Be the Love That You Want

Part IV of IV — A Change in Perception

A Course in Miracles teaches, “To have all, give all to all.” In this message, we are encouraged to have a consciousness of abundance. There are three areas that we can either withhold or share; time, money, and forgiveness.

Jesus taught, “To those who have, more will be given. From those who have little, even that will be taken.” Jesus is not saying that the poor will suffer while the rich get richer. Instead, he is referring to different levels of consciousness. God does not bestow riches on the wealthy while withholding from the less fortunate.

A generous mind will manifest abundance, and a stingy mind will create lack.

These spiritual messages are teaching us three things. First, that prosperity is under our own control. Second, it’s our consciousness that creates abundance or lack. And lastly, the more we share, the more we have.

Three Ways to Share

The Gift of Time. Have you ever noticed that when you’re rushed, things keep blockading you? Long traffic lights and lines, a slow truck pulls out in front of you, unwanted phone calls, and unexpected tasks. You’re in a hurry, and you wonder why everyone and everything is making you later. Someone asks you to do something, and you’re annoyed. You wonder why they can’t see how busy you are.

There is always enough time when we use it generously. When we grab every moment and fill it with the unimportant, it is sucked away from us, leaving us in a heap of exhaustion at the end of the day.

On the other hand, when we manage our time wisely by not packing too much into every minute, being respectful of other people’s time, and taking the time to be helpful, there’s always enough. We don’t know how long we’re here, and every moment is a gift to be honored and respected.

The Gift of Money. When we decide on monetary giving, we often measure those choices by what we think we have. There’s a difference between being prudent and being cheap. There’s no point in throwing money away to a bad cause. There should be value in your spending. We are taught to plant our crops on fertile soil. But being cheap is like expecting a full harvest from two or three seeds. And unless it’s a mustard seed, and there are years to wait, you’d be out of luck.

It’s difficult to be generous when there’s little in the bank account. But spiritual economics are different than human-made rules. When we tap into the consciousness of spiritual abundance, there is an infinite flow of everything. It’s as though there’s an invisible pipeline that opens and closes in direct proportion to our generosity — the wider the exit, the greater the opening.

I remember when I first started learning the concept of sharing to receive. It was tough to give when I struggled to pay bills. But I was willing to believe what I was taught, and I made donations. Every time I did, unexpected abundance was bestowed upon me. Sometimes it was new work, a tax refund, a gift, or many other sources. Eventually, the lack of flow became my reminder that it was time to give more. Without fail, this principle has worked.

Debt is an affirmation of lack and withholding. It is throwing good money after bad. Debt is a self-inflicted, self-fulling prophecy that success is beyond reach. Owing money is a way to tighten the inward flow while thinking you are coming out ahead by owing others.

The Gift of Forgiveness. It’s challenging to forgive someone who has hurt you, especially if the pattern is reoccurring. But when Jesus taught that we should forgive “seventy times seven times,” he was telling us that God is not keeping count on how many times a person is forgivable. He tells us that God has no limit on how many times he forgives us, and we need not keep count either.

A Course in Miracles teaches us that when we forgive someone, we are setting ourselves free. At the root of all grievance toward another lies self-blame. If this is to be believed, then why would I want to remain stuck. Lack of forgiveness is like being anchored to a rock at the bottom of the ocean. Cutting loose of resentment offers freedom from a negative bond regardless of the outcome.

The Old Testament provides stories of spiritual generosity. One example, in Genesis 45, we find Joseph responding graciously and generously to his family, even though he’d been betrayed by them and left him to die. Joseph had all of the power to punish them, yet he forgave and bestowed them a good portion of his kingdom.

There is no lack of time, only how you choose to use it. There is no lack of money, only how you choose to share it. There is no lack of forgiveness, only if you keep count. So, to have all, give these things abundantly and watch your time increase, your assets grow, and your peace expands beyond your wildest expectations.

It’s easy to blame God for lack of anything, but we are the ones who put the brakes on ourselves. We can choose to be generous or withholding and thus determine the outcome of our time, money, and peace. Free will means we can choose what we want to believe, but it doesn’t mean we can change the laws of spiritual economics.

The generosity of time, money, and forgiveness are acts of love. If you want to have all, give all, to all.