The Providing Law


The Providing Law Cover

THE PROVIDING LAW By Charles Fillmore

[Editor's note: much of this text wound up in Charles Fillmore's book Prosperity, lesson five, The Law That Governs the Manifestation of Supply. I have included in this text references to that chapter with page numbers.]

[Editor's note: The 1927 PDF has writing that says this tract would be studied with Lesson Three of the Unity Correspondence School Lesson (Preparatory).]

I trust
the universal
Spirit of
prosperity
in all
my affairs.

FROM the very beginning of his history man has had the accumulative instinct, and as we view the world we arrive at the conclusion that this trait is a part of the universal law and a necessary factor in human existence. Accepting this as true, we must find a place for it. The acquisitive faculty does not come under condemnation if the universal law is observed, so Jesus said: "Seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matt. 6:33).

Every needed thing will be added if you know and follow the law of righteous accumulation. There is an inherent faculty which lays hold of what it calls its own. Even little children like to have their own playthings. (Prosperity 79)

The power of the mind to draw to itself its own is a power that needs proper cultivation, and should not be ignored. Some men, in their desire to overcome selfishness, put away everything and do not lay hold of their own. This is not the righteous fulfillment of the law. Jesus told the rich young man to sell all that he had and give to the poor, and to come and follow Him. But did He not promise that those who follow Him should have now, in the present time, even more possessions than they have given up? In the history of Job it is set forth that he had lost all, in a certain phase of consciousness, and that, after he had been renewed in the spirit of his mind, he had twice as much as he had had before.

The riches of the kingdom are permanent. We are now on the verge of a new state of mind in matters financial. The first step is to realize, "All things whatsoever the Father hath are mine" (John 15:16) Let us do away with the idea that man must be poor to be righteous. When Jesus Christ said that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven, He referred to those who depend upon riches and consider them the source of good. Money is an instrument of man, not the master of man.

The highest use of the accumulative faculty is the accumulation of ideas. Those who have used it to set going in their minds the idea of money as a power have become the slaves of Mammon. There is a righteous law of accumulation, and all who transgress it must be broken on the wheel of justice. When money makes slaves of men, the divine law has been broken. But money of itself has no power; it is the instrument that acquisitiveness uses in carrying out its designs. The love of money is a root of evil.

The highest exercise of the mind is prayer, and prayer is accumulative. When we pray for the necessary things, we must believe that we have received them, and we shall receive them. This is the teaching of Jesus, and we find that it is good metaphysical law. "Ask, and ye shall receive"(Matt. 7:7). The Lord is more willing to give than we are to receive.

It is not money that has power to control men, but ideas. Every man should be taught how to handle ideas and to be masterful in their presence. Then they will serve him and he will not be under their dominion. Ideas of poverty enslave men equally with ideas of wealth.

Professor Hill, of Chicago, gave out the statement that men will eventually manufacture from the air everything that they need. We have been teaching this for years. Man will not wait for seedtime and harvest when he learns the powers of mind. When we shall have attained the consciousness in which our ideas become tangible, all our demands will be quickly fulfilled by the higher law. Begin at once to cultivate large ideas, and make them substantial by believing in them. Throw into the ideal the life and the substance of your concentrated thoughts, and they will be clothed with reality. (Prosperity 80)

People hold themselves in poverty by fear of lack, practicing a pinching economy. If all that the Father has is yours, there is no reason for skimping. Can you think of anything that will broaden your mind like the realization that all is yours? Nothing will be lacking in your world when you know your spiritual inheritance. See with the bountiful eye. "He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed" (Prov. 22:9). The text is based on exact law. There is a law of increase, and we fulfill it by seeing all things with a bountiful eye.

* * * * * * *

From the teachings of Jesus it is clear that He accepted fully the proposition that God is our resource and that all things are provided for us by our Father. It is necessary to cultivate these ideas by considering them daily in all that relates to support and supply.

Some religious teachers have tried to make us believe that it is our Christian duty to be poor. But this is not the doctrine of Jesus. We read that the Son of man had not "where to lay his head," (Luke 9:58) but the old interpretation of this cannot be true, because Jesus was welcomed gladly at the homes of the rich and the poor, and He had His parental home at Nazareth. He dressed as a rabbi, and so valuable were His garments that the soldiers cast lots for the seamless robe that He wore.

He knew and demonstrated that there is abundance for all, and no lack whatever. Abundance is found in the kingdom of God, and when that kingdom is found, everything needful becomes manifest — not through hard labor, but through the realization of Truth spoken into expression by the word.

But every anxious thought must be put away. If you cut up your true ideas with crosscurrents of doubt and fear and anxiety, you cannot expect the word to manifest.

Do not give too much power to money. Back of money is an idea. Get back to the idea that it represents, and deal with the money question in the realm of ideas. Then you will never fall into bondage to Mammon. If the government were not behind our paper dollars, they would be worth nothing. God is the source of all, and, according to Jesus, provides for men when they ask; He is back of your call for food and raiment and every good thing that your heart may desire. Ask largely and have absolute confidence that your every need will be met.

Instead of basing your faith on your income, drop from your mind all such limitations and think about the unlimited Resource. If you cling to ideas of lack and refuse to let into your mind the large thought founded on the truth, "All things whatsoever the Father hath are mine," (John 15:16) you alone are responsible for the manifestation of your small ideas in the appearance of lack and poverty.

When Jesus went into the wilderness of His untried mind (undisciplined mentality), He was tempted to turn stones into bread. This temptation to try to get supply out of material things comes to all, and must be met as Jesus met it: "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God" (Matt. 4:4). It is the word, the idea, that feeds the soul, body, and affairs of man, and unless the word is recognized and appropriated, there is lack somewhere. "Your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things" (Matt. 6:32).

* * * * * * *

Broadly speaking, there are two states of consciousness in everyone. They are represented by John the Baptist and Jesus. John said: "He must increase, but I must decrease." John the Baptist comes out of the wilderness — that is, out of the ignorance, the limited concepts, of mortal mind — and he represents the intellectual perception of Truth. This perception decreases as the higher consciousness, the Christ, increases.

This change of consciousness is brought about by a recognition on the part of man that there is within him a higher self. This self is the supreme man, the Christ, and through spiritual quickening it is brought to the consciousness of every individual. To establish this consciousness, advantage must be taken daily of the means of spiritual growth, which are, chiefly, prayer and meditation and the right use of the word.

As a step in this development, declare with John: "He must increase ... I must decrease." In using this statement, know that it is the personal man who decreases and the consciousness of the indwelling Christ that increases.

The parables of Jesus Christ may be applied to the individual or to the race: but we get the real benefit of them only when we apply them within ourselves. Consider the parable of the talents. If we look within for some buried talent, we shall get the full force of the lesson.

Man is made in the image and likeness of God, consequently all men are endowed with the full measure of talents, and, as Jesus taught, every talent must be used. An unused talent is a buried talent.

There is a universal law of increase. Its workings are not confined to bank accounts, but are on every plane of manifestation. To comply with the law and bring forth its beneficent results in fullness, conscious cooperation on the part of man is required. First, use the talent that you have, whatever it may be. Increase comes by use. Then have faith in the law. Do not reason too much, but forge ahead in faith and boldness. If you think about outside conditions as hindrances, they become such to you. Then you become fearful and bury your talent. Look away from the outer and see but the one power. Say: "All authority hath been given unto me." (Prosperity 81)

If you study yourself too closely in your present condition, your progress will be slow. If a child constantly looked upon his limitations, he would remain a child; but he loses sight of everything but the point to be attained — full-grown manhood. The boy anticipates and sees himself as a larger boy, even as a man. It is the childlike mind that finds the way into the kingdom. Then do away with all limitations and behold yourself as the perfect man, the well-beloved son in whom the Father is well pleased. (Prosperity 81-82)

Remember that increase does not come by personal effort, but by the Spirit. God gives the increase; it comes through the universal law. Your part is to keep the law. (Prosperity 82)

Everything falls before the dominant mind. Say with Napoleon, "There are no Alps," though mountains of difficulties may seem to be in your way. They will be removed and cast into the sea of nothingness if you use your talent and power, and speak the word of assurance.

You can increase your consciousness of life by talking about life and speaking words of praise and blessing for the abundant, spiritual, eternal Christ life, which is being generated in and through you. Use this talent of life, and it will expand. Act as though you were alive and be glad to be alive, and you will gain a new realization of life.

If any of the functions of your organism are sluggish, that fact shows that some talent is buried in your consciousness. Find out what it is and bring it into expression. Do not allow yourself to come under bondage to the "I can't" man. He is the one who believes in limitations, who wraps his talent in them; no increase is possible to him. Be positive in Spirit, and you will succeed. (Prosperity 82)

Appetite, lust, passion, and the various secret sins of mankind are buried talents. They are returning no increase, because they are held in the bondage of material thought. It is this thought that digs in the earth and covers up many a good quality. Uncover the buried talent and return it to the Lord with the increase of right use. Affirm that God's will is being done in all your thoughts and acts, and the higher law will resurrect the buried talents.

As we look out into the natural world, we see abundant provision in every way. Nature is prodigal in providing every necessity for carrying on her work. Jesus Christ referred to this, and especially called the attention of His disciples and followers to the provision that the great all-encompassing Mind had made in that department of creation. He told them that God had made an even more abundant provision for man, because he was of greater value.

If there is a lack in man's world, it must be that the requirements of the law have not been fully met. Jesus saw the necessity for this observance when He said, "Seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you."

The great law of mind is the foundation of all manifestation, and it operates through thoughts and words. We have the symbolical key to this fact in the six days of creation described in Genesis. Man's mind goes through all these various steps in bringing forth an idea. In mind, from perception to manifestation, there are six definite, positive movements, corresponding to the six days of creation; then follows the day of rest, in which the mind, having completed its work, sees it in process of fulfillment. We should analyze these steps and consciously apply them in our demonstrations. If you wish to bring forth the manifestation of God's abundant supply, you must take the first step and say, "Let there be light" — that is, "Let there be understanding." There must be a clear perception and understanding of the principle lying back of the proposition, "God will provide." The one substance, the Source of all, must be discerned, and all dependence upon material things must be eliminated from thought.

Money does not bring peace and satisfaction. Men fail because they worship Mammon, and men worship Mammon because they have not discerned the light. They have not entered into the understanding that God, the omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient One, is the source of all and that man may draw from Him without limit. If you see that, you have begun your problem correctly and are ready to go on to the next step, which is the establishment of the "firmament" — that is, a firm place in mind. This is done through constant affirmation. If you steadily affirm the truth about God as your resource, in due season your words will become substance to you, and this is faith. The third step is the forming of this substance. "Let the dry land appear." Out of the omnipresent substance you form whatever you want. The forming power of the mind is the imagination. If you need food, see yourself bountifully supplied with food. "He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed." Picture in mind the things that you desire, and if you have taken the other steps, you will bring them into your world. If you work according to the law as revealed in these degrees, you fulfill the law; you have found the kingdom, and what you desire shall come to you.

After you have formed your ideal, send forth your word. Say: "Let the law of Spirit come to pass." But be sure to send out your word in the universal consciousness. If you send it out in personal selfishness you have not complied with the perfect law. You may get results, but as the whole law has not been kept the results will not be permanent or satisfactory.

Sometimes we settle down and are satisfied with little demonstrations. Remember that there is always more to follow and that if you have demonstrated in small things you should go on to larger ones. Enlarge your domain; increase your power by using the law.

The next step is to recognize order and its relation to increase. When Jesus Christ fed the multitude He made them sit down in companies. Then He looked up to heaven and blessed the supply and passed it out in abundant increase. Every demonstration must be based on the recognition that every good and perfect gift comes from the Father.

Pray. Let your prayer be one of affirmation. It is the prayer of faith. "And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive" (Matt. 21:22). Keep on praying, and make your affirmations until they become a habit of mind. The race thought must be so charged with the truth that God is omnipresent, abundant supply that famine and lack will disappear from the face of the earth. The more we believe in the simplicity of the law, the better will be our individual demonstrations and the more powerful our words in helping to transform the race belief of poverty and lack. Those who make these spiritual demonstrations of supply are not the wise of the world, but the obedient children on the bosom of infinite love.

We constantly are urged to see now in manifestation that which we need. It is not to be put off to a future time, but we may have it now. God is omnipresent. If doubts come in, do not entertain them. Say: "I trust Omnipotence. I absolutely refuse to be anxious about tomorrow or the next minute. I know that God does provide. I know that I am the fulfillment of the divine idea." This divine idea is the Son, the perfect man, brought forth on the sixth day. If you would have your inheritance, you must not leave out this sixth-day realization. God works through man, and since He brought forth the perfect man, that man must be Himself.

To give up anxiety does not mean that we are to sit down and do nothing; but we are to work as God works — to work with Him as sons. "For what things soever he [the Father] doeth, these the Son also doeth in like manner" (John 5:19). In the first part of Genesis we see how the Father works. The various steps of the creative process are clearly pointed out, and we shall have results if we follow them. (Prosperity 85-86)

People sometimes say, "I wish you would not talk about using the divine law to bring prosperity. It disturbs my spiritual equanimity." Such people have two worlds; in one they live six days in the week, and in the other, one day. In the six days man runs things; in the seventh, God is given a tentative chance. Is that the way to demonstrate that God is the fullness of all things? Do all things to the glory of God, every day in the week. Take God into all your finances. Those who demonstrate through the law of man have nothing permanent, fn a moment all their possessions may be swept away. Their thought is not rich with the bounty of God, and they can build no enduring consciousness of supply. (Prosperity 86)

These six steps of mind action may be taken in an instant. Time is not a factor. The mind often automatically goes through these six steps without our being conscious of them. We are suddenly moved to hold to certain truths or to do things which we have not been in the habit of doing, and results follow. The law works quickly when an unobstructed channel is provided for it.

UNITY SCHOOL OF CHRISTIANITY
Unity Village, Missouri 64065

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