I’ve learned that no matter what comes up in my life, I can turn to the Bible for an answer. Discovering that the inspiration drawn from its passages and stories provides a solution for everyone and everything is one of the things I love most about the study of Christian Science. In fact, Mary Baker Eddy states that the first tenet of Christian Science is, “As adherents of Truth, we take the inspired Word of the Bible as our sufficient guide to eternal Life” (“Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,” p. 497).
When a problem arises, sometimes a well-loved story or passage from the Bible comes immediately to thought. Other times, I’m led in other ways to an unfamiliar Bible story that beautifully meets my needs.
It was one of those unfamiliar stories that came to my aid years ago when I worked as a computer programmer. At the time, to be competitive, my employer had begun hiring new university graduates at a much higher salary. This was frustrating for those of us who had already worked there a few years and were now being paid less than new hires. There was a lot of complaining and morale was low. And though I knew it wasn’t helpful, I too became annoyed.
I can’t recall just how it happened, but I was effortlessly led, in a way I attribute to God’s prompting, to read one of Christ Jesus’ less familiar parables about an employer who hires laborers to work in his vineyard for a penny a day (see Matthew 20:1-15). He continues to hire laborers throughout the day, promising to pay them whatever is fair. At the end of the day, much to the dismay of the laborers hired first, in the early morning, he pays all of them a penny.
The parable’s parallel to my experience was obvious. I was one of those workers hired in the morning, whining about the injustice, and the employer’s response to them applied to me, too. He basically said that he was not being unfair; he had paid them what he had promised and they didn’t need to concern themselves with what the new hires were paid. This parable made it crystal clear that I needed to stop fretting about what others were earning.
Another passage, this one more familiar to me, helped me do this. Quoting Isaiah 55:1, where the prophet writes of buying milk and wine without money or price, Science and Health explains, “Love is impartial and universal in its adaptation and bestowals. It is the open fount which cries, ‘Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters’ ” (p. 13).
Recognizing God as the source of all good and the loving, generous, and impartial employer of us all, I relinquished the fear that there was a limited pot of good to go around. I knew my company had been just in its treatment of me, and that my needs were being met and would continue to be, and that was enough.
Shortly afterward, the company announced retroactive pay increases for the rest of us, likely in the works for some time. Of course, I was grateful for this adjustment, but even more so that I was already at peace. And over the many years since, this has been a touchstone experience for me, reassuring me that the Bible isn’t some antiquated history book, irrelevant to our lives today.
Later on, while delving more deeply into the parable, I read in a Bible commentary that one reason Jesus told the story was to illustrate that although the Jews served God first, the Gentiles who came later would have equal privileges or standing in the kingdom of heaven (see “Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible,” p. 1,714). The lesson is that no one is less worthy of God’s abundant goodness than another.
This parable was told shortly after Peter had asked what he and the other disciples would receive for following Jesus, which indicates the story was a response to the idea that rewards would be based on a person’s seniority. Just as its healing message addressed the needs of Jesus’ listeners in his day, the inspired Word meets the needs of receptive hearts in every era. Even though written many centuries ago in distant lands, the Bible’s lessons are timeless and its messages enduring and universal – and always fresh, because every time we read them we’re at a different place in our experience or understanding.
We can turn to the Bible for guidance, just as we might a close friend. Whether we’re reading it for the first time or the umpteenth time, it has an inspired message for each one of us that uplifts and heals.
Originally published in the May 2026 issue of The Christian Science Journal.
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