by
Mildred L. LeBlond, C.S.B.
What an important subject this is. Our experience in the practice of Christian Science reveals that it has to do with substance, health, happiness, completeness, successful marriages, or the understanding of the "male and female of God's creating" (S&H 249:5).
We have proved that it must be seen as effect and not as cause. Therefore it is necessary to know of what it is the effect. The Christian Scientist having accepted the basis that all cause and effect is mental, because "All is infinite Mind and its infinite manifestation" (S&H 468:10-11) must put money in the mental realm and so understand it. You have heard me say that the word money comes from the word mind, the dictionary referring you to the word mint and then to mind. As a small detour, it is illuminating to know that the word mint is defined as "a place where anything is fabricated, manufactured, invented". This gives money a mobile quality which is helpful.
To us, then, money is a complete mental experience, no matter if the circumstance be lack of money, money falsely gained, money astutely developed, abundance of money, or money spiritually discerned. All of these conditions are the effects of thought and thought only, for of course, nothing exists except as thought. Next we ask ourselves, what kind of thought? Spiritually considered we do not earn money. I believe money earned as man is material, for earning a living is not in accordance with the Bible statement, "Son, all that I have is thine" (Luke 15:31). Money earned would have to be perishable substance, for it is obtained from the outside, and we know that anything obtained in this way is lost on the outside.
Per contra, money which appears in the experience of an individual who has accepted God as his or her Mind, who is, because of this fact seeing and understanding true substance, the substance of man and the universe, is eternal, everlasting, and moth and rust do not consume. To Spirit, all is imperishable substance and it looks out on the infinity, beauty, and grandeur of its own universe and man. Everything from a grain of sand to man is real and eternal substance to Spirit. Our textbook tells us, "Spirit duly feeds and clothes every object, as it appears in the line of spiritual creation, thus tenderly expressing the fatherhood and motherhood of God." (S&H 507:3)
There are perhaps some in the room today who have heard me tell of an experience of mine which has to do with this statement. A member of our Association has asked me to repeat it, so here it is. It was at a time when my affluence seemed very low and it was necessary to increase the borders of my tent, as the Bible says. On the fly-leaf of my check book I wrote the reference just stated. Each time I wrote out a check in payment of a bill I demonstrated this spiritual idea, clothing and feeding the man and his business as a spiritual idea, just as Spirit would, thus tenderly expressing the fatherhood and motherhood of God. This prevented me from thinking that I was paying a bill and glad to be rid of it, and in place thereof, I expressed true gratitude and appreciation in concrete form by giving him money for the services he had rendered me. From the moment I saw this concerning money, the borders of my tent began to expand. I recommend it to you for your consideration.
Gratitude
Right here it will be fitting to say something about gratitude with reference to our riches and wealth. One time in reading our textbook, I came across a statement, a very severe one, worded so beautifully that at first one may not catch its meaning. It is this: "While the heart is far from divine Truth and Love, we cannot conceal the ingratitude of barren lives." (S&H 3:32-2) In other words, lack of anything, happiness, health, money, friends, work, etc., is the effect of ingratitude, really a lack of appreciating everything from the infinitesimal to the infinite as the presence of God, Mind. God is the only good, there is no other good, so if you have only, shall we say, a little good, the need is to see more, good, God, in everything. This seeing can only come by way of gratitude and appreciation for all things because they are of God.
After all, what is money? In Miscellaneous Writings we find this: "But, say you, is a stone spiritual? To erring material sense, No! but to unerring spiritual sense, it is a small manifestation of Mind, a type of spiritual substance, 'the substance of things hoped for.' Mortals can know a stone as substance, only by first admitting that it is substantial. Take away the mortal sense of substance, and the stone itself would disappear, only to reappear in the spiritual sense thereof. " (Mis. 27: 27-2)
Not God and
If a stone is to be seen as spiritual substance, then why not money? Someone may say, "Because a stone is an infinitesimal idea of the spiritual universe and money is material because it is manufactured or minted." If that is true, then there is matter and Spirit and we have put money and our possessions "out there" in the belief of materiality, thus giving them power to tantalize us, control us, when we should do the controlling. Because consciousness is fundamental, if we deal with money as matter, as material consciousness, and deal with substance as Spirit, that makes two consciousnesses - mortal and divine, an impossible proposition. By this reasoning we have Mind and money. This is also an impossible proposition, for we cannot have God, Mind and anything. Either Mind is All-in-all, or it is nothing.
In defining the text from Revelation, "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth," Mrs. Eddy says: "The Revelator was on our plane of existence, while yet beholding what the eye cannot see, - that which is invisible to the uninspired thought. This testimony of Holy Writ sustains the fact in Science, that the heavens and earth to one human consciousness, that consciousness which God bestows, are spiritual, while to another, the unillumined human mind, the vision is material. This shows unmistakably that what the human mind terms matter and spirit indicates states and stages of consciousness." (S&H 573:3-12)
In looking up the word new, I found that Webster defines it as now, so then this new heaven and new earth; really is the "now heaven and now earth", because Mrs. Eddy tells us that the Revelator was on our plane of existence. Later on she says that John's corporeal sense of heaven and earth had vanished, but he didn't go anyplace. And as she concludes this part, she says that "This spiritual consciousness is therefore a present possibility." (S&H 574:1-2) So then, accepting Mind as my Mind, and looking out therefrom, I must see money as the manifestation of thought, therefore Mind, NOW, instead of seeing it as a material manifestation. Remember, consciousness is fundamental.
Money is not your riches. Remember, money is effect. So what are your riches? Why the creations of Mind - everything from a grain of sand to man, man and the universe inclusive. These are your riches and you already have them, be them. The belief that makes us regard money as material is because the world says you cannot have these unless you have money. Also that is why we say money is a medium of exchange.
Not medium
I do not care for that interpretation, for if I do not have money I can make no exchange for the riches of God, and that would make me poor. This reasoning puts the cart before the horse, and makes money cause instead of effect. Mrs. Eddy once said in a letter to someone, "Money is a sign that I have access to the riches of God". Money correctly and spiritually understood is a proof that I am rich. In other words, it is secondary to my riches. I am rich first, and that right now. I am rich first, because the Ego is Mind, and Mind is All-in-all.
Medium
Let us clarify to our thinking the erroneous concept we have when we say that money is a medium of exchange. We are taught in Christian Science that mediumship is spiritualism which means something in the middle through which something passes from one point to another Now if we say that money is a medium, we put it between God and His manifestation, and it becomes the medium or means by which we seem to acquire the manifestation of God. What a wrong premise, the vision of which proves to us that this medium must be removed, but removed where? Simply from seeing money as a medium of exchange to realizing that it is one and the same thing as the quality of thought which evaluates something spiritually. Money therefore, identifies my spiritual appreciation and is not a medium through which something is obtained. Money in this way is thought manifest.
Not objective
If someone should say, "I do appreciate, but I do not have money," this is an indication that he is appreciating the riches of God objectively, instead of subjectively. He is seeing them separate from himself which then requires a medium of exchange. There is only one way to prove the truth of what I've said, and that is do it. And I am not afraid to prophesy, if and when you do, that that which we call money will be present, as present as your spiritual appreciation concerning the thing as the immediate emanation of the Mind that you are. (Immediate, by the way, means having no intermediary.)
God of this world
It is said that money is the God of this world and that money talks. Let us see why this seems to be so. Until you do put money in its God-given place, secondary and sub-servient to Mind, it is your God and you cannot get very far without it. As Hosea says: "idols according to their own understanding" (Hosea 13:2). If money is a god to you, thought is held in check, and it says you cannot think about this or that because you have no money with which to accomplish it. There money is seen as cause instead of effect. We can see why the world thinks that money talks. It does seem to do so when it is believed to be cause. But when you put Mind first as cause, and think ideas of this Mind and know you are already rich, you begin to nullify this false claim, and money is then understood as effect, the effect of knowing and being Mind. Then Mind does the talking, not money.
Mind manifested
To dwell just a little longer on this point, let us see that Mind is the substance of all being, - by this I mean is manifested as man which includes that which we know as trees, flowers, animals, etc. This is all the substance or riches there is. There is no other. Now money claims the same thing. It says, "Without me, you can have no food, home, clothes, or any of the so-called necessities of life." If this reasoning is accepted, then money does govern you. But if you know that God is your Mind, and that you reflect all that that Mind is, you are already rich and money appears as a proof of this great metaphysical fact.
Remember, we cannot have both matter and Spirit. We can have only one or the other. Which shall it be? Why Spirit of course; therefore money must be recognized as indicating the substance of Spirit.
Jeremiah
The belief that money is a medium or a god is ages old and is the false theological belief that cause and effect are separate, that there can be something in between consciousness and what it is conscious of. Or as Jeremiah says, it is one of the false dreams of the prophets who prophesy lies and cause the people to forget God. "Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord. I have heard what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed. How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart; Which think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbor, as their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal. The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the Lord." (Jeremiah 23:24-28) In other words, what if the world does think of money as a medium or as a god, what is that to thee? Do not let it turn you from demonstrating scientific appreciation of your universe as Mind.
Immediacy
We must more and more demonstrate the immediacy of money, substance, in order to eliminate the world's belief of money as a god or a medium. I'm sure we all remember the incident in which Mrs. Eddy saw a blossoming apple tree in mid-winter. This is in the archives of The Mother Church. Jesus produced the loaves and fishes. You and I have seen thought manifested as renewed tissue, bone, faculty, etc., in our healing work in Christian Science. Mrs. Eddy again strengthens our thought along these lines by saying in The Strawberry Festival in an old Journal, that we shall have strawberries without raising them, and cake without compounding it, and sugar without buying it. When Jesus needed tax money he told Peter to go and look for it in the fish's mouth. The fish is symbolic of Christianity, and Christianity is the understanding of the Christ which reveals that "Man is the expression of God's being." (S&H 470:23)
Always effect
Thus to know that money is the effect of understanding the oneness of God and man, puts money as the effect of this understanding. This quality of thought is ever rich, ever at the standpoint of riches, does not earn it although it may appear, does not inherit it from earthly relatives or friends, although it may so appear, does not gain it from investments, although it may so appear. Investments, income, inheritance, all avenues by which money comes to the Christian Scientist are the effect of understanding the spirituality of man and the universe, and why do we limit our avenues to even these few?
It is history that as Mrs. Eddy grew in the understanding of her own discovery that God is the Mind of man, money appeared in greater and greater degree in her experience. When she began her work she had an income of two hundred dollars a year, and when she passed away she left to The Mother Church over two million, which in the year 1910 was a fortune in the eyes of the world. We may correctly say she did not earn that money. It came as a result of what she knew as Mind, for her books were the result of that understanding. That was the substantial thought, not the books in and of themselves. This is the difference between earning money as man, and reflecting it from the standpoint of Spirit, Mind.
Wealth is defined in Webster as "Those energies, faculties, and habits directly contributing to make people industrially efficient". Also, Henry Ford says that "production is wealth, not money". From this we see that money which comes from individual industry is effect and not cause, is not in and of itself riches. It is again the effect of riches, industrially understood, the effect of industry. As Christian Scientists we may interpret Henry Ford's statement that production is wealth, not money, to mean not only the produce of the universe, but that also which is produced by individual industry.
Mrs. Eddy's definitions
To strengthen our thought along this line of reasoning and see how mental and spiritual Mrs. Eddy's thoughts of money were, we have the following statement taken from the Sentinel of July 13, 1918, page 910, where she defined gold, silver and paper money. "Gold: The silent thoughts of Truth and Love which heal the sick. Silver: The spoken word of Truth and Love which casts out evil and heals the sick. Currency: The written word of Truth and Love published and distributed throughout the world healing sickness and sin. But this currency must be backed up by a gold reserve in human character."
Gold
First, I think we should note that the only money which has immediate value is gold. Silver represents gold in the treasury, as does also paper money. But even the paper of paper money has less value than the value of silver, for both are only representative of what exists in the treasury. So in thoughts of money, no matter what denomination, gold must always be kept in view. Mrs. Eddy calls this gold reserve the gold of human character The gold of human character is the appearing of the divine idea of the oneness of God and man, which casts off that which is unlike itself, or as she says, which heals the sick. The world's concept of gold and money is rather far removed from this statement.
To my present understanding this description of money indicates types of thought. Gold, the silent thought of Truth and Love which heals the sick. This Truth and Love are capitalized, so we may say the silent thoughts of God, the effect of which is healing the sick. The silent thoughts of Truth and Love take place as the individual who has accepted God as his, her Mind, knows the truth of Being, sees and feels the perfection of man and the universe, nothing out there with which to contend, all safe and sound within Mind, God, within the kingdom of heaven. The silent thoughts of Truth and Love are the self-contained, completeness of Truth and Love knowing that all is well here and everywhere. Christian Scientists then may realize that as they understand and express the silent thought of Truth and Love that they have found the pearl of great price and untold good is theirs. Does not the Bible say: "Come and buy without money and without price"?
Silver
The definition of silver is the same except for this added phrase "which casts out evil", making the statement less absolute and more educational, and yet Mrs. Eddy tells us that this also heals the sick. As we ponder the meaning of this we come to the conclusion that the spoken word is not as absolute as the silent word, because there must be the temptation to believe that there is something out there which needs healing, hence the addition "which casts out evil". Probably the spoken word does include argument and pros and cons, but even this silver money has value if it is based on gold, which we understand as the one Mind within us.
Currency
Currency or paper money is defined as the written word of Truth and Love published and distributed throughout the world, healing sickness and sin. This type of thought is still further removed from the absolute by the feeling that the world needs healing, reaching a more universal sense of things. But even so, we need gold, silver, currency if silver and currency are based on gold. So we need these three types of healing if thought is based on Mind.
From this analysis it is plain to see why history records that when nations have gone off the gold standard, they have gone off the standard of moral integrity. However, to understand this it must be they could not have gone off the gold standard financially, if they had not gone off the gold standard of moral integrity, spiritual being, first. Momentarily in this country we forgot the necessity of understanding God, and with it went its presently accepted sense of substance, gold. Is it not wonderful that Mrs. Eddy gives us this mental analysis of money and has enabled us to see that it is a spiritual idea and should express the highest.
Male and female
Someone may ask, why do you say that the correct spiritual understanding of money and supply has to do with the male and female of God's creating? For the simple reason that if you incorrectly believe in Mind and money, you have two substances, Spirit and matter, just as you do if you incorrectly believe in separated male and female, yourself and another. In both instances, they is one, and this One is Spirit. A man cannot be as complete and successful as he should be in his understanding of substance until he has accepted the substance of his own womanhood, not out there, but right within himself, within the kingdom of Heaven; nor can a woman have this experience of wholeness until she has accepted the manhood of her being within herself.
Own being
That means when individuals have accepted this premise as the wholeness and completeness of their being, they can no longer pick on the other fellow for her or his seeming errors, but of necessity must rush to the scene mentally and save their darling from the lions, as the Bible tells us. This maintains the wholeness and completeness of himself, herself, safe within the kingdom of heaven within, thereby remaining of one substance and proving for oneself the truth of the statement found in our textbook: "The Lamb's wife presents the unity of male and female as no longer two wedded individuals, but as two individual natures in one; and this compounded spiritual individuality reflects God as Father-Mother, not as a corporeal being. In this divinely united spiritual consciousness, there is no impediment to eternal bliss, - to the perfectibility of God's creation." (S&H 577:4)
When this is not done, the effect of believing in two substances expresses itself in divorce, unhappiness, sickness, lack or loss of supply, which is lack of substance, or the understanding of one infinite substance both male and female. Christian Science does not thrive in an atmosphere of two-ness, two-ness of anything, Mind and money, Spirit and matter, male and female, good and evil, etc. "Unity is the essential nature of Christian Science. Its Principle is One, and to demonstrate the divine One, demands oneness of thought and action " (Mis. 264:10)
The South of our country is an example of this. If you take the Journal and look at the registered activity of the Christian Science Movement, there you will see that it is not a great deal. They are still laboring with two dualisms - secessionism and the superiority of the male. When and as these are corrected the South will be as active a portion of our Movement as anywhere else. They are still believing these verses from the Bible: "And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, and the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and took them wives" (Gen. 6:1-2). Imagine that! The sons of God thinking they were marrying the daughters of men! But seriously this is a vital point in our demonstration of supply and substance.
This is of course a belief of two substances, the male thinking of himself more highly than he thinks of the female, which under no circumstances can ever work out the scientific harmony of being, for on this basis there would be constant discord or as Mrs. Eddy says, "The union of the sexes suffers fearful discord." (S&H 65:10)
On this false basis of inequality, each would be fighting for itself against the other, instead of each including the other as the appearing of his or her own being.
Suppose a woman marries a man, brilliant in his profession or in other ways, should she feel this brilliance could bedim her glory? How foolish! It is the appearing of her own manhood, and she should rejoice in the glorious appearing.
Man's womanhood
Or suppose a man marries a woman who has well developed talents that he may think he does not possess. Should he be jealous of them and think their brilliance could dim his life and so endeavor to belittle them? Should he not rejoice over the appearing of it - beautiful and talented womanhood, his own in fact, because he is conscious of her.
Lack
My experience in the practice of Christian Science shows me that the financial success of a married couple depends greatly on how scientifically they understand each other, and per-contra the lack of financial success goes along with a belief of separated male and female, discord and jealousy, and of course no substance, for there is no substance in this kind of belief thinking. It is destructive, not constructive.
If your husband or your wife is a liability instead of an asset, your money will take on that form. I have seen it happen. But if you choose the better way, the only way, and consider your husband or your wife as an asset, the form of your money will so appear. I have seen that happen, too.
If a woman's husband does not make enough money to take care of her, it is her lack of manhood within herself. It is her responsibility to see and know him as the manhood of God's creating. If a man feels certain deficiencies in his wife, it is his lack of appreciating his womanhood, the womanhood of God's creating. Each man and woman is a whole complete sphere of Being, each including the other in oneness, one substance of Being, one Life, one Mind, one infinity. This knowing necessarily includes all things, nothing lacking, not even money, for money spiritually understood is appreciation expressed.
Summary
In conclusion, I should like to highlight some points which Summary we have made in our discussion of money, supply and substance. First and foremost - it is mental, the word money being derived from the word mind. Mrs. Eddy so defined it in her explanation of gold and silver.
Money is effect, not cause. Mrs. Eddy said that money was a sign that she had access to the riches of God.
True riches are the substance of God seen in man and the universe.
Money is not a medium of exchange. It does not get between when spiritually understood.
And finally, because money indicates completeness, wholeness, it has to do with the male and female of God's creating. There is only one substance, and that is God, the kingdom of God within.