The Author
God desires to bring men into direct relation with Himself. In
all His dealings with human beings He recognizes the principle of
personal responsibility. He seeks to encourage a sense of personal
dependence and to impress the need of personal guidance. His gifts
are committed to men as individuals. Every man has been made a
steward of sacred trusts; each is to discharge his trust according to the
direction of the Giver; and by each an account of his stewardship must
be rendered to God.
In all this, God is seeking to bring the human into association with
the divine, that through this connection man may become transformed
into the divine likeness. Then the principle of love and goodness will
be a part of his nature. Satan, seeking to thwart this purpose, constantly
works to encourage dependence upon man, to make men the slaves
of men. When he thus succeeds in turning minds away from God, he
insinuates his own principles of selfishness, hatred, and strife.
In all our dealing with one another, God desires us carefully to
guard the principle of personal responsibility to and dependence upon
Him. It is a principle that should be especially kept in view by our
publishing houses in their dealing with authors.
It has been urged by some that authors have no right to hold the
stewardship of their own works; that they should give their works
over to the control of the publishing house or of the conference; and
that, beyond the expense involved in the production of the manuscript,
they should claim no share of the profit; that this should be left with
the conference or the publishing house, to be appropriated, as their
judgment shall direct, to the various needs of the work. Thus the
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author’s stewardship of his work would be wholly transferred from
himself to others.
But not so does God regard the matter. The ability to write a book
is, like every other talent, a gift from Him, for the improvement of
which the possessor is accountable to God; and he is to invest the
returns under His direction. Let it be borne in mind that it is not our
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