Chapter 58—A Plea for Economy

There should be no extravagance in building fine homes, in buying costly furniture, in indulging in worldly dress, or in providing luxurious food; but in everything let us think of the souls for whom Christ has died. Let selfishness and pride die. Let none continue to expend means to multiply pictures to be sent to their friends. Let us save every dollar that can be saved, that the matchless charms of Christ may be presented before the souls of the perishing.

Satan will suggest many ways in which you may expend money. But if it is spent for self-gratification,—for unnecessary things, no matter how trifling their cost,—it is not spent for the glory of God. Let us look well to this matter, and see if we are denying ourselves as we should. Are we making sacrifices, that we may send the light of truth to the lost? ...

There should be but one interest in the church; one desire should control all, and that is the desire to conform to the image of Christ. Each one should strive to do for Jesus all that it is possible for him to do, by personal effort, by gifts, by sacrifices. There should be meat in the house of the Lord, and that means a full treasury, that responses may be made to Macedonian cries coming from every land. How pitiful it is that we are obliged to say to these who cry for help, “We cannot send you men or money. We have an empty treasury.”

Let all the pennies, dimes, and dollars that are lost to the cause through selfish love of pleasure, through desire to meet the world’s standard, through love of ease, be turned into the channel that flows to God’s treasury. It is the rills flowing into one that finally make the river. Let us be conscientious Christians, be laborers together with God....

New fields of work must be opened, souls are to be added to the faith, new names will appear on the church records,—names that will appear in the immortal records in heaven. O that we might realize what might be done with the money expended for the gratification of self!—The Review and Herald, January 27, 1891.

A Partner in God’s Firm

The cause of God is ever demanding. Industry is therefore required on the part of all, high and low, rich and poor, in order that due returns may be made to God, that there may be “meat” in His house, and that the servants whom He has called to do the work of communicating the truth to a perishing world may be supported.

Not only does God require the tithe, but He requires that all we have be used to His glory. There must be no spendthrift habits; it is God’s property that we are handling. Not one dollar or one shilling is our own. The squandering of money in luxuries deprives the poor of the means necessary to supply them with food and clothing. That which is spent for the gratification of pride in dress, in buildings, in furniture, and in decorations, would relieve the distress of many wretched, suffering families. God’s stewards are to minister to the needy. This is the fruit of pure and undefiled religion. The Lord condemns men for their selfish indulgence while their fellow beings are suffering for the want of food and clothing....

The Lord calls upon every one of His children to let heaven’s light—the light of His own unselfish love— shine out amid the darkness of this degenerate age. If He sees you acknowledge Him as the possessor of yourself and all your possessions, if He sees you use your entrusted means as a faithful steward, He will register your name in the books of heaven as a laborer together with Him, a partner in His great firm, to work in behalf of your fellow men. And joy will be yours in the final day, as it is seen that the means wisely used in helping others has caused through you thanksgiving to God.—The Review and Herald, December 8, 1896.

The Care of the Mites

I wish I could impress on every mind the grievous sinfulness of wasting the Lord’s money on fancied wants. The expenditure of sums that look small may start a train of circumstances that will reach into eternity. When the judgment shall sit, and the books are opened, the losing side will be presented to your view—the good that you might have done with the accumulated mites and the larger sums that were used for wholly selfish purposes....

Jesus does not require of man any real sacrifice; for whatever we are asked to surrender is only that which we are better off without. We are only letting go the lesser, the more worthless, for the greater, the more valuable. Every earthly, temporal consideration must be subordinate to the higher.—The Review and Herald, August 11, 1891.

Then the Message Will Go With Power

God’s people should practice strict economy in their outlay of means, that they may have something to bring to Him, saying, “Of Thine own have we given Thee.” 1 Chronicles 29:14^L. Thus they are to offer God thanksgiving for the blessings received from Him. Thus, too, they are to lay up for themselves treasure beside the throne of God.

Worldlings spend upon dress large sums of money that ought to be used to feed and clothe those suffering from hunger and cold. Many for whom Christ gave His life have barely sufficient of the cheapest, most common clothing, while others spend thousands of dollars in the efforts to satisfy the never-ending demands of fashion.

The Lord has charged His people to come out from the world, and be separate. Gay or expensive clothing is not becoming to those who believe that we are living in the last days of probation. “I will therefore,” the apostle Paul writes, “that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting. In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; but (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works.” 1 Timothy 2:8-10^L.

Even among those who profess to be children of God, there are those who spend more than is necessary upon dress. We should dress neatly and tastefully, but, my sisters, when you are buying and making your own and your children’s clothing, think of the work in the Lord’s vineyard that is still waiting to be done. It is right to buy good material, and have it carefully made. This is economy. But rich trimmings are not needed, and to indulge in them is to spend for self-gratification money that should be put into God’s cause.

It is not your dress that makes you of value in the Lord’s sight. It is the inward adorning, the graces of the Spirit, the kind word, the thoughtful consideration for others, that God values. Do without the unnecessary trimmings, and lay aside for the advancement of the cause of God the means thus saved. Learn the lesson of self-denial, and teach it to your children. All that can be saved by self-denial is needed now in the work to be done. The suffering must be relieved, the naked clothed, the hungry fed; the truth for this time must be told to those who know it not. By denying ourselves of that which is not necessary, we may have a part in the great work of God.

We are Christ’s witnesses, and we are not to allow worldly interests so to absorb our time and attention that we pay no heed to the things that God has said must come first. There are higher interests at stake. “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness.” Matthew 6:33^L. Christ gave His all to the work that He came to do, and His word to us is, “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” Luke 9:23^L. “So shall ye be My disciples.” John 15:8^L.

Willingly and cheerfully Christ gave Himself to the carrying out of the will of God. He became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Shall we feel it a hardship to deny ourselves? Shall we draw back from being partakers of His sufferings? His death ought to stir every fiber of the being, making us willing to consecrate to His work all that we have and are. As we think of what He has done for us, our hearts should be filled with love.

When those who know the truth practice the self-denial enjoined in God’s word, the message will go with power. The Lord will hear our prayers for the conversion of souls. God’s people will let their light shine forth, and unbelievers, seeing their good works, will glorify our heavenly Father. Let us relate ourselves to God in self-sacrificing obedience.—The Review and Herald, December 1, 1910.

Progress Despite Poverty

There were but very few of us to carry forward the work at first, and it was very necessary for us to be of one mind in order to have the work advance with order and uniformity. When we saw the importance of being in the unity of faith, our prayers were answered, and Christ’s prayer was answered that we should be one as He was one with the Father. We were as destitute of means as you are here in these kingdoms, [Written in Europe.] and we frequently went hungry, and suffered from cold for want of proper clothing. But we saw that the truth must advance, and we must have means to carry it forward. We then sought the Lord most earnestly that he would open ways that we might reach the people in the different cities and towns, and my husband and myself would have to work with our hands to get means to carry us from place to place, to open the treasures of faith to others. We could see that the Lord of heaven was preparing the way before us in the work.

My husband has worked at handling stone till the skin was worn from his fingers, and the blood started from the wounds, that he might get means to carry him from place to place to speak to the people the words of truth. This is the way the work went in the beginning, and our petitions must now ascend to the God of heaven as they did then, that He will open the way, and the truth find access to hearts. The gold and the silver are the Lord’s. The cattle upon the thousand hills are His; but He wants you to move forward in faith just as far and as fast as you can. The Lord’s blessing will rest upon those who do to the very best of their ability....

When the Scriptures were opened in the Piedmont Valleys, the truth was carried forward by those who were very poor in this world’s goods. Those who had Bible truth were not allowed to bring it before the people; they could not get Bibles into families; so they went as merchants selling goods, and carried parts of the Bible with them, and when they saw that it would do, they would read from the Scriptures; and those who were hungering for truth could in this way obtain light. With bare and bleeding feet, these men traveled over the hard rocks of the mountains in order that they might reach souls, and open to them the words of life. I wish the very same spirit that animated them was in the heart of everyone who professes the truth at the present time.

We can every one of us do something, if we will only take the position that God would have us. Every move that you make to enlighten others, brings you nearer in harmony with the God of heaven. If you sit down and look at yourself and say, “I can barely support my family,” you will never do anything; but if you say, “I will do something for the truth, I will see it advance, I will do what I can,” God will open ways so that you can do something. You should invest in the cause of truth so that you will feel that you are a part of it.

God does not require of the man to whom He has given one talent, the interest of ten. Remember that it was the man who had one talent that wrapped it in a napkin and hid it in the earth. You should use the talent, influence, and means which God has given you that you may act a part in this work.—The Review and Herald, July 8, 1890.