Chapter 35—Releasing the Streams of Benevolence VC

To Be God’s Almoners—God has placed property in the hands of men in order that they may learn to be merciful, to be His almoners to relieve the suffering of His fallen creatures.—The Signs of the Times, June 20, 1892. (WM 268.1) MC VC

To Keep Hearts Tender and Sympathetic—Acts of generosity and benevolence were designed by God to keep the hearts of the children of men tender and sympathetic and to encourage in them an interest and affection for one another in imitation of the Master, who for our sakes became poor, that we through His poverty might be made rich.—Testimonies for the Church 3:547. (WM 268.2) MC VC

Streams of Beneficence to Be Kept Flowing—The small streams of beneficence must be ever kept flowing into the treasury. God’s providence is far ahead, moving onward much faster than our liberalities.—Manuscript 26, 1891. (WM 268.3) MC VC

A Constant Flow of Gifts—The money that God has entrusted to men is to be used in blessing humanity, in relieving the necessities of the suffering and the needy. Men are not to feel that they have done a very wonderful thing when they have endowed certain institutions or churches with large gifts. In the wise providence of God there are constantly presented before them the very ones who need their help. They are to relieve the suffering, clothe the naked, and help many who are in hard and trying circumstances, who are wrestling with all their energies to keep themselves and their families from a pauper’s home.—The Review and Herald, January 4, 1898. (WM 268.4) MC VC

We Ask for Others—When we pray, “Give us this day our daily bread,”(Matthew 6:11) we ask for others as well as ourselves. And we acknowledge that what God gives us is not for ourselves alone. God gives to us in trust, that we may feed the hungry. Of His goodness He has prepared for the poor. And He says, “When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbours.... But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: and thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.” Luke 14:12-14. —Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, 111, 112. (WM 269.1) MC VC

God’s Superscription on Every Dollar—Whatever may be the sum of our talents, whether one, two, or five, not a farthing of our money is to be squandered upon vanity, pride, or selfishness. Every dollar of our accumulation is stamped with the image and superscription of God. As long as there are hungry ones in God’s world to be fed, naked ones to be clothed, souls perishing for the bread and water of salvation, every unnecessary indulgence, every overplus of capital, pleads for the poor and the naked.—The Signs of the Times, June 20, 1892. (WM 269.2) 2 I MC VC

Streams of Beneficence Dried Up—The more means persons expend in dress, the less they can have to feed the hungry and clothe the naked; and the streams of beneficence, which should be constantly flowing, are dried up. Every dollar saved by denying one’s self of useless ornaments may be given to the needy or may be placed in the Lord’s treasury to sustain the gospel, to send missionaries to foreign countries, to multiply publications to carry rays of light to souls in the darkness of error. Every dollar used unnecessarily deprives the spender of a precious opportunity to do good.—Testimonies for the Church 4:645, 646. (WM 269.3) MC VC