There is danger of losing all in the pursuit of worldly gain; for in the feverish eagerness for earthly treasure, higher interests are forgotten. The care and perplexity that are involved in laying up treasures upon the earth, leave no time nor desire to estimate the value of eternal riches.... “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”Matthew 6:21; Luke 12:34. Your thoughts, your plans, your motives, will have an earthly mold, and your soul will be defiled with covetousness and selfishness. “What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”(Mark 8:36) ...
(CS 217.1) 1 I
The heart of man may be the abode of the Holy Spirit. The peace of Christ, which passeth understanding, may rest in your soul; and the transforming power of His grace may work in your life, and fit you for the courts of glory. But if brain and nerve and muscle are all employed in the service of self, you are not making God and heaven the first consideration of your life. It is impossible to be weaving the graces of Christ into your character while you are putting all your energies on the side of the world. You may be successful in heaping up treasure on the earth, for the glory of self; but “where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”Matthew 6:21; Luke 12:34. Eternal considerations will be made of secondary importance. You may take part in the outward forms of worship; but your service will be an abomination to the God of heaven. You cannot serve God and mammon. You will either yield your heart and put your will on the side of God, or you will give your energies to the service of the world. God will accept no halfhearted service.—The Review and Herald, September 1, 1910.
(CS 217.2) 4 I
Enduring Substance or Passing Shadow
Christ calls upon the members of His church to cherish the true, genuine hope of the gospel. He points them upward, distinctly assuring them that the riches that endure are above, not below. Their hope is in heaven, not on the earth. “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness,” He says; “and all these things” —all that is essential for your good—“shall be added unto you.”Matthew 6:33.
(CS 218.1)
With many, the things of this world obscure the glorious view of the eternal weight of glory that awaits the saints of the Most High. They cannot distinguish the true, the real, the enduring substance, from the false, the counterfeit, the passing shadow. Christ urges them to remove from before their eyes that which is obscuring their view of eternal realities. He insists upon the removal of that which is causing them to mistake phantoms for realities, and realities for phantoms. God entreats His people to give the strength of body, mind, and soul to the service that He expects them to perform. He calls upon them to be able to say for themselves that the gains and advantages of this life are not worthy to be compared with the riches that are reserved for the diligent, rational seeker for eternal life.—The Review and Herald, June 23, 1904.
(CS 218.2)
Engrossed in Pursuit of Wealth
The enemy is just as perseveringly at work now as he was before the flood. By the use of various enterprises and inventions, he is diligently working to keep the minds of men engrossed in the things of this world. He is employing all his ingenuity to lead men to act foolishly, to keep them absorbed in commercial enterprises, and thus to imperil their hope of eternal life. He devises the inventions that imperil human life. Under his leadership, men carry through that which he devises. They become so absorbed in the pursuit of wealth and worldly power that they give no heed to a “Thus saith the Lord.”
(CS 218.3)
Satan exults as he sees that he is successful in keeping minds from a consideration of the solemn, important matters that have to do with eternal life. He seeks to crowd the thought of God out of the mind, and to put worldliness and commercialism in its place. He desires to keep the world in darkness. It is his studied purpose to lead men to forget God and heaven, to bring all the souls that he can under his own jurisdiction. And to this end he brings forward enterprises and inventions that will so occupy men’s attention that they will have no time to think of heavenly things.
(CS 219.1)
The people of God must now awake and do their neglected work. Into our planning for this work, we must put all the powers of the mind. We should spare no effort to present the truth as it is in Jesus, so simply and yet so forcibly that minds will be strongly impressed. We must plan to work in a way that will consume as little means as possible; for the work must extend into the regions beyond.—The Review and Herald, December 15, 1910.
(CS 219.2)
A Lesson From Judas
Judas had valuable qualities, but there were some traits in his character that would have to be cut away before he could be saved. He must be born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible. His great hereditary and cultivated tendency to evil was covetousness. And by practice this became a habit which he carried into all his trading. His economical habits developed a parsimonious spirit, and became a fatal snare. Gain was his measurement of a correct religious experience, and all true righteousness became subordinate to this. Christlike principles of uprightness and justice had no room in his life practices....
(CS 219.3)
Knowing that he was being corrupted by covetousness, Christ gave him the privilege of hearing many precious lessons. He heard Christ laying down the principles which all must possess who would enter His kingdom. He was given every opportunity to receive Christ as his personal Saviour, but he refused this gift. He would not yield his way and will to Christ. He did not practice that which was contrary to his own inclinations; therefore his strong avaricious spirit was not corrected. While he continued a disciple in outward form, and while in the very presence of Christ, he appropriated to himself means that belonged to the Lord’s treasury....
(CS 220.1)
Judas might have been benefited by these lessons, had he possessed a desire to be right at heart; but his acquisitiveness overcame him, and the love of money became a ruling power. Through indulgence, he permitted this trait in his character to grow and take so deep a root that it crowded out the good seed of truth sown in his heart.—The Review and Herald, October 5, 1897.
(CS 220.2)
Blinded by Love of the World
The cause of God is to hold the first place in our plans and affections. There is need of bearing a straight message concerning the indulgence of self while the cause of God is in need of means. Some are so cold and backslidden that they do not realize that they are setting their affections on earthly treasure, which is soon to be swept away forever. The love of the world is binding them about, like a thick garment; and unless they change their course, they will not know how precious it is to practice self-denial for Christ’s sake. All our idols, our love of the world, must be expelled from the heart.
(CS 220.3) 1 I
There are ministers and faithful friends who see the danger that surrounds these self-bound souls, and who faithfully present to them the error of their course, but instead of taking admonitions in the spirit in which they are given, and profiting thereby, those reproved rise up against the ones who deal with them faithfully.
(CS 221.1)
O, that they might arouse from their spiritual lethargy, and now acquaint themselves with God! The world is blinding their eyes from seeing Him who is invisible. They are unable to discern the most precious things that are of eternal interest, but view the truth of God in so dim a light that it seems of little value to them. The merest atom concerning their temporal interests assumes magnified proportions, while the things concerning eternity are dropped out of their reckoning.—The Review and Herald, October 31, 1893.
(CS 221.2)
True Generosity Destroyed
Men who are in comparative poverty are usually the ones who do the most to sustain the cause of God. They are generous with their little. They have strengthened their generous impulses by continual liberalities. When their expenditures pressed close upon the income, their passion for earthly riches had no room or chance to strengthen.
(CS 221.3)
But many, when they begin to gather earthly riches, commence to calculate how long it will be before they can be in possession of a certain sum. In their anxiety to amass wealth for themselves, they fail to become rich toward God. Their benevolence does not keep pace with their accumulation. As their passion for riches increases, their affections are bound up with their treasure. The increase of their property strengthens the eager desire for more, until some consider that their giving to the Lord a tenth is a severe and unjust tax. Inspiration has said, “If riches increase, set not your heart upon them.”Psalm 62:10. Many have said, “If I were as rich as such a one, I would multiply my gifts to the treasury of God. I would do nothing else with my wealth but use it for the advancement of the cause of God.” God has tested some of these by giving them riches; but with the riches came the fiercer temptation, and their benevolence was far less than in the days of their poverty. A grasping desire for greater riches absorbed their minds and hearts, and they committed idolatry.—Testimonies for the Church 3:403.
(CS 221.4)
Some, when in poverty, are generous with their little; but as they acquire property, they become penurious. The reason they have so little faith, is because they do not keep moving forward as they prosper, and give to the cause of God even at a sacrifice.—Testimonies for the Church 4:77.
(CS 222.1)