Article May 18, 2020 Issue

Finding security in the divine economy

Brian Stock

Mention banks and Wall Street, and conversations on the economy often gravitate to its greedy, immoral, and unscrupulous aspects. Or, they may bring up fears of unpredictability, even volatility, along with a gloomy outlook of lack. Yet the oldest definition of the word economy has to do with responsibility, stability, and lawfulness. The word comes from the Greek oikonomia, meaning “management of a household.” The Scriptures associate management of a house or household with wisdom: “Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established” (Proverbs 24:3). This assures us that wisdom gives us the insight and inspiration to manage all our affairs and activities effectively.

Jesus takes this a step further, indicating that a spiritual understanding of his teachings is the wisdom that erects and maintains this “house” in a stable and harmonious way: “Whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock” (Matthew 7:24). Jesus said this at the conclusion of his Sermon on the Mount, his instructional teachings on love. So an individual who adheres to these teachings is a wise man who manages his house or economy on the basis of Christ’s teachings—on the laws of divine Love.

Mary Baker Eddy recognized that all effective church work begins from this basis. She included the following By-Law in the Manual of The Mother Church: “God requires wisdom, economy, and brotherly love to characterize all the proceedings of the members of The Mother Church, The First Church of Christ, Scientist” (p. 77). This goes beautifully hand in hand with Jesus’ teachings on the subject. And it states that “God requires” this of us; in other words, the demand is divine, not human.

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