Chapter 1—Coworkers With God
“Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the first fruits of all
thine increase: so shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses
shall burst out with new wine.”
Proverbs 3:9, 10
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“There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that with-
holdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty. The liberal soul
shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.”
Proverbs 11:24, 25
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“The liberal deviseth liberal things; and by liberal things shall he
stand.”
Isaiah 32:8
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Divine wisdom has appointed, in the plan of salvation, the law of
action and reaction, making the work of beneficence, in all its branches,
twice blessed. He who gives to the needy blesses others, and is blessed
himself in a still greater degree.
The Glory of the Gospel
That man might not lose the blessed results of benevolence, our
Redeemer formed the plan of enlisting him as His coworker. God
could have reached His object in saving sinners without the aid of
man; but He knew that man could not be happy without acting a part
in the great work. By a chain of circumstances which would call
forth his charities, He bestows upon man the best means of cultivating
benevolence, and keeps him habitually giving to help the poor and
to advance His cause. By its necessities a ruined world is drawing
forth from us talents of means and of influence, to present to men and
women the truth, of which they are in perishing need. And as we heed
these calls, by labor and by acts of benevolence, we are assimilated to
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the image of Him who for our sakes became poor. In bestowing, we
bless others, and thus accumulate true riches.
It is the glory of the gospel that it is founded upon the principle of
restoring in the fallen race the divine image by a constant manifestation
of benevolence. This work began in the heavenly courts. There God
gave to human beings an unmistakable evidence of the love with which
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