To the student of Christian Science the question, "What really constitutes one's income?" is a constantly recurring one. The commonly accepted concept of income is found to be not very helpful to one endeavoring to know that divine Mind is the source of all good, for the prevalent theory is that income is a certain amount of money gained from material effort or from investments. This income, coming at regular or irregular intervals, is regarded as the means by which human needs are supplied. If this uncertain medium fails, the individual may find himself in a state of lack, with little certainty of the manner in which his needs will be met. It is quite evident that as materiality is of itself limited and uncertain, belief in it as the source of one's income subjects the income to the same characteristics. This mistaken sense of the nature of income may thus readily be seen as the outstanding reason for the problem in human experience of insufficient supply.
Christian Science shows us that this limited material sense must be rejected, as inconsistent with the true nature of God and man. Webster defines "income" as "a coming in;... influx." This leads to the deduction that, since God is the source of all good, imparting only good to man and the entire universe, all that can possibly be incoming is good; and that this perpetually inflowing good constitutes the spiritual man's income. That this income must be as limitless as its divine source is equally apparent. Turning for further help to the writings of Mary Baker Eddy, we find on page 307 of "Miscellaneous Writings" the following statement, which supplies the necessary illumination: "God gives you His spiritual ideas, and in turn, they give you daily supplies."
The next question is how to gain these spiritual ideas which will in turn make daily supplies manifest to us. As spiritual ideas proceed from an illimitable divine source, there must be a continual impartation of them, resulting in the expression of inexhaustible good; and this is all the income God's man requires or can have. It is measureless, and therefore forever equal to all demands made upon it. As all good comes to man through the impartation of spiritual, divine ideas, nothing in the nature of material force or law can possibly interfere with the continuous expression of this good. It cannot be checked, obstructed, lost, misused, or diverted from its eternal purpose.
