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Prosperity
Chapter 12
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[Prosperity]
[Charles Fillmore's Works] [Unity on the Web Home Page]
Lesson Twelve
Overcoming the Thought of Lack
THE KINGDOM of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast
into the sea, and gathered of every kind; which, when it
was filled, they drew up on the beach; and they sat down,
and gathered the good into vessels, but the bad they cast
away."
The mind of man is like the net catching every kind of
idea, and it is man's privilege and duty under the divine
law to separate those that are good from those which are
not good. In this process the currents of unselfish,
spiritual love flowing through the soul act as great
eliminators, freeing the consciousness of thoughts of hate,
lack, and poverty, and giving the substance of Spirit free
access into the consciousness and affairs.
In another parable Jesus explained the same process as a
separation of the sheep from the goats. When this divine
current of love and spiritual understanding begins its
work, we must make this separation. We put the sheep, the
good and obedient and profitable thoughts, on the right,
and we put the goats, the stubborn, selfish, useless
thoughts, on the
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left. Each must handle his own thoughts and overcome them
by aligning them with the harmony and order of the divine
thought. There is an infinite, omnipresent wisdom within us
that will deal with these thoughts and guide us in making
the discrimination between the right and the wrong when we
trust ourselves fully to its intelligence. We can establish
a connection between the conscious mind and the
superconscious mind within us by meditation, by silence,
and by speaking the word.
The superconscious mind within you discriminates among the
kinds of food you assimilate, controls your digestion, your
breathing, and the beating of your heart. It "doeth all
things well," and it will help you do this important work
of directing you in the thoughts you should hold and the
ones you should cast out. As you develop this mind within
yourself you will find that you can gradually turn over
more and more of your affairs to its perfect
discrimination. Nothing is too great for it to accomplish,
nor is anything too trivial for it to handle with
perfection and dispatch. This mind of the Spirit will guide
you in perfect ways, even in the minute details of your
life, if you will let it do so. But you must will to do its
will and trust it in all your ways. It will lead you
unfailingly into health, happiness, and prosperity, as it
has done and is doing for thousands, if and when you follow
it.
It is just as necessary that one should let go of old
thoughts and conditions after they have served their
purpose as it is that one should lay hold of
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new ideas and create new conditions to meet one's
requirements. In fact we cannot lay hold of the new ideas
and make the new conditions until we have made room for
them by eliminating the old. If we feel that we cannot part
with the goats, we shall have to do with fewer sheep. If we
insist on filling the vessels with the bad fish, we shall
have to do without the good. We are learning that thoughts
are things and occupy "space" in mind. We cannot have new
or better ones in a place already crowded with old, weak,
inefficient thoughts. A mental house cleaning is even more
necessary than a material one, for the without is but a
reflection of the within. Clean the inside of the platter,
where the food is kept as well as the outside that people
see, taught Jesus.
Old thoughts must be denied and the mind cleansed in
preparation before the affirmative Christ consciousness can
come in. Our mind and even our body is loaded with error
thoughts. Every cell is clothed with thought: every cell
has a mind of its own. By the use of denial we break
through the outer crust, the material thought that has
enveloped the cells, and get down into the substance and
the life within them. Then we make contact with that
substance and life which our denials have exposed, and by
it express the positive, constructive side of the law. When
we consistently deny the limitations of the material, we
begin to reveal the spiritual law that waits within
ourselves to be fulfilled. When this law is revealed to our
consciousness, we begin to use it to demonstrate all things
that are good.
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That is the state of consciousness that Jesus had, the
Christ consciousness.
Every man has a definite work to do in the carrying forward
of the divine law of spiritual evolution. The law is set
into action by our thinking and is continually supported by
our thought as it develops our soul. Within us are the
great potentialities of Spirit that, put into action,
enable us to be, do, or have anything we will. Science
tells us that each of us has enough energy within himself
to run a universe, if we knew how to release and control
it. We do this releasing by a process of letting go and
taking hold: letting go of the old or that which has done
its part and is no longer useful, and taking hold of the
new ideas and inspirations that come from the
superconscious mind. Jesus told Peter that what he should
bind in earth would be bound in heaven and what he should
loose in earth would be loosed in heaven. He was not
talking about a geographical earth or a definite place in
the skies called heaven. He was explaining to Peter the law
of mind. The conscious mind is but the negative pole of a
very positive realm of thought. That positive realm of
thought, Jesus called "the kingdom of the heavens." It is
not a place at all but is the free activity of the
superconscious mind of man. Whatever we bind or limit in
earth, in the conscious mind, shall be bound or limited in
the ideal or heavenly realm, and whatever we loose and set
free in the conscious mind (earth) shall be loosed and set
free in the ideal, the heavenly. In other words,
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whatever you affirm or deny in your conscious mind
determines the character of the supermind activities. All
power is given unto you both in heaven and in earth through
your thought.
We must carefully choose what thoughts we are going to
loose in the mind and what thoughts we are going to bind,
for they will come into manifestation in our affairs. "As
he [man] thinketh within himself, so is he" and "whatsoever
a man soweth [in the mind], that shall he also reap [in the
manifestation]." We must loose all thoughts of lack and
insufficiency in the mind and let them go, just as Jesus
commanded be done with the wrappings that held Lazarus:
"Loose him, and let him go." Loose all thoughts of lack and
lay hold of thoughts of plenty. See the abundance of all
good things, prepared for you and for all of us from the
foundation of the world. We live in a very sea of
inexhaustible substance, ready to come into manifestation
when molded by our thought.
Some persons are like fish in the sea, saying, "Where is
the water?" in the presence of spiritual abundance they
cry, "Where will I get the money? How will I pay my bills?
Will we have food or clothes or the necessities?" Plenty is
here, all around, and when you have opened the eyes of
Spirit in yourself, you will see it and rejoice.
We mold omnipresent substance with our mind and make from
it all the things that our mind conceives. If we conceive
lack and poverty we mold that. If we visualize with a
bountiful eye we mold
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plenty from the ever-present substance. There is perhaps no
step in spiritual unfoldment more important than the one we
are taking here. We must learn to let go, to give up, to
make room for the things we have prayed for and desired.
This is called renunciation or elimination, sacrifice it
may even seem to some people. It is simply the giving up
and casting away of old thoughts that have put us where we
are, and putting in their place new ideas that promise to
improve our condition. If the new ideas fail to keep this
promise, we cast them away in their turn for others,
confident that we shall eventually find the right ideas
that will bring that which we desire. We always want
something better than we have. It is the urge of progress,
of development and growth. As children outgrow their
clothes we outgrow our ideals and ambitions, broadening our
horizon of life as we advance. There must be a constant
elimination of the old to keep pace with this growth. When
we cling to the old ideals we hinder our advance or stop it
altogether.
Metaphysicians speak of this eliminative work as denial.
Denial usually comes first. It sweeps out the debris and
makes room for the new tenant that is brought into the mind
by the affirmation. It would not be wise to eliminate the
old thoughts unless you knew that there are higher and
better ones to take their place. But we need not fear this,
because we know the divine truth that God is the source of
all good and that all good things can be ours through the
love and grace of Jesus Christ.
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None of us has attained that supreme place in consciousness
where he wholly gives up the material man and lives in the
Spirit, as Jesus did, but we have a concept of such a life
and His example showing that it can be attained. We shall
attain it when we escape the mortal. This does not mean
that we must die to get free from mortality, for mortality
is but a state of consciousness. We die daily and are
reborn by the process of eliminating the thought that we
are material and replacing it with the truth that we are
spiritual. One of the great discoveries of modern science
is that every atom in this so-called material universe has
within it superabundant life elements. God is life and
Spirit, and He is in every atom. We release this spiritual
life quality by denying the crust of materiality that
surrounds the cells and affirming that they are Spirit and
life. This is the new birth, which takes place first as a
conception in the mind, followed by an outworking in body
and affairs. We all want better financial conditions. Here
is the way to obtain them: Deny the old thoughts of lack of
money and affirm the new thought of spiritual abundance
everywhere manifest.
Every lesson of Scripture illustrates some phase of mental
action and can be applied to each individual life according
to the need that is most pressing at the time of its
perception. If you do not look for the mental lesson when
reading Scripture, you get but the mere outer shell of
Truth. If however you have the proper understanding of the
characters
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in the narrative, knowing that they represent ideas in your
own mind, you can follow them in their various movements
and find the way to solve all the problems of your life.
This does not mean that a study of the written Scriptures
will itself solve your problems unless you come into the
apprehension of the real Scriptures, the Bible of the ages,
the Book of Life within your own consciousness. But a study
of the outer symbols as given in the written Scriptures can
and should lead you into the understanding of the Truth of
Being.
In every person we find the conflicting ideas represented
by the Children of Israel and the Philistines. They are
pitted against each other in a conflict that goes on night
and day. We call these warring thoughts Truth and error.
When we are awakened spiritually we stand on the side of
Truth, knowing that Truth thoughts are the chosen of the
Lord, the Children of Israel. But the error thoughts
sometimes seem so real and so formidable that we quake and
cringe with fear in their presence.
We know that Truth will eventually prevail, but we put the
victory off somewhere in the future and say that the error
is so large and strong that we cannot cope with it now--we
will wait until we have gathered more strength. Then we
need to stand still and affirm the salvation of the Lord.
Ideas are not all of the same importance. Some are large
and strong; some are small and weak. There are aggressive,
dominating ideas that parade themselves, and brag about
their power, and with
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threats of disaster keep us frightened into submission to
their wicked reign. These domineering ideas of error have
one argument that they always use to impress us, that of
the fear of results if we should dare to come out and meet
them in open opposition. This fear of opposing ideas, even
when we know them to be wrong, seems to be woven into our
very mental fabric. This fear is symbolized by the spear of
Goliath which, as the story relates, "was like a weaver's
beam."
What is the most fearful thought in the minds of men today?
Is it not the power of money? Is not mammon the greatest
Philistine, the Goliath in your consciousness? It is the
same whether you are siding with the Philistines and are
successful in your finances from a material viewpoint, or
whether you are with the Israelites and tremble in your
poverty. The daily appearance of this giant Goliath, the
power of money, is something greatly feared. Neither the
Philistines nor the Israelites are in possession of the
Promised Land, neither side at peace or happy in any
security, so long as this domineering giant parades his
strength and shouts his boasts. This error idea claims he
is stronger than the Lord of Israel. He must be killed
before all the other error thoughts will be driven out of
your consciousness and you can come into the consciousness
of plenty, the Promised Land of milk and honey.
The whole world today trembles before this giant error
idea, the belief that money is the ruling power. The
nations of the world are under this dominion
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because men think that money is power. The rich and the
poor alike are slaves to the idea. Kings and great men of
the earth bow and cringe before the money kings. This is
because man has given this power to money by his erroneous
thinking. He has made the golden calf and now he falls
before it in worship. Instead of making it his servant he
has called it master and become its slave. The rule of this
mad giant has been disastrous, and the end of it is rapidly
approaching.
The first step in getting your mind free from this giant
bugaboo is to get a clear perception of your right as a
child of God. You know that you should put no other gods or
powers before the true God. You know also that you should
not be under the dominion of anything in the heavens above
or the earth beneath, for you have been given dominion over
all. You will never find a better time to come into the
realization of the truth of who and what you are and what
your rights are. Never was a more propitious time to seek a
new and better state of consciousness. If you are in fear
of the boasting Philistine giant, as so many around you
are, begin now to seek a way, as did David, to give his
"flesh unto the birds of the heavens." There is a way, a
righteous way, that cannot fail, and it is your duty to
find it. Follow each step of the way that is symbolically
and beautifully set forth in the 17th chapter of I Samuel.
The name David means "the Lord's beloved," and David
represents your righteous perception of your privileges as
the child of God. You are not a
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slave to anything or to anybody in the universe. The threat
of this Goliath, the power of money, holds no terrors for
you in this consciousness. You have a smooth perception of
Truth and you sling it straight to the center of his carnal
thinking, his forehead. The weight of his shield and his
armor does not intimidate you, for you see them for what
they are, empty and meaningless show, vulnerable in many
places to the true ideas with which you are armed.
Even the most ardent defenders of the money power will
admit that it is a tyrant and that they would not have it
rule their world if they could help it. It nearly always
destroys its friends in the end. Any man who becomes a
slave to money is eventually crushed by it. On the other
side are whole armies of righteous people, Christians, who
like the army of Israel think that this giant cannot be
overcome. They are waiting for reinforcements, something
larger and stronger in a physical way, with which to
overcome this enemy. They forget that "the battle is
Jehovah's."
Do you cringe before this giant when he comes out daily to
impress you with his boastings and threats? It does not
have to be so. You need not continue to fear. There is a
little idea in your mind that can slay him. You perhaps
have not considered this little idea of much importance.
Perhaps you have kept it off on a lonely mountainside of
your spiritual consciousness, herding the sheep, which are
your innocent thoughts. Now let this David come forth, this
perception of your rightful place in Divine
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Mind. Get a clear idea of where you really belong in
creation and what your privileges are. Do you think for a
moment that God has so ordained that men cannot escape from
the terrible servitude of hard conditions? Of course not.
That would be injustice, and God is above all just.
It is your privilege to step out at any time and accept the
challenge of this boaster. The Lord has been with you in
the slaying of the fear of sin and sickness (the bear and
the lion), and He will still be with you in slaying the
fear of poverty, which Goliath symbolizes. "The battle is
Jehovah's," and He is with us to deliver us "out of the
hand of the Philistines."
The weapons of the Lord's man are not carnal. He does not
wage war after the manner of the world. He does not use
armor of steel or brass, the protection of selfishness and
the weapons of oppression. He goes forth in the simplicity
of justice, knowing that his innocence is his defense. He
uses only his shepherd's sling and smooth stones, words of
Truth. This is the will and the words of Truth that it
sends forth. They are disdained by the Philistines and many
people laugh at the idea of using words to overcome
conditions. But words do their work, the work whereto they
are sent, and the great mass of materiality goes down
before their sure aim.
We know that money was made for man and not man for money.
No man needs to be a slave to his brother man or cringe
before him to obtain money, which is the servant of all
alike. We are not bound
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to the wheel of work, of ceaseless toil day after day, in
order to appease the god of mammon on his own terms. We are
children of the living God, who as a loving Father is right
here in our midst, where we may claim Him as our support
and our resource on such conditions as He lovingly reveals
when we have acknowledged Him and denied mammon. This day
has Jehovah delivered this proud Philistine into our hands,
and the victory is ours. Praise God.
The five smooth stones chosen by David from the brook
represent five irrefutable statements of Truth. These
statements sent forth from a mind confident of itself, its
cause, and its spiritual strength will crush the forehead
of Goliath, error's giant. The statements are the following:
I am the beloved of the Lord. He is with me in all my
righteous words, and they do accomplish that whereto I send
them forth.
My cause is just, for it is my divine right to be supplied
with all things whatsoever that the Father has placed at
the disposal of His children.
I dissolve in my own mind and the minds of all others any
thought that my own can be withheld from me. What is mine
comes to me by the sure law of God, and in my clear
perception of Truth I welcome it.
I am not fearful of poverty, and I am under obligations to
no one. My opulent Father has poured out to me all
resources, and I am a mighty channel of abundance.
I selfishly own nothing, yet all things in existence
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are mine to use and in divine wisdom to bestow upon others.
Do not hold yourself in poverty by the fear of lack and by
practicing a pinching economy. If you believe that all that
the Father has is yours, then there is surely no reason for
skimping. Nothing will so broaden your mind and your world
as the realization that all is yours. When you realize the
boundlessness of your spiritual inheritance, nothing shall
be lacking in all your world. See with the bountiful eye;
for "he that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed." This
passage states an exact law, the law of increase.
Religious leaders in the past have spread the belief that
it is a Christian duty to be poor and that poverty is a
virtue. This is by no means the doctrine of Jesus. He
accepted the proposition fully, without reservation or
qualification, that God is our resource and that the Father
has provided all things for His children. He is often
described as being poor, without a place to lay His head,
yet He had a parental home at Nazareth and was welcomed
gladly into the homes of both the rich and the poor all
over Palestine. He dressed as a rabbi, and His clothing was
so rich and valuable that the Roman soldiers coveted the
seamless robe He wore and cast lots for it. He found
abundance in the kingdom of God where everything needful
becomes manifest not through hard labor but through the
realization of Truth.
Jesus seldom had need for money, because He went back of
money to the idea it represents and
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dealt with money in the idea realm. Our government is back
of all our paper dollars, else they would have no value.
God is back of every material symbol, and it is in God
rather than in the symbol that we should put our faith. He
is back of our call for food and raiment and everything
that we could need or desire. Jesus says all we need do is
ask in faith and in His name, believing that we receive,
and we shall have. And we should not hesitate to ask
largely, for God can give much as easily as He can give a
little.
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