"BRING ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it" (Mal. 3: 10).
It is certain that God, who is infinite good, provides bountiful blessings for all His children. It is equally certain that divine Love's offspring receive these blessings with gratitude and rejoicing. Why, then, we may ask, does mankind seem in many instances not to have supply even for their basic needs? What is the remedy?
Mrs. Eddy discovered the law of supply for all mankind. She writes on page 269 of Miscellany: "The windows of heaven are sending forth their rays of reality—even Christian Science, pouring out blessing for cursing, and rehearsing: 'I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground.' 'Prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.'"
Christian Science provides the remedy for lack, as it does for all human problems, through the operating law of good. It is true that the words from the book of Malachi already quoted contain a promise of blessing. Does not this prophecy also contain specific instruction for proving God's Word? Let us examine this instruction prayerfully. What are the tithes we are told to bring into the storehouse? One definition of the word "tithe," given on page 595 of Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy, is "gratitude."
It is important that our thoughts be filled with songs of grateful praise to God, to Truth, Life, and Love, in recognition of the fact that He is true substance. Grateful thinking precludes the useless accumulation of envy, covetousness, resentment, jealousy, fear, or doubt. If such errors appear, then a purification of thought is needed. When we can earnestly and humbly thank our Father-Mother God for all the blessings He is continually imparting to us, then we cannot at the same time harbor disappointment, discouragement, or defeat because we think we have not been getting all we feel is due us. Nor can we be looking down the street toward a neighbor's achievements and belittling our own in comparison. No, mortal mind's attempts to torment us are futile when our thoughts are filled with grateful thanks to God.
The healing power of gratitude was clearly proved by King Jehoshaphat, who, with his army, was confronted by an enemy host. Jehoshaphat prayed, and his prayer gratefully acknowledged God's omnipotence, omnipresence, and omniscience. In answer to this prayer came a beautiful reassurance of protection and victory in battle. Jehoshaphat was fully assured of the divine answer to prayer. He "appointed singers unto the Lord, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the Lord; for his mercy endureth for ever." The Bible account in the twentieth chapter of II Chronicles further records that when "they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushments," and the enemy was utterly wiped out.
It is so today. Whatever form our enemy, materialism, may seem to take—lack, poverty, discouragement, ingratitude, fear—it is equally powerless. Confident gratitude for God's allness lifts us to behold this spiritual fact. The remembrance of good that has been experienced in our own lives, as well as in the experiences related in the Bible, should fill our mental homes with joyful illumination, which will cause the bleakness of past shortcomings or the fear of future failure to disappear. We shall be certain of the ever-presence and current availability of God's law, which reveals the true substance of health, harmony, and supply.
A student of Christian Science was at one time confronted with a strong temptation to be ungrateful, critical, and resentful. Her husband was endeavoring to establish himself in a new line of work; and repeated prayerful work in Christian Science had brought temporary help, but still month after month there was a struggle to make ends meet financially. The situation seemed acute, and self-pity was coupled with suggestions of failure and poverty.
Tearfully the student reached out to God for an angel message of deliverance. Almost at once came the answer in the Bible verse from Malachi, previously quoted. Pondering the message, she recognized that she was far from being grateful. This casting about for a tithe to bring to her mental storehouse appeared to bring only more sobs of self-pity, Then through her tears she turned to the beloved books: the Bible and Science and Health. Immediately she felt a surge of gratitude for the privilege of having these books, for the truth revealed in them, and for the unselfed love of those prophets and apostles, for Jesus Christ and his disciples, and our beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy, who through trials and tribulations had brought their messages to the world.
Next came the revelation that she could be grateful for the God-given intelligence and spiritual understanding with which to study and demonstrate the truths contained in these books. Quickly came another tithe, and another, until her mental storehouse was filled with the recognition of true substance. Then indeed "the windows of heaven" opened, pouring out the blessing of faith, hope, trust, confidence, assurance, peace, harmony.
For hours she sat pondering the truths that were unfolding to her concerning the omniaction of Mind and its ideas, in which is no idleness, lapse, insufficiency, or lag. She saw that the manifestation of Mind's pure and perfect ideas is an ever-present reality, providing infinite opportunities for the employment of man.
The belief that office expense was prohibitively high was replaced by the spiritual fact that God gives abundantly to His children. Indeed, the whole unhappy picture presented by false beliefs was entirely wiped out of thought and replaced with gratitude for spiritual facts.
When her husband returned from the office that evening, she happily assured him that all was well. The following day he was offered office space where he might work: free from rent and expense. Additional opportunities for work were presented. The business began to grow and to prosper and has done so ever since. But what is more important, the student of Christian Science has never again been tempted to be ungrateful or to fear that substance can be lacking. The ever-present, ever-operative law of Life and Love has become increasingly understood, and the recognition of divine law has brought great blessings.
Christ Jesus, in his work for mankind, taught that through the understanding of divine law and obedience to it, one will find that Scriptural prophecy is fulfilled. Of this fulfillment, Mrs. Eddy writes (Miscellany, p. 132): "We begin with the law as just announced, 'Prove me now herewith, . . . if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing,' and we go to the Gospels, and there we hear: 'In the world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.'"
