Recently a friend gave me some old Christian Science pamphlets. One written in 1918 gave the clearest explanation I had ever heard as to WHY "the love of money is the root of all evil", and really got me thinking. "The love of money is actually the fear of death", the pamphlet explained, "the denial of God's power and ability to care for His creation."

Suddenly it was so clear for me. Yes, by feeling that we must amass money, we are saying that we do not believe that God will take care of us and provide for every need, that WE must do that for ourselves. WE must provide for our retirement years, WE must prepare for contingencies, as if we could possibly know what the future will be.

In subsequent weeks I realized more and more how money has become the GOD of mankind today, and how we unknowingly violate the first Commandment without thinking. It says "I AM the Lord, thy God. Thou shalt have no other gods before me." Consciously, we agree, we believe in God, we worship and praise God, and feel we are being true to that commandment by living honest lives, following the Golden Rule and going to church on Sunday.

But think for a moment, what REALLY occupies the majority of our thoughts? When you go to the grocery store, doesn't the cost of each item affect which products you buy? When it comes to clothing, isn't price a factor in every decision about what we purchase? Is there ANYTHING we buy without considering the effect of the purchase on our financial resources?

But these are only the most apparent things. What about our choice of where we will live, our home environment? Doesn't money dictate where we will live and what amenities we will include in our home? What about vacations, where we will go, how we get there during our free time is determined by cost factors, isn't it?

FREE TIME???? VACATION???? From WHAT???? From "WORK" you say????

Why DO we work, if not to provide "money" to LIVE, to provide that home, and food, and clothing, and enough to spend on a vacation and save for our "retirement" years when we won't have to work anymore because we saved enough (in our estimation) to take care of our "old age"? What power could exist in the universe that could force millions, nay BILLIONS of people to get out of a warm bed each morning to go to WORK in a job that most of them do not enjoy? What power could force them to do that for the majority of their LIVES, for 40 years or more, 5 days a week, if not a GOD????

Yes, we may worship God when we have "free" time and on Sundays. But what "god" occupies MOST of our thoughts the rest of the time? Could this be the "beast" that will rule for a thousand years?

I have made a choice to worship ONE God, to TRUST that Divine Intelligence will guide every thought and action and fulfill every need. What about you????