Article April 26, 1919 Issue

True Abundance

ESTHER HIGGS

In warning the people to beware of covetousness, our Master gave utterance to these remarkable words: "A man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth." Abundance of things! How often we see exemplified that insatiable greed for things. We collect, hoard, acquire, and obtain—what? Often nothing but the toys of materiality. This is illustrated by the pitiful spectacle of a spoiled child whose nursery is filled with toys of every description, while he is yet dissatisfied and perhaps covets the one cherished toy of a poorer but happier child. So it is with the adult who thinks to find satisfaction by gratifying his material desires, which, alas, only grow apace; for as one has written, "Thou hast made us for Thyself and we can find no rest until we find rest in Thee." Christian Science teaches us how to find true and abiding satisfaction in spiritual abundance here and now.

The writer well remembers when this thought first came to her,—at a time when an opportunity was offered her to join a party on a trip to the United States. Before studying Christian Science it would probably have been considered far too expensive an undertaking, but the thought came that she had the money put by, the result of systematic saving; then why hoard up matter? It was accepted as a true thought, and the hoarded money became, changed into a lovely trip abroad for herself and a friend, bringing an increased sense of joy and intelligence and an expanded outlook on life generally. The letting go of that portion of her banking account was never regretted, the money never missed; it could not be, for it was changed into a higher form of substance, a better belief, and the desire for spiritual food, which led her to extend the journey and include a visit to Boston, held its own reward in instilling a desire for more earnest study and effort to follow the leadings of Principle.

On page 269 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" Mrs. Eddy says: "Metaphysics resolves things into thoughts, and exchanges the objects of sense for the ideas of Soul." In following this teaching a student who was seized with a longing for the mountains and did not have the opportunity just then to take a holiday, got her concordance to Science and Health and the concordance to the Bible and looked up the references to mountains, studying their metaphysical meaning. After gaining the summit of one and another of the simpler unfoldings of Truth, she was so refreshed and invigorated that her desire for the material mountains faded away. She was satisfied in the omnipresent inspiration of God's "solid and grand ideas" (Science and Health, p. 511) for which, Mrs. Eddy tells us, the rocks and mountains stand.

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