Article July 9, 2001 Issue

Paying the bills with God's help

It even works with taxes.

By Elaine Lang

When our four children were young, we lived modestly—mainly on my husband's income—so that I could be a stay-at-home mom. We trusted God to supply us with the good ideas and direction to provide the things we needed. We also realized that because our lives were governed by God's law, which is always good, we wouldn't be penalized for this decision.

One winter our finances were particularly tight. Just two weeks before the property taxes were due, we realized we simply didn't have the money to pay them. There had been unexpected family expenses.

When I realized the shortfall, I turned to God in prayer and thought about these words: "The 'divine ear' is not an auditory nerve. It is the all-hearing and all-knowing Mind, to whom each need of man is always known and by whom it will be supplied" (Science and Health, p. 7). I had no doubt that Mind would take care of our needs, including paying our taxes. God had never failed us. We believed the Bible promise "My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus" (Phil. 4:19). Just because we couldn't see how we would get the tax dollars we needed just now didn't mean we would question our faith.