Wisdom and Wealth ANNIE M. KNOTT, CSD          It is undeniable that all men desire wealth, but it is questionable whether all desire wisdom; yet rightly understood they are inseparable. In the epistle of James, after his greeting "to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad," he says, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, . . . and it shall be given him." Never before in human history has wisdom been so greatly needed by high and low, by men and nations, as at this hour.          In turning over the pages of the Bible, thought was arrested by the narrative of the Queen of Sheba's visit to King Solomon as given in the tenth chapter of I Kings. At the very start we are told that this queen came to Jerusalem from what was then a far distant land to learn about God and to gain wisdom. We read that she brought with her "very much gold, and precious stones." She, on her part, was amazed at the evidences of wealth on every hand, yet again and again throughout the chapter wisdom is named as outshining all the material wealth. We may well pause for a moment to ponder her words to King Solomon: "Blessed be the Lord thy God, which delighted in thee, . . . therefore made he thee king, to do judgment and justice." We read that Solomon "exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and for wisdom. And all the earth sought to Solomon, to hear his wisdom which God had put in his heart."          As we turn from this record of olden time we may pause to recall these words of Whittier's well-known hymn:          That all of good the past hath had          Remains to make our own time glad,          Our common, daily life divine,          And every land a Palestine.          While still thinking upon the Queen of Sheba, we may well turn to the words of Christ Jesus as found in Matthew: "The queen of the south shall rise up in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here." As the student of Christian Science dwells upon these words of the Master, and reads of the healings recorded in the same chapter, thought is lifted above the material wealth of Solomon's time to the wisdom and spiritual power of Christ Jesus. Well might he say to those who were opposing him, "A greater than Solomon is here"! While the Master warns his followers against the laying up of earthly treasures, he commands them to lay up spiritual treasures, and assures them that in giving priority to the spiritual, "all" earthly needs will be supplied. Christian Scientists are proving this daily, and are linking close to this promise the words of our inspired Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, "Divine Love always has met and always will meet every human need" (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 494).          The special need of our Cause at this hour is the wisdom which will enable us to value rightly the prosperity in Solomon's time, and then estimate scientifically our own approach to the work of Christ Jesus in the healing of the sick. In the Gospel of Matthew, already quoted from, we are told that when a man with a withered hand sought help from Jesus in the synagogue an objection was made on the ground that this work should not be done on the Sabbath day. The Master quickly proved his right to heal on that day by restoring the hand there and then.          At every Wednesday evening meeting in Christian Science churches the world over, testimonies are given of the healing of all manner of diseases by divine power, and this in fulfillment of our Master's promises. Though material law was at times invoked to stop this healing, it has gone on and is bringing us nearer and nearer to the time foretold by St. John when there shall be neither sin, sorrow, pain, nor death.          The Queen of Sheba brought with her to Jerusalem "much gold, and precious stones," but the new Jerusalem of John's revelation was of pure gold and "all manner of precious stones." The wealth of Solomon's time fades out before the spiritual glories herein symbolized. As "the healing of the nations" goes on, want and woe vanish, none are idle, for "his servants shall serve him," and divine justice gives to "every man according as his work shall be." Mrs. Eddy tells us that "wisdom is won through faith, prayer, experience; and God is the giver" (The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 205). This surely calls upon us to prove for our own day the power of wisdom and Love to end want, war, and all evil — God's kingdom come on earth as in heaven.   "Wisdom and Wealth" by Annie M. Knott, CSD Christian Science Sentinel, March 12, 1932

 

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