Unity Metaphysics: 18 The Divine Economy

18A DIVINE ORDER AND BALANCE:

“As we continue to grow in the consciousness of God as omnipresent life and substance we no longer have to put our trust in accumulations of money or other goods. We are sure that each day’s need will be met, and we do not deprive ourselves of today’s enjoyment and peace in order to provide for some future and wholly imaginary need. In this consciousness our life becomes divinely ordered, and there is a balance in supply and finances as in everything else. We do not deprive ourselves of what we need today; neither do we waste our substance in foolish ways nor deplete it uselessly.” (Charles Fillmore Prosperity 172)

Divine order is a factor necessary in every department of life in order for true enjoyment of existence to become possible. This is especially so in the areas of bodily health and prosperity. Regret about what we don’t have can get in the way of appreciation of today’s blessings. Mr. Fillmore tells us that realization of God as OMNIPRESENT LIFE AND SUBSTANCE will help protect us from disrupting the order and balance needed in our thinking about health and prosperity.

18B IDEA OF POSSESSION:

“Every thought of personal possession must be dropped out of mind before men can come into the realization of the invisible supply. They cannot possess money, houses, or land selfishly, because they cannot possess the universal ideas for which these symbols stand. No man can possess any idea as his own permanently. He may possess its material symbol for a little time on the plane of phenomena, but it is such riches that ‘moth and rust consume, and where thieves break through and steal.’” (Charles Fillmore Prosperity 17)

Belief in exclusive possession is another error which can ruin one’s enjoyment of prosperity. Even a person who is expert at getting supply can short circuit his enjoyment of it by believing in exclusive ownership. The Truth is not in ownership, but in stewardship. Nothing in all the world belongs to anyone exclusively. Everything that is belongs only to our Creator, God. But, by the same token (to paraphrase Jesus somewhat), “All that the Father has is mine. Not to have and to hold. But to receive, enjoy, and share forever.”

18C FEAR INVITES DISASTER:

“Money saved as an ‘opportunity fund’ brings an increase of good, but money hoarded from fear as a motive or with any miserly thought in mind cannot possibly bring any blessing. Those who hold the thought of accumulation so dominant in the world today are inviting trouble and even disaster, because right along with this thought goes a strong affirmation of the fear of loss of riches. Their actions bespeak fear, and the loss they dread is certain to be manifested sooner or later.” (Charles Fillmore Prosperity 166)

“In our ignorance we are creating thought forces that will react upon us. ‘With what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged.’ ‘With what measure ye mete, it shall be measured unto you.’ Whatever thought you send out will come back to you. This is an unchangeable law of thought action.” (Charles Fillmore Christian Healing 122)

The law of mind action is always in operation in the life of every person. “Like attracts like; like begets like.” Belief in lack, fear of loss, anticipation of insufficiency, all these things go to make up what Jesus termed a “hath not” consciousness. Jesus said that the “hath not” consciousness would manifest as the “hath not” experience. While the “hath” consciousness would manifest as the “hath” experience. He gives this teaching in the parable of the talents and that parable is just as true today as it ever was. Therefore, it behooves us to be conscientious about how we use our power of consciousness.

18D ILLUSION OF DEBT:

“Debt is a contradiction of the universal equilibrium, and there is no such thing as lack of equilibrium in all the universe. Therefore, in Spirit and in Truth, there is no debt... Debts exist in the mind, and in the mind is the proper place to begin liquidating them. These thought entities must be abolished in mind before their outer manifestations will pass away and stay away. Debt is a thought of lack with absence at both ends; the creditor thinks he lacks what is owed him and the debtor thinks he lacks what is necessary to pay it, else he would discharge the obligation rather than continue it. There is error at both ends of the proposition and nothing in the middle. This being true, it should be easy to dissolve the whole thought that anyone owes us or that we owe anyone anything... Thus we find that the way to pay our debts is by filling our mind with the substance of ideas that are the direct opposite of the thoughts of lack that caused the debts.” (Charles Fillmore Prosperity 120-121)

Debt is not necessarily a negative concept, although that is the context in which Mr. Fillmore presents it in this paragraph. There is also a positive side to the concept of debt, which is not harmful to either side. This is when the concept of debt is a matter of gratitude, rather than of lack or obligation. In this concept, one does not feel that anyone owes ME anything, but rather that I OWE much gratitude and thanks, and I am more than willing to pay.

18E STEWARDSHIP:

“See yourself as the steward of God handing out His inexhaustible supplies. In this manner you are setting into action mental and spiritual forces that eventually bring large results into visibility. Be happy in your giving. God loves a cheerful giver because his mind and heart are open to the flow of the pure substance of Being that balances all things.” (Charles Fillmore Prosperity 152)

Charles and Myrtle Fillmore took the concept of stewardship very much to heart and made it a cornerstone in the Unity organization. The same can be true in each individual life. If we see ourselves as stewards of all God’s good, with exclusive ownership of nothing, we avoid trouble. Prosperity is the wages for stewardship, and this form of prosperity can be permanent.

18F GIVING FREELY:

“A gift with reservations is not a gift; it is a bribe. There is no promise of increase unless we give freely, let go of the gift entirely, and recognize the universal scope of the law. Then the gift has a chance to go out and to come back multiplied. There is no telling how far the blessings may travel before it comes back, but it is a beautiful and encouraging fact that the longer it is in returning, the more hands it is passing through and the more hearts it is blessing. All these hands and hearts add something to it in substance, and it is increased all the more when it does return.” (Charles Fillmore Prosperity 143)

Giving freely is the only valid kind of giving. Any other kind is either a pretense, a loan, or a gesture of self-congratulating. Giving freely is full compliance with divine law, and it should be a beautiful experience. Generosity is more than a virtue; it really is a divine idea. It is part of divine love. When giving is purely an expression of love and generosity, then one has willingly cooperated with a divine idea. There is no higher or finer action possible to man than this. One who does this should not just stop with the pleasure of giving. He should make room in himself for an additional experience: RECEIVING. Do not be reluctant to receive. It is part of the same law that inspired you to give. Freely give. Gratefully receive.

18G PARTNERSHIP OF GOD AND MAN:

“There is an omnipresent financial Mind, and if man begins to deal with this financial Mind he will have a partner that has all resources at His command. If you want to become a rich man, if you want to be possessed of every good thing in the world, take God as your partner, incorporate His mind into your mind, in your daily living. Give of your substance with the thought that it is God’s money you are handling. Realize that it is His tenth that you are giving for His glory. With this thought in your mind you will begin to attract new spiritual resources, and things will begin to open up in your affairs.” (Keep a True Lent 85)

The idea of conducting your financial affairs with the thought of God always in mind as your partner is a valid one. It has worked wonderfully for many people. But, the thought of partnership with God can be extended into more than the financial affairs of life. It can be made part of all areas of life. We can think of ourselves as partners with God in expressing good health, in all human relationships, in our recreational enjoyments, in all things. This adds a dimension to our awareness that we may never have known before.

Transcribed by Phyllis Banhan on June 20, 2016.