Chapter 101—“Honor the Lord With Thy Substance”

“How much owest thou unto my Lord?” Luke 16:5^L. Shall we receive every blessing from the hand of God, and yet make no returns to Him,—not even in giving Him our tithe, the portion which He has reserved unto Himself? It has become customary to turn everything out of the true line of self-sacrifice into the path of self-pleasing. But shall we continually receive His favors with indifference, and make no response to His love?

Will you not, dear youth, become missionaries for God? Will you, as you have never done before, learn the precious lesson of making gifts to the Lord by putting into the treasury of that which He has freely given you to enjoy? Whatever you have received, let a portion be returned to the Giver as a gratitude offering. A part should also be put into the treasury for the missionary work to be done both at home and abroad.

Treasures in Heaven

The cause of God should lie very near our hearts. The light of truth which has been a blessing to one family will, if communicated by parents and children, prove as great a blessing to other families also. But when God’s bounties, so richly and abundantly given, are withheld from Him, and selfishly bestowed upon ourselves, God’s curse, in the place of His blessing, will surely be experienced; for this the Lord has declared. God’s claim is to take the precedence of any other claim, and must be discharged first. Then the poor and the needy are to be cared for. These must not be neglected, at whatever cost or sacrifice to ourselves.

“That there may be meat in Mine house.” Malachi 3:10^L. It is our duty to be temperate in all things, in eating, in drinking, and in dressing. Our buildings and the furnishing of our homes should be carefully considered with the heart’s desire to render to God His own, not only in tithes, but as far as possible in gifts and offerings also. Very many might be laying up for themselves treasures in heaven, by keeping the Lord’s storehouse supplied with the portion He claims as His own, and with gifts and offerings.

Those who are honestly inquiring what God requires of them in regard to the property they claim as their own should search the Old Testament Scriptures, and see what Christ, the invisible leader of Israel in their long wilderness journey, directed His people to do in this respect. We should individually be willing to be put to any inconvenience, to be brought into any straits, rather than rob God of the portion that should come into His house. Those who are Bible readers and Bible believers will have an intelligent knowledge of “What saith the Lord” in this matter.

Without Excuse

In that day when every man shall be judged according to the deeds done in the body, every excuse that selfishness may now make for withholding the tithe, the gifts and offerings, from the Lord will melt away as the dew before the sun. If it were not forever too late, how glad would many be to go back and rebuild their characters! But it will be too late then to change the record of those who, weekly, monthly, and yearly, have robbed God. Their destiny will be fixed, unalterably fixed....

Selfishness is a deadly evil. Self-love and careless indifference to the specific terms of agreement between God and man, the refusal to act as his faithful stewards, have brought upon them His curse, just as He declared would be the case. These souls have separated themselves from God; by precept and example they have led others to disregard God’s plain commandments, and He could not bestow His blessing upon them.

The Tithe

The Lord has specified: The tenth of all your possessions is Mine; your gifts and offerings are to be brought into the treasury, to be used to advance My cause, to send the living preacher to open the Scriptures to those who sit in darkness.

Then will any one run the risk of withholding from God His own, doing as did the unfaithful servant who hid His Lord’s money in the earth? Shall we, as did this man, seek to justify our unfaithfulness by complaining of God, saying, “Lord, I knew Thee that Thou art an hard man, reaping where Thou hast not sown, and gathering where Thou hast not strawed: and I was afraid, and went and hid Thy talent in the earth: lo, there Thou hast that is Thine?” Matthew 25:24, 25^L. Shall we not rather present our gratitude offerings to God?—The Youth’s Instructor, August 26, 1897.