In a period of inflation the common tendency is to look ruefully at the shrinking value of one's salary and savings and anxiously wonder where it all will stop. In a very literal sense "riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven." ^{Prov. 23:5;}

As everyone else, the student of Christian Science seems to be caught up in this problem. He therefore needs to give it careful thought in order to discover and apply the solution that his religion offers. At the outset he must remember that Christian Science is not a prosperity cult, an easy road to selfish material ends. It is the pure Christianity that Christ Jesus taught and demonstrated. The Master proved the existence of an unchanging divine law of abundance when he fed the multitude with a few loaves and fishes and produced tax money from a fish's mouth. This law is present and operative today, available to all who are seeking a higher understanding of God, divine Love, and the spiritual riches He imparts.

Earnest students of this Science are not mesmerized by a love of money. But they recognize their God-given right to an abundant supply of whatever is needed for their development and well-being. They understand that the value of Love's gifts never deteriorates. God, divine Mind, is constantly imparting right ideas, the riches of His grace, to His beloved offspring, man. These ideas are made of the indestructible, unshrinkable substance of Spirit. They are limitless; therefore they are ever present at every moment and under all circumstances.

In a passage ever fresh and inspirational, Mrs. Eddy tells us: "God gives you His spiritual ideas, and in turn, they give you daily supplies. Never ask for to-morrow: it is enough that divine Love is an ever-present help; and if you wait, never doubting, you will have all you need every moment." ^{Miscellaneous Writings, p. 307;} She concludes by saying, "This sweet assurance is the 'Peace, be still' to all human fears, to suffering of every sort."

The person on a fixed income who sees the buying power of his money fading away needs this reassurance. Material evidence may indicate that there is very little that he as an individual can do. But this is not so. Christian Science can show him that there is nothing final and irrevocable about anything the material senses bear witness to. This Science reveals material conditions to be temporary, limited misconceptions of a deeper spiritual reality that never changes. Impending lack, then, is not an actual fact. It is a mortally mental falsity that can be destroyed as human thought is enriched with the God-derived qualities of love, joy, gratitude, integrity. These qualities attune him to divine Mind, making him receptive to the right ideas that supply human needs. Mrs. Eddy writes, "Christ, Truth, gives mortals temporary food and clothing until the material, transformed with the ideal, disappears, and man is clothed and fed spiritually." ^{Science and Health, p. 442;}

In Christian Science, Christ is the true, spiritual idea of God that Jesus so perfectly taught and exemplified. This saving Christ-idea comes to us as we purify our thought through study of the Bible and Mrs. Eddy's writings and then put into practice what we learn by prayer and righteous living. This earnest spiritual striving deeply affects our thought, brightens and expands our outlook, and acts as a law of adjustment in our experience. Spiritually enriched thought takes form in a more abundant sense of good. The unselfish love we express to others comes back to us in modes that meet our need. This is the effect of God's gift of grace that touches us as we consciously strive to reflect His nature. Paul proved the ever-supporting power of this divine influence in his missionary travels throughout the Roman Empire. He wrote, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God." ^{Eph. 2:8;}

In Paul's day fiscal inflation as we conceive of it was unknown. Paper money did not exist, and the metal coinage itself was intrinsically valuable. But the suggestions of impending lack were there to tempt the unwary just as they are today. They took other forms, and through many varied experiences the apostle learned to trust the power of divine Love to sustain him.

As our consciousness of Love's allness becomes clearer, as we recognize God to be our very Mind and Soul, we will go forward in serene confidence that the tender Father-Mother will guide our every step and supply every need. After describing the unchanging, sustaining power of divine Principle, Mrs. Eddy writes, "Knowing this, Jesus once said, 'Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink,'—presuming not on the prerogative of his creator, but recognizing God, the Father and Mother of all, as able to feed and clothe man as He doth the lilies." ^{Science and Health, p. 530.}

Alan A. Aylwin