Article August 12, 1905 Issue

Christian Science in Business

ISIDOR JACOBS.

THOSE investigating Christian Science sometimes ask whether the application of its teaching to business and finance, which are material, is not making an improper or selfish use of its sacred law. That which elevates and improves does not lend itself to a selfish motive, but the teachings of Christian Science, when understood and rightly applied, bring about a higher standard of commercial morality, even though the immediate object of business and financial affairs is the gaining of material wealth.

A higher standard of commercial honor brings with it a more lasting and more substantial sense of wealth. The Scriptures tell us that when Solomon prayed to God he asked only for wisdom; but all earthly possessions were granted unto him as well. Wisdom brought with it the knowledge that divine Love supplies all our needs. Christian Science demonstrates to us, in business and finance, that when we acquire understanding we realize that divine Principle must govern our actions, and as we acquire spiritual knowledge, our worldly prosperity comes with it, success crowning our efforts in the right direction. The road is frequently long, narrow, and rough, but understanding brings with it patience, perseverance, and determination in the right. In all Christian Science demonstrations the material sense of self must be put into the background,—must give way to the spiritual.

Some business men think results must be as they wish. They want things to come about their way they work from that standpoint. Business cannot be permanently successful on these lines. Business and financial matter can only be handled from the knowledge that divine Mind governs. There must be implicit reliance on Truth, and when this becomes fixed in our consciousness, fear and worry give way to confidence, and confidence, which is based on the operation of divine Principle, brings character and ability, and these bring success. The writer has seen so many successful business and financial demonstrations through Christian Science that he could not doubt if he would. In the course of his business experience he has come into contact with so many men who have evolved success out of failure by the proper application of the teachings of Christian Science, that its rapid spread among mercantile men does not seem surprising. It is the only force in business circles which successfully defeats hypnotic or mesmeric influence. There is no error more necessary to combat than the subtle tendency to influence the actions of another by these means. The "Rule for Motives and Acts" (Church Manual, p. 56) teaches us the importance of daily watchfulness and prayer. If every business man, whether interested in Christian Science or not, had this rule always fixed in his mind, and made it his rule for motives and acts, what vast and marked results we would see in the commercial world. We would then understand how necessary it is to overcome mesmerism or hypnotism in ourselves. To allow fear and worry to influence our actions is one of the worst forms of mesmerism, and results in much of the disaster and misfortune we find in the business and financial world.

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