"From a human standpoint, the economy is defined as a system for managing material resources and wealth. It is all about trading goods and services, with support or resistance for market value seemingly driven largely by fear and greed. To understand economy from a higher perspective, it is helpful to gain a clear sense that God is All-in-all, and is therefore the only source of everything we need. Because God is Spirit, everything He supplies must be spiritual. Our real supply is the flow of spiritual ideas from God to us. That’s the divine economy in a nutshell"As sons and daughters of God, what is it we really need? Mary Baker Eddy gave an answer when she wrote, “Divine Love always has met and always will meet every human need” (Science and Health, p. 494). To me, what’s significant about her statement is that if divine Love, or God, always meets the need, the human need must be for one thing: Love. Otherwise, Love couldn’t always meet the need. So, if what we need is Love, and God is always supplying that Love, then supply and demand in the divine economy is made up of Love, and only Love.
Understanding the economy of divine Love has practical value in the smallest details of our human experience. This is not just wishful, positive thinking; it’s a spiritual, scientifically demonstrable fact.
How is it that divine Love can meet every human need? Because each individual has his or her own direct connection to the infinite, limitless divine Love. There is no limit to the amount of Love we can either receive or give.
Supply and demand in the divine economy is made up of Love, and only Love.
Our human experience is the direct result of what we resonate with in our individual thinking. So, if we resonate with the spiritual reality of God’s creation in all its perfection and infinity, it becomes manifested in our experience to the degree that we understand it and hold it foremost in our thought.
As the image and likeness of God, we’re never forced to rely on the human state of the economy, which depends on the supply and demand of material resources. We already receive everything we need directly from God because we actively reflect Him. And if divine Love meets our needs, why should we look elsewhere? Our needs are met by Love only, and nothing else.
It’s important to recognize that our needs are met by so much more than a human sense of love and affection; they are met as we deepen our spiritual sense of true divine Love, God. But from a human point of view, the meeting of our needs appears to be closely tied to others. For example, if a source of our monetary income stops, it may be difficult to meet the obligations we have to others who are counting on us for payment, and then they appear to suffer along with us.
There is no limit to the amount of Love we can either receive or give.
Yet Mrs. Eddy taught that every human need is met by Love. When we understand the economy of divine Love, this understanding can meet the need of everyone else in our lives. So not just our own need is met, but every need is met—completely and only by divine Love.
Now, someone may ask, “This all sounds wonderful, but I’m out of a job. How can this concept help my immediate need? How can I translate an understanding of the economy of Love into something practical in my experience right now?”
First, let’s take a look at what’s really needed from prospective employees. Job hunters tend to look for opportunities to use their talents to the highest degree possible, and to be rewarded for their work. They seek employment that offers growth and challenge—a position where they are needed and cherished.
The economy really can be understood as being all about love – the sharing of goods and rewarding of services.
Employers, on the other hand, are looking for individuals with skills and talents that match open positions. They seek people who bring value and quality to their organizations—who are honest and responsible, who treat others with respect.
Couldn’t we describe the process as a search for love—on both sides? An employee wants to feel loved in the work, and an employer seeks someone who will love the work that’s assigned. If the employer is grateful for the services of love that have been expressed by the employee, the employee is rewarded with an appropriate paycheck, an outward expression of the employer’s gratitude.
Approached this way, the economy really can be understood as being all about love—the inspired sharing of goods and rewarding of services. When both employee and employer approach their activities in this manner, the process is mutually attractive—a lot like two magnets coming together. A major opportunity for the job seeker is to deepen his or her understanding of infinite Love, which will then be outwardly manifested as qualities attractive to potential employers.
Because Love always matches our exact need, the balance sheet of infinite, ever present Love is always in perfect balance.
When we deviate from this spiritual understanding, and think of the economy as made up of individuals struggling on their own to grab whatever money they can, we can easily find ourselves feeling fearful and greedy. Our view of ourselves becomes clouded and darkened. How can a mirror reflect anything when it has become fogged up? It can’t. It needs to be wiped clean. So we too need to “wipe” fear and greed from our thinking and keep our thoughts pure, so we can receive the flow of loving ideas continuously coming to us from God. As the Bible says, “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life” (Prov. 4:23).
Many economic textbooks explain that the real key to success in mastering a marketplace is conquering one’s own sense of fear and greed—fear that we are on our own, struggling for whatever we can get our hands on, and greed that we can never have enough. Science and Health does not say that divine Love meets our every human want, but that it meets our every human need.
Love is the currency of exchange in the divine economy. It is the most substantial thing any of us desires to have and give. Therefore it is the only thing we really need. And love comes from one unlimited source, God. We are the cherished reflection of divine Love, and therefore we can receive and give an unlimited, immeasurable amount of love, as we love God supremely and our fellow man as ourselves.
Love is our only asset and our only liability. And, because Love always matches our exact need, the balance sheet is always in perfect balance. We are all in the love business—the only true economy, Love’s divine economy.
Rick Dearborn is a small business owner and lives with his wife in the St. Louis area."
Love's divine economy. I have printed this article in it's entirety, with links to the site for more information on the topic. I feel that it is one of the most sensible readings on
the economy from a multilevel perspective. That's good.
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