Article May 22, 2006 Issue

A NEVER-ENDING SUPPLY OF OIL

BY MARTHA C. SARVIS

LIKE MANY PEOPLE, I've been thinking a lot about oil lately, and the tremendous influence it wields in our daily lives. Uncertainty about supplies of this important natural resource touches both national economies and individual families, as the price of oil affects manufacturing, home heating, and travel.

Higher prices have certainly affected our family's budget. And because I rely on prayer for solutions, I've been looking for a deeper spiritual understanding of oil.

Mary Baker Eddy, who discovered Christian Science, included a spiritual definition of oil in Science and Health. She described it as "consecration; charity; gentleness; prayer; heavenly inspiration" (p. 592). I've read this definition many times, but I now realize that the qualities within it build on one another.