Article February 23, 1929 Issue

Christian Science in Business

LOUISE KNIGHT WHEATLEY COOK

In what way Christian Science may be made practical in the business world is a question which is often asked by the new student, and it is a question which has a right to be answered; for if the teachings of this beautiful religion were not applicable to every discordant condition which confronts humanity, they surely could not be accepted as applicable to any. To one turning in this direction for help in the midst of some disturbing financial situation, what a blessed relief it is to be told that a sick business has just as much right to be healed as a sick body! Indeed, the modus operandi is practically the same, for Christian Science classifies both as phases of error, the outward result of some sort of wrong thinking from which a mortal may be released through a better understanding of God, and of man's relationship to Him.

This, however, may not at first be entirely clear to the beginner, who may not see that wrong thinking has anything to do with this problem of his, nor that the right understanding of God and man can help him, for instance, to move a stock of goods or to sell a piece of real estate. One thing must, of course, at the very outset be made perfectly clear to him, and that is, that no one may hope or expect to utilize Christian Science merely as a sort of prosperity system, for personal gain or aggrandizement. While it is true that when one turns to Christian Science for enlightenment and relief in any discordant condition, certain spiritual laws become operative in his behalf and eventually bring about activity and success in any line of right endeavor, it is also true that one should not regard it merely as a convenient means for gaining a desired end. One coming to Christian Science stands upon holy ground. His attitude in approaching it should be that of one who has been walking in darkness and now desires to have that darkness cleared away, that mist of wrong thinking which has somehow seemed to arise between him and the realization of his true selfhood as a child of God, of whom the Father saith, "Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine." In proportion as this is done, through his own efforts or those of some loving practitioner, the light of Truth begins to shine upon his pathway and he sees, for the first time perhaps, that his business is not, primarily, to move a stock of goods, or to sell a piece of real estate, but to reflect Life, Truth, and Love in his daily walk and conversation.

He begins to see that as his business is not in matter at all, but in Mind, man can never be "out of business," nor can one who understands this tremendous fact ever fear to lose his business, or to have it taken away from him. He cannot fail in business; nor is he ever found admitting that business is poor or dull; for he knows that he is engaged in the best possible business, one which is always active, progressive, productive, prosperous, and permanent—namely, proving his sonship with God. One does not hear him complaining about "hard times," because he is having so many good times and happy times working at this business of his. Its results are swift, sure, and satisfactory; and yet, should it seem necessary to change his human line of business, he is not afraid to do so, for he knows that the only thing which will be changed is just the outward appearance. He knows that wherever he is, and whatever he may be doing, he is still in the same business of knowing that man's real and only business is to reflect Life, Truth, and Love.

Send a comment to the editors

We'd love to hear from you!

Easily submit your testimonies, articles, and poems online.

Submit

Christian Science in Business

We'd love to hear from you!

Sign up for unlimited access