EVERY individual who becomes interested in Christian Science has to deal with the problem of supply The rich, the poor, and those seemingly between these extremes have to gain a right understanding of this subject. The problem varies with each individual, for mortals differ from one another in many ways. Referring to these differences in "Miscellaneous Writings" (p. 224), Mrs. Eddy says that "each person has a different history, constitution, culture, character, from all the rest;" and these and innumerable other mental qualities enter into the question of supply. There can, therefore, be no fixed human standard. One reared under the belief of the reality of poverty may by dint of hard work and conscientious attention to duty earn what to him may seem more than enough to meet his needs according to the standard he has been used to: while to another this same amount might seem poverty, or to the rich, not even worth consideration.
The question may be asked, What is supply? Generally speaking, money is regarded as supply, or is accepted as a means whereby the supply of necessities and luxuries may be obtained. Careful thought reveals the fact that money and its possession are not' the open sesame to desirable and essential mental qualities What more desirable thing is there than holiness; yet holiness cannot be purchased by money! Peter in the most emphatic manner rebuked the mental state of one Simon, who thought that the ability to heal the sick, which is the outcome of righteous thinking, could be purchased with money. He said to Simon: "Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God." The possession of money in itself is not an aid to gaining an ability to heal the sick; for it is only rightness of heart, a correct understanding of the nature of God and His creation, which can manifest itself in the destruction of sin and suffering, and in the overcoming of all that is unlike God.
To one who is poor, limitation looms large. According to his belief there is not enough of anything. He believes that the wealth in the world is insufficient to go round, and that what there is in some way has been unfairly distributed; and he may consider that he is one of the unfortunate ones. Believing that substance and supply are material, he has a limited outlook. He reasons that his work is his main and probably his only source of supply; that he cannot expect more than a certain sum in wages or salary, and that this sum may vary from time to time, being affected by conditions over which neither he nor any one else has any control.
