Prosperity: Chapter 7

*Prosperity* (1936) by Charles Fillmore is a New Thought devotional-instructional text in the tradition of early 20th-century Christian metaphysics, closely aligned with the Unity Church movement Fillmore co-founded. Its central argument is that material abundance is a spiritual law: by cultivating love, gratitude, and positive thought—and eliminating fear, negative speech, and envy—readers can draw "universal substance" (an omnipresent divine supply) into their homes and finances. Fillmore treats words and thoughts as literal seeds planted in invisible spiritual substance, meaning that speaking of poverty actively causes it, while blessing and thanksgiving multiply wealth just as Jesus multiplied loaves and fishes. A distinctive claim is that even purely materialistic love of money can attract wealth, but only love of God produces permanent, stable prosperity—making spiritual orientation not just morally preferable but practically superior for lasting financial results. The text also argues that "the simple life" (natural, unaffected living) is not poverty but the truest prosperity, contrasting it with the anxiety-driven conformity of keeping up with neighbors. Readers deciding whether to engage will find this is less a practical finance guide than a mind-over-matter theology of abundance, requiring acceptance of its metaphysical premises—divine substance, thought as creative force, love as electromagnetic attraction—to find its prescriptions convincing.

Prosperity: Chapter 7

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