God's economy: unlimited good
We may think our prospects are defined by circumstances such as the job market or certain political or economic situations. We may even become convinced that these conditions are what limit our prospects. Our day-to-day life would appear to be confined by the very view we, and others, hold to as the current state of things. It would be impossible to break free of these restrictive concepts of life, if it were not for the Christ.
Christ, the spiritual idea of God, awakens us to the reality that God is here—now, and always. Christ reveals to us that as God’s children, our true nature and our environment include limitless goodness, health, honesty, stability, justice—all the divine qualities of being.
The message of the Christ is that the kingdom of God is within us, as Christ Jesus taught and proved. This kingdom stands forever. The prayer Christ Jesus gave to the whole world, known as the Lord’s Prayer, declares, “Thy kingdom come” (Matthew 6:10 ). This prayer is an active acknowledgment of God’s ever-presence and power. It makes a clear distinction between the belief of life as governed by chance and circumstances and the Christianly scientific understanding that where we truly live is within the perfection of God, Spirit.
To believe we live outside of divine Life is a mental temptation that has been seen and proved to be a lie. Life is divine Mind, the only creator and cause of existence. Understanding that there is only one Mind, God, has always blessed and continues to bless humanity. This enlightened demand on human consciousness is expressed by the First Commandment, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3 ).
When the Israelites heeded that instruction, they experienced health, peace, safety, supply, and direction. How? They turned away from the belief in other powers and trusted God. They learned divine Spirit is supreme in power. Through these experiences they discovered that they actually lived in the kingdom of God, under His direction and care.
As the Psalmist put it: “Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me” (Psalms 139:7–10 ).
It is just as important today to resist the temptation to believe in another power or place outside of, or alongside of, God, the divine Principle of being. For instance, if we believe we are living in an economic crisis and are tied to the greed and corruption of politics or society, then we are believing in another power or place outside of God.
Perhaps we think that the sins of others are making the majority—including the innocent—suffer, and there is nothing one can do to be free of these consequences.
But if we know that we live under divine Principle’s government, then we can begin to loose ourselves from the consequences and sufferings of the belief of life under the control of evil, including a personal or an economic crisis.
As God’s children, God’s reflection, we live within Mind and under the rule of divine intelligence. Each of us is always linked to infinite good, and cannot be subject to political or personal machinations. In God we find permanent freedom from injustice, ignorance, hate, incompetence, and corruption. Within His righteous rule, everyone possesses the freedom to express right and mutually helpful motives and actions. The all-inclusive law of good is within us, and we accept nothing less for ourselves and others.
Many years ago I felt that my progress and happiness were stifled by the domination of someone in my life. This person tried very hard to stop me from moving forward with my life, my career, and even my freedom to express joy. This person demanded that I see life as she did—miserable, unstable, and financially limited. But through Christian Science I was learning of the kingdom of God, in which we all live. St. Paul declared, “In him, we live, and move, and have our being” (Acts 17:28 ).
I understood that where the divine Spirit is, there is room only for the qualities of Spirit—limitless good, peace, freedom of expression, progress, and joy. I rejected the temptation to conform to the distorted view of a life outside the kingdom of God. I realized that I lived, moved, and was nourished and guided perfectly within the kingdom—under the divine government and its laws of divine Life and Love. I was able to move forward with my life, and, interestingly, this person also found more freedom and joy in her life.
Understanding that there is only one Mind, God, has always blessed and continues to bless humanity.
God’s perpetual, eternal, and all-powerful demand of His kingdom is, “on earth peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2:14 ). Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, understood that human freedom from evil is found only through God’s government. She wrote: “Certain elements in human nature would undermine the civic, social, and religious rights and laws of nations and peoples, striking at liberty, human rights, and self‐government—and this, too, in the name of God, justice, and humanity! …our hope anchors in God who reigns, and justice and judgment are the habitation of His throne forever” (Message to The Mother Church for 1900, p. 10 ).
Life is God, and within eternal Life there is no destructive element. Corruption then is not an element in God’s kingdom, and we need to be alert not to accept it as a “normal” part of our lives.
The prophet Habakkuk declared that God is too pure to behold iniquity (see Habakkuk 1:13 ). God is all good—and His entire kingdom reflects Him. God maintains order, health, and justice within His kingdom. Therefore, corruption of any kind has no ways or means to support it or to be perpetuated.
To fear or have faith in evil is not worshipping only God. We need to reject this age-old aggressive mental suggestion of another power besides supreme good. We do this by knowing what is true about God and His universe, including man.
Christ Jesus revealed the true nature of God and man. He showed man’s true character as Godlike and pure, because God is pure. Jesus’ statement that the pure in heart see God (see Matthew 5:8 ) declares the fact of our ability, here and now, to demonstrate the incorruptibility of man as God’s likeness. Jesus proved through his healing works the effect of divine law on human thought and lives—cleansing, correcting, and regenerating. This is the operation of the Holy Ghost, divine Science. It is God ruling heaven and earth.
All the good God is and gives us can never be taken away. Nothing and no one can deplete or rob us of any good. Divine justice, mercy, and compassion, not corruption or political domination, rule within us. Reflecting the divine law, we are a law to ourselves. Not one law of Truth and Love can be circumvented by human will. Mrs. Eddy provides a clear reason for this in her statement, “Justice, honesty, cannot be abjured; their vitality involves Life,—calm, irresistible, eternal” (The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 139 ).
Prayer is the action of thought yielding to Truth and Love, and it has a healing effect as it spiritualizes thought. It shows us the kingdom of God within us, and awakens a desire to think and act in accord with the Christ, our true nature. In Christ, Truth, there is no room for sin of any kind. As Mrs. Eddy writes, “All is infinite Mind and its infinite manifestation, for God is All-in-all” (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 468 ).
Through prayer, whatever is wrong in our own thought gives place to holiness, truth, wisdom, goodness, and love. This spiritualization of thought is His law at work—adjusting, eliminating, or adding whatever is required to bring balance and order to our individual lives and to the body politic.
Our deepest hopes for progress, peace, and health, individually and collectively, rest on divine Principle and are fulfilled within the ever-active, all-embracing, benevolent, and wise government of God.
