IN these days of the world's unrest and need, it is well to see where we stand and to make sure that we are doing our part in helping to solve the problem of human existence. Mrs. Eddy has said that "the divinity of the Christ was made manifest in the humanity of Jesus" (Science and Health, p. 25); hence if we would follow him, it is clear that divine wisdom should characterize all our mental activities and determinations, as well as our acts, and among the expressions of this wisdom, economy of habit surely occupies an important place, since it has been proved times without number that economy is related to practically every phase of human experience.
Economy stands for law and order, an orderly arrangement, of one's resources, an understanding of the right proportion of all necessary things. As applied to our financial problem it means self-control, accuracy, thoughtfulness, and honesty. It often demands moral courage, and it eliminates that carelessness, wastefulness, and extravagance which tend to poverty. A good mathematician is always exact, and although never afraid of dealing with large sums at the right time, he is equally careful about the smallest fraction. Fear never enters into his thought, and he is true and accurate in all his calculations.
In the working out of human affairs it would sometimes seem that voluble expressions regarding unlimited supply may be used to hide or excuse a spendthrift inclination or a desire for material abundance. Perhaps even an honest belief that there is an unlimited supply always waiting for God's children, may blind one to the fact that every problem has to be worked out step by step, according to law and order. In "Miscellaneous Writings" (p. 215) Mrs. Eddy says: "Let us not seek to climb up some other way, as we shall do if we take the end for the beginning or start from wrong motives. Christian Science demands order and truth." Neither carelessness about expenditure nor extravagance is any nearer the truth than is parsimony or stinginess, and they give no proof that one has faith in God.
