot expect to be rich in this life, was often from a certain text, as a favorite quotation from which to expound these views. It is found in Hebrews 13:5, and according to the old King James Version, it reads: “And be ye content with such things as ye have.” But according to a learned prelate of the Church of England, the translation should read: “Be ye conscious, that ye have contained within yourselves all capacity,” which version is more in keeping with the context, “For he hath said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee, so that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.”
“Contentment,” “contain” and “contents” are all of the same family of words. Our true Contentment is ability to contain all the blessings that the good God shall pour out upon us.
The story of Elisha’s increasing the widow’s pot of oil is illustrative of the point that Paul was teaching, concerning our capacity. There was a widow, who appealed to Elisha to save her two sons from being sold for debt, that is, becoming slaves in order to pay a debt. Elisha asked her what she had in the house, and she answered “Nothing but a pot of oil.” Then he told her to go and borrow all the vessels she could from her neighbors. “Borrow not a few,” was his instruction. And then she was to pour oil from that little pot of oil, until all were filled. She procured all that she could-, and the oil increased until the last vessel was full, and then “the oil stayed.” “Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt and live thou and thy children of the rest.”
Here was an instance of a woman, enriched by the law of God, to the exent of her receptive capacity, which was limited. Paul reminds us that our capacity is unlimited, and we must be conscious of it.
Let us practice removing every limitation, which we have been prone to put upon ourselves, either as to receiving or disbursing. We do not need to depend upon our neighbors for our increase, the Lord within us is our support, who shall limit us?
TREATMENT IV. “MY CUP RUNNETH OVER.”
Meditation. In the temporal prosperity which comes from worldly methods, it is considered good judgment to gauge the amount of one’s spending by the extent of one’s income; and that is good sense, when one has a material basis of prosperity.
But the spiritual law is stated, “With what measure ye mete, it shall be measured unto you.” “Give and it shall be given unto you.” In other words, learn to spend. Not recklessly, nor in a meaningless way, but with the wisdom of one who is being educated to disseminate riches like seed, breaking down fear and sense of limitation, and cultivating faith and consciousness of the all capacity in one.
To illustrate, one may start out to buy a garment for $20, but finds one just suitable for $25. In the old way of thinking the extra $5 would debar that garment from one, although the money might lie in the purse. If then, from trust in the Divine Bounty, the extra amount is paid, the purchaser will not be lacking in that sum of $5, but on the contrary, will have entered into a new current of receptivity, and, if alert, will be able to see the unexpected increase, when it comes, in obedience to the great law.
When one intends to make a gift of money, according to a certain amount, and then mentally lessens it, he is lessening his own receiving capacity. A homely illustration of this law is the good milch cow, that, as long as all she has to give is taken from her, keeps up her capacity of receiving, but if her milker, in a foolish moment, should think to save her by not stripping her milk, she would give him that much less next time, even though he milked her dry.
Practice distributing freely because of trust in your unlimited Source of Supply.
Listen to me! You have the capacity to receive all riches ” and you disburse them” by inspiration and wisdom. “It is nothing to you how mortals feel about the times.” You are not under the law of limitation. “The income and the outgo are perfectly balanced.” The more comes in,” the more you spend “and the more you spend “the more comes in.” The more you spend the more comes in. ”
You gauge your own capacity. ** No one can limit you. “You enlarge your horizon of expenditure.*”
The best is none too good for you. “You are a prince with God.” Our Father is rich. “His children are a credit to his bounty.”
You find no fault. “You make no complaint.” You never whine. “You blame no one. You are not a beggar.” You are not a dependent. “You are cheery and free.” You are courageous. “You are a magnet to draw your own.” No one loses, who gives to you. “Everyone gains by prospering you.” And they know it. ” And they know it. ”
You live in the realm of Love, “where giving freely,” and receiving graciously, “is the law.”
The commercial belief cannot influence you; ” it cannot use you or bind you. ” You do your best at all times. “You give yourself to the Divinity in all.” Your work calls forth rich appreciation, ” which takes form as money, ” and the things the world values. ”
Make channels for your divine prosperity. ” Make channels for Love ” to express itself through you. ” Love and eternal prosperity are one ” and they are yours
*Where others give pennies, you give nickels; where others give nickels, you give quarters; where others give quarters, you give dollars.
“Make channels for the streams of Love,
Where they may broadly run;
And Love has overflowing streams,
To fill them every one.
For we must share, if we would keep
That blessing from above.
Ceasing to give, we cease to have,
Such is the law of Love.”
XI
The Age of Miracles Still Here
Magical laws are to be found in the realm of spiritual prosperity, and when their operations are not viewed with superstition, or as miraculous, in the sense of doing violence to natural law, they will be more frequently seen. Moses received and understood these laws, both from his Egyptian tutors, the soothsayers and magicians of Pharaoh, and from his spiritual Instructor, great Jehovah.
It is for us to prove that our supply is not fixed by the Rule of Three, but, there is a living principle back of our silver and our gold, that is one with God, and to touch it, is to open a way by which our material supply will increase, as seeds will sprout if the right elements are brought to them.
In the booklet, The Quiet Hour, by S. D. Gordon, published by Fleming H. Revell Co., New York City, there is a story of miraculous increase, of which the following is a condensed account. It is called
The Finnish Gold Story.
“It was a winter’s night up in Stockholm. The evening meeting was over, and a number of Christian friends were gathered about the supper table. We were talking as we ate, of our experiences of God’s goodness. One lady present was induced to tell through interpretation, a story of the unusual experience of a friend of hers in Finland.
It was about a woman who had to pay an unjust bill for lumber used in building a little chapel. She hadn’t money enough; all efforts to get more failed; legal action threatened; then during prayer the money in her little treasure box increased in amount until there was enough to pay the claim. That is the bones of the story.
It quite startled everyone who heard it. Such a thing was unheard of in modern times. And doubt was freely expressed by some of the most earnest and thoughtful ones present. The doubt was not of God’s power to do such a thing, but of the accuracy of the story. The woman in her excitement must have made a mistake. Some friend was secretly helping, it was thought. Was she used to counting money? Was the box locked up so that no one else could get access to it? She was probably a good woman, but rather excitable. So question and comment ran.
As I listened to the story, then to the comments, I though that if it were true—and our friend who told it to us, and who personally knew the woman in it, seemed quite assured herself of its being so—it should not be told until it could be thoroughly verified, but that if it could indeed be verified, it should be told, and told widely.”
Here the author tells of how he and his wife prayed, that, if the story were true, they might be led to Finland and meet the woman and speak in the little chapel. It is exceedingly interesting to read of how the Spirit opened the way, so that they went to the village and were with the woman two days, having an excellent interpreter, who also came in answer to prayer.
The woman is the postmistress of the village, or rather railroad junction, a very important post which she has occupied over twenty years. It is a position of great responsibility, as there are no banks in Finland and much money passes through the mails. Something like $800,000 passed through her hands some years.
“Her books were as carefully kept as any bank account books I have ever examined in my earlier banking days; not only with painstaking accuracy, but with neatness of a skilled accountant. This seems sufficient answer to the comments I heard when the story was told in Stockholm.”
There was need of a chapel, and the woman, a quiet, unassuming body, undertook to lead and be responsible for its building. Free-will offerings constituted the supply. While the building was going on, there came a bill for lumber, which had been bought and received. But the charge was larger than it should have been. With the bill came a peremptory demand for immediate payment of the money, $150, threatening legal proceedings. If is customary in Finland to provide long credit, and the chapel funds were not equal to that payment. The people were poor, and there had been much opposition on the part of the Church people to the chapel being built.
She made every effort to get the money, but it was all fruitless. The final time of payment drew near. She made one last journey to a near-by town. “The man she hoped to see was abroad; his wife thought she ought not to have begun building till she had the money.”
On her way back, as she was in prayer, a thought came to her that had been coming, more or less, all through this trial. It was of how Jesus increased the loaves and fishes. She thought, “God can touch my slender chapel funds and do as in the desert, make them sufficient for the need.”
“On her return home, as soon as she could get time from her work, she went to the drawer to get the little box where the chapel funds were kept. She had counted the money before that last journey and she found she had just $70 (350 marks in Finnish money).” She had $18 of her own. She was all alone, and she poured the money on the table and put her own meager store with it, and covering it with her hands, prayed in simple childlike language:
“Lord Jesus bless Thy money as Thou dist bless the loaves in the wilderness. I will put my loaves too in Thy hands, and do Thou let them, with Thine, meet this need; let this money cover the amount of this bill.”
Then she counted the money, and it was exactly 751 marks ($150) and she noticed there was now much gold, though there had not been much gold in the box.
She sent word to the collector that he could come for the money. Before he arrived she again spread the money out to count it, this time feeling an impulse to take out her own little store of 90 marks ($18) and the remainder amounted again to the 751 marks ($150). With a heart overflowing with thanksgiving she awaited the collector.
When he came she told him her wonderful experience, and he was much moved. As the money was counted again before him, there were a few silver coins over, and the bill was duly paid, and the officer gave her the receipt.
The author goes into many details, to show the unmistakable character of the wonder-work, and gives it as a message from the prayer-answering God.
The law that was fulfilled in this increase, can be known with the same exactness, with which we understand the laws of the telephone; and scientific men are preparing to study these laws, with the same zeal and profound passion of the devoted astronomers, who have sought out and found the laws of the planets.
TREATMENT V. GODLINESS, THE SUBSTANCE OF RICHES
Meditation. “He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his sea son; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatosever he doeth shall prosper” (Ps. 1:3). Thus is the godly man described As to his good fortune.
There are certain of us, who did not come into this existence “with a silver spoon in our mouths.” It seems to us, that all our goodness has been fruitless, that fate is against us, and that there is no use trying.
If we have started this life like bankrupt men, then there must be the more resolution and determination, and a courage that knows no defeat.
The law of Christ, like the laws of bankruptcy, removes the past burdens and debts that destiny (or karma) may have loaded upon our infant shoulders. No matter what bad luck may have seemed to be ours from birth, this day we come under the law of our Christ-self, and believe in the God-promise that our Goodness shall take tangible form, here and now.
Exercise a patience, that is one with Absolute Trust, and never, even in the secret of your own chamber, acknowledge the slowness or the failure, as real or lasting.
The treasures that you have laid up in heaven — the within — are destined to take form as the treasures of earth. With most people, they do not appear until another incarnation, when they are said “to be born with a silver spoon in their mouth.” You do not need to wait for another incarnation, but your goodness of today can be expressed here and now, in this incarnation, as overflowing plenteousness of the world’s goods.
Listen to me, O! Offspring of pure Goodness! ** You know how to bring forth into this world all the goodness there is in you. ** The Spirit instructs you ** in what ways to express your Love. ** It takes universal form, overflowing to all. ** Your magnetic quality is irresistible. ** Humanity loves to bask in the sunshine of your presence. ” Its value is high. ” There is a market for it everywhere. **
Your Goodness overflows in generous service to all.** Your Goodness draws forth Goodness. ** Your talent is uncovered and appreciated with financial expressions.* Your ingenuity and power of invention come to the fore.** You are invaluable to humanity. ”
Your Goodness makes others feel good. ** Your generosity makes others generous. “You are a seed in the soil of Richness, ** drawing whatever prospers you, to yourself. ** You nourish like the lilies of the field ** without care or fear, ** without anxiety or hard work.** You are a law unto yourself. ** You are independent of man-made laws, ** of personalities, of corporations and of systems. “These serve you and bless you, but cannot enslave you. ** You look to One only as the source of your Prosperity. **
You are self-made, ** made by the One Self—Creator of all. “You are not vain-glorious, ** no mortal pride can trip you up ** no mistake of the past can keep you down. ” No foolish pride can keep you from your own. ” You have Self-respect, not pride ** and you hold your head up, ** and keep your back straight, “and your step firm.”
Nothing can discourage you. ** The wrong-doings of others cannot make you bitter.** The successes of others cannot make you envious.” You radiate the Goodness of God. ”
You are an ever-flowing fountain of resourcefulness. ** You are in connection with the Fountain-Head on High. “You are the power of God,” to translate divine, invisible substance, * * into tangible, visible forms.*
Your faith is unlimited * * because it is based on reason and knowledge.* You can do all things by the God-power in you. “Divine Wisdom guides you, ** you are kept from folly. ** You do not waste yourself, your time, your substance or your life. “Good judgment attends you ever. ” Divine Intelligence keeps you from foolish ways and foolish things. ** Inspiration lifts you out of all entanglements ” and sets your feet firm in Wisdom’s Ways.
Your gentle goodness cannot be preyed upon. “It is one with the Lamb of God ** and no wolf of commercial greed can seize you. ** The folly of others cannot deceive you. ** Deceitful words and deeds cannot move you. “You cannot be ensnared by greed or ignorance. ** No one’s craftiness can beguile you. ** You are true to yourself, and your trueness defends you. ”
The Goodness of God fills your whole life. ** Goodness fills and covers all that is yours. “All that you put your hand to, prospers.” All that you touch turns to riches. ** Surely goodness and mercy shall follow you ** all the days of your life ” and you shall dwell ** in the house of the Lord forever. **
IT IS ESTABLISHED.
XII
Jesus Christ in the Business Man
On the matter of business, Jesus Christ gave many directions and much teaching. For Jesus Christ was very practical, coming to a people that were masters of finance, many of them, yet missing the main thing; and, on the other hand, eagerly zealous in righteousness and good works, but making a failure financially. He taught the Way that is One, for both these extremes.
He knew there was but one business for everybody, who had come to this earth—his heavenly Father’s business, i. e., to bear witness to the Truth, prove oneself immortal and divine, and make heaven on earth for one’s neighbor. He made his disciples successful fishermen, and then said, “Come, 1 will make you fishers of men.” So now, Jesus Christ in you will make you a success where you are, and at the same time call you to gather men and women into the Kingdom.
“I will make you builders of men’s character and health and happiness,” he says to the carpenters and contractors and others who are constructing.
“I will make you promoters of men’s spiritual nature,” he says to those who are developing business, and earth’s products.
“I will make you feeders of men’s souls, and clothiers that bring forth bodies worthy of God’s children.”
“I will make you bankers of men, laying up saved men as gold.”
What greater work can be done for the Kingdom of Heaven, than making a success in the business life, and proving to men that you did it by the power of the Holy Spirit within you!
You cannot serve God and mammon at the same time. You have proven it. You cannot give your whole heart to mammon. You have a Conscience that no man can kill, either in you, or in himself. He may drug it with sophistries for years, and even think he has no Conscience; but he will find his mistake. For Conscience is simply one’s knowing, the exercise of one’s Supreme Intelligence, and it will not down. It is immortal.
People grow rich with a quasi worship of mammon. They do unscrupulous things for a long time, and think they can bluff their great Soul-Self. But they only fool themselves. Their wealth is as sand and ashes in their mouth. Something has been missed.
Better to be a lamb, thrown from one wolf’s maw to another, imposed upon, fleeced again and again, than to win riches at the expense of that tender, holy, rich love nature, that eventuates in the Eternal Joy which is independent of time and space.
But it is possible to keep the Lamb-quality, and receive all the powers and substance that are now owned and exploited by the wolves. Jesus Christ has given the Way and by the Holy Spirit, one may gather together all his teachings about prosperity, and the records of his deeds, which especially relate to the way to succeed, and use this masterly key into the Kingdom of Eternal Wealth.
Jesus did not despise either money or business. He appointed a treasurer for the disciples, in Judas. He taught them to ”gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost,” he taught them not to be slack.
But he inculcated a new value sense. He told the money-loving Pharisees, that “that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.” “For what is a man advantaged if he gain the whole world and lose himself?” he said. Like another Alexander, who at the age of thirty had conquered the whole world, and yet died in a drunken bout.
He paid tribute to Caesar and to the synagogue, using occult laws by which to procure the money.
But the plainest teaching of all was when, on two occasions, he directed his disciples, who had been toiling all night at their fisheries without success, just where to drop their nets, so as to make hauls that would soon, if repeated a few times, make a man rich.
Jesus did not hesitate to use his deeper senses to promote earthly prosperity. He had the true business sense, which comes by the Holy Spirit. And this Master stands in your heart today, and if you will hear his Voice and be guided by his principles, you shall be the fulfillment of the great promises: “Delight thyself in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart,” “they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing.”
TREATMENT VI. CHRIST IN ME, MY PROSPERING POWER
Listen to me! The Christ in you is your clear insight, “your true business sense,” and your inspired guidance into success. **
You are in business to save the world. “Your integrity pervades your whole world. ** It directs your vision to the region of richness. ** Jesus Christ in you superintends ** all your investments, affairs and dealings. **
You work for the Kingdom of God alone. ** This is your first concern. ** You are enthusiastic in your Way of working. “The Holy Spirit infuses you with a new imagination about your affairs.” You are initiative. “You are original. ** You find new ways to serve humanity. “You discover the wealth producing regions of the earth.” You uncover the most valuable powers in human beings.”
You save other men in their business. ** By the Christ in you, you point out the Way they can be prospered. “You give freely any counsel or discovery that will prosper others. ** No commercialism can interfere with your inspiration. ** The Spirit protects you from greed and imposition. ”
Jesus Christ in you reveals the errors to be removed,** that you may be receptive to all wealth. “You put your hand to the Christ-plough, ** and you do not look back.” You banish all memory of losses. “You do not meditate upon losses of any kind. ** You spend no time in grieving. “You deliberately forget all mistakes—-your own ” as well as others’. ** You give all appearances of weakness, poor judgment, vices, ignorance, folly and ill-luck into the care of the Holy Spirit. ”
You practice the presence of God.” You remember to meditate upon the godlike thing to do. “You do what Jesus Christ would do.” You are Jesus Christ in the business world. “You preach the good news of the Way to prosper forever.” You preach silently, by your life, by your methods, by your character. **
The Inspired One in you uncovers the Secret laws of increase and transmutation. ** You have the holy Divining-Art. ** You know the way to find gold in the bowels of the earth. “You know the place of the water springs.” The elements yield you their secrets. ** You are the irresistible conqueror of the planet. “Everything yields you its best, by the Law of Love.” You are the Lover of All, ** and draw to you all the gifts of Love. **
You sit still in the Christ-consciousness ” and all the ends of the earth seek you **to serve you and bless you. ” You are at peace with all ** and the satisfaction of the Richest Being in the universe ” centers in you and showers blessings through you ** upon the whole world. ”
Serene I fold my hands and wait,
Nor care for wind, or tide, or sea;
I rave no more ‘gainst time or fate,
For lo! My own shall come to me.
The waters know their own, and draw
The brook that springs in yonder height:
So flows the good, with equal law
Unto the soul of pure delight.
The stars come nightly to the sky,
The tidal wave unto the sea;
Nor time, nor space, nor deep, nor high,
Can keep my own away from me.
The End