Wisdom
GREAT many people are attracted
to
the New Thought of the day, by
its declaration of our right to ma-
terial wealth, and by its claim that
the mind of man can create, com-
mand, and control conditions which
produce wealth.
There is no question concerning the truth
of
this claim.
But woe unto him who cultivates his mental
and spiritual powers only for this purpose.
His gold shall turn to dross, his pleasure to
Dead Sea fruit.
He shall be as one who drags a beautiful gar-
ment through the mud of the streets, and while
clothed in purple and fine linen is yet a repulsive
object.
Into the Great Scheme of Existence, as first
conceived by the Creator, money did not enter.
He made this beautiful Universe, and all that
it contains was meant for the enjoyment of His
creatures.
There was no millionaire and no pauper soul
created by God.
Each soul contains the spark of the divine
spirit, and by the realization of that spark, and all
it means, whatever is desired by mortal man
may come to him.
But wise is he who remembers the injunction,
"Seek first the kingdom of heaven and all other
things shall be added unto you."
Wise is he who understands the meaning of
the words, "Unto him that hath, more shall be
given."
Not until you obtain the faculty of being
happy through your spiritual and mental facul-
ties, independent of material conditions, not until
you learn to value wealth only as a means of
helpfulness, can you safely turn your powers of
concentration upon the idea of opulence.
To demand, assert, and command wealth for
its mere sensual benefits, to focus your mind
upon it because you desire to shine, lead, and
triumph, is to play spiritual football with spirit-
ual dynamite.
You may obtain what you seek, you may
accumulate riches, but at the cost of all that is
worth living for.
The merely ignorant, or stupid, or wholly
material man who stumbles into a fortune,
through inheritance, dogged persistent industry,
or chance, may enjoy it in his own fashion, and
do no harm in the world.
But the man who knows and who has devel-
oped his spiritual powers only for the purpose of
commanding material gain, might better have a
millstone tied about his neck. For he makes
himself a spiritual outcast, and his money shall
never bring him happiness.
Make therefore, your assertion of opulence
the last in your list, as you make Love first.
Call unto yourself spiritual insight, absolute
unselfishness, desire for universal good, wisdom,
justice, and usefulness, and last of all opulence.
Think of yourself as possessed of all these
qualities before you picture financial independ-
ence.
For without love for your kind, without the
desire for usefulness and the spiritual insight and
the wisdom to be just before being generous,
your money would bring you only temporary
pleasure, and would do the world no good.
Neither should you labor under the impres-
sion that God's work is lying undone because you
have no fortune to command and wisely dis-
tribute where most needed. Rest assured if you
do the work which lies nearest to you, relieve
such distress as is possible to you, and keep your
faith in the ultimate justice of God's ways, that
the world will move on, and humanity will
slowly attain its destined goal, even if you never
become a millionaire.
The Heart of the New Thought by Ella Wheeler Wilcox.
Chicago : The Psychic Research Company, c1902.
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