DIVINE SCIENCE AND HEALING: QUESTIONS BY BEGINNERS.

Q. What thought shall I hold to secure success?

A. If you want to succeed, then practice success. The way to practice success is to act as if you were success itself. Have no fear, doubt not. Love and faith are power and substance. Go forth fully equipped with them.

To illustrate, when you want to buy something, buy it as if you could afford to do so and believe you can. Do not feel afraid to spend the last dollar in hand—all of God's dollars are ours equally. On the other hand do not feel afraid to lay up money for certain purposes, or to wisely invest it that you may receive an income. Do not feel afraid that people will say you are not "in Truth" if you do. Attend strictly to your business, regardless of what others think or practice, and be not swerved by opinions and beliefs. “I am the way of success”, is for everyone to know and demonstrate. You need not hold any thought, but be what God is—Conscious Law, Power and Success. Affirm in every act,” I am success”.

Give and ye shall receive ; receive and ye shall be able to give. First receive spiritually—accept what God has given you. Do as did Jesus when he said, "All mine are thine and all thine are mine."[1] This means, to have nothing but what is God's, and that all that is His is yours. Accept this as a practical working basis, and then do not claim any more for yourself than you do for anyone else, and justice will be meted to you as you deal justly with others.

[1] John 17:10 (KJV Bible).

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Q. I have studied under a number of teachers of the "New Thought," and have always been led to think that these higher truths should not be used on so low a plane as material prosperity, or business success. It was taught that we have a right to expect health and spiritual prosperity, but that it is wrong to use the Truth to further our financial interests.

I have gathered from the teaching that you not only approve of using Truth for prosperity, but teach that we may use science to promote material prosperity. Is this right? Is it according to the Bible?

A. If Truth is not to be used and made the basis for prosperity on this plane of existence, then there is nothing that can be used and made the basis of our dealings with each, other but error. As long as we hold that there is both material and spiritual prosperity, we will hold one in Truth and the other in error, which is a dual theory not found in unity. The moment we hold Truth for both they are seen to be one even as Truth is a unit.

If it is wrong to use the Truth to further our financial interests, it is certainly right to set Truth aside and use error. They who have been thus instructed in the New Thought have not been taught unity of action and result, hence it is possible for them to suppose that Truth could be used for the well being of some, and to the detriment of others, but this is not possible.

One who reads the Bible and does not see that prosperity is God's law, does not read attentively, and all he needs to do to realize that God is His own success, is simply to behold the Truth of the visible universe spread abroad before us. Since God is successful, and is infinite, man's success is to be found within Him, hence it is written, "No good thing will be withheld from them that walk uprightly."[ Psalms 84:11] "The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree, he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon."[ Psalm 92:12]

"Turn not to the right hand nor to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest."[ Joshua 1:7] And Jesus said: "It is the Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom."[ Luke 12.32] Surely success must be a good thing, rightly understood, and being a good thing it is Godly; so I would say: "First seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added."[ Matthew 6:33] In the Kingdom of God and His righteousness there is food, raiment and shelter for all.

The belief of inequality and want has come about through misunderstanding of God's law, and through the belief that we are not to use the Truth in our every day walks of Life. Let us no longer hold our business in separation from God. Unity within is expressed in outward co-operation.

Divine Science and Healing

BY

MALINDA E. CRAMER

1907