Ten Prosperity Commandments
Rev. John W. Adams
8. You Shall Not Seek Something for Nothing.
The eighth commandment, like all the others, covers a broad field of human activities. Its meaning, therefore, cannot be limited to the
mere act of committing petty or grand larceny.
The spirit of the law of this commandment is nicely summed up in Emerson's essay on "Compensation." In the last analysis stealing is the
endeavor to get something for nothing. Under the "law of compensation" this is impossible. Life, functioning under this law of mind, demands
that we pay for what we get, and it is correspondingly true that we get what we pay for. Emerson says: "In labor as in life there can be
no cheating. The thief steals from himself. The swindler swindles himself."
Under the law of compensation there is no such thing as getting something for nothing. You must give full measure for all that you receive
at some time. In the words of a trade slogan that was popular some years ago, "Eventually, why not now?" Every day is a day of judgment
in which the balance between giving and receiving is struck. Every instant of time the state of soul, body, and circumstances shows just where
you stand; just how well or how poorly you have observed the spirit of this commandment.
Do you desire to be wealthier?
Wealth is the outpicturing of the state of mind, or your mental equivalent. The earnestly striving person whose efforts are not richly
compensated may have a poverty consciousness. This is by far the most common reason for inadequate returns for conscientious endeavor.
The person who is endeavoring to face life intelligently and still finds himself living in financial lack, may be laboring under karmic law.
Karma is an Oriental name for the results of the working of the law of cause and effect.
The law of karma* or cause and effect is always transcended by the law of Grace. Always remember that the law of
Grace• is the action of Spirit
or the "free gift" of God's saving power (Love) responding to the call of faith. The bewildered person who finds himself in the position of giving
his best and receiving no adequate return needs to learn to accept God as the only source of his supply.
• Read more about Karma & Grace in The Game of Prosperous Living articles:
Karma or Grace? - Your Choice!
If you do not like what you are getting out life consider carefully what you are giving to life. If you feel you cannot afford to be
charitable and hate to pay debts, you are withholding your generosity, and life will not be generous with you.
When you think you are getting something for nothing you are self-deceived. Sometime, somewhere you pay for everything you receive. Consider
this rather amusing story about a woman who reaped what she sowed.
This woman who had numerous relatives loved to travel and boasted that she never paid a hotel bill in a city where she had relatives. "What
are relatives good for if you can't use them?" she was often heard to say. She would descend upon them, bag and baggage, taking it for granted
they would be glad to see her. She often laughed over the fact that she was never called upon to return their hospitality because she lived in
a single room in a hotel.
The amount of money saved on hotel bills in her travels was one of her favorite topics of conversation. But another frequent topic was the
way people always tried to take advantage of her financially. She always had to pay top price for everything; salespeople always over-charged her.
Even fate seemed to be against her, for if she purchased a new dress for $299, that she would find the same style of dress on sale the next day
for only $159!
She was both astonished and indignant when told that she was violating God's law of compensation, which requires that we give generously for
all that we receive. This was a new and not very welcome idea that there was a definite connection between the way she treated her relatives and
the way other people treated her.
Jesus emphasized the necessity of giving either before or after receiving when He said: "Give, and it shall be given unto you," and "Freely
you receive, freely give." Obedience to these instructions constitutes obedience to prosperity's eighth commandment and will keep you out of debt.
You may claim as much as you are capable of accepting of God's bountiful supply. You must give for value received in such a way that the one
from whom you receive is satisfied.
Balanced compensation is a necessary part of the foundation of permanent prosperity. The justice of this divine law is self-evident. The wise
person never seeks to evade it. They know that life itself is a gift from God and takes care that they use it rightly. They become far more
concerned with giving than with getting. They place their neighbor's interest before their own. Emerson sums up a man's spiritual progress as
follows: "Every man takes care that his neighbor shall not cheat him. But a day comes when he begins to take care that he does not cheat his
neighbor. Then all goes well. He has changed his market-cart into a chariot of the sun."
Now you have the golden key to enjoying more of God's rich abundance: Giving like you want to receive. In truth, when you give to others,
you are giving to yourself. Thus you know and practice the reality that Prosperity is Giving. - Rev. John - (Adapted from "Prosperity's Ten
Commandments" by Georgiana T. West)
