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Counsels on Stewardship
they violate the law of God. They may profess the religion of Christ,
but they do not love its principles, or heed its admonitions. They give
their best strength to serve the world, and they bow to mammon.
It is alarming that so many are deluded by Satan. He excites
the imagination with brilliant prospects of worldly gain, and men
become infatuated, and think that before them is a prospect of perfect
happiness. They are lured on by the hope of obtaining honor and riches
and position. Satan says to the soul, “All this will I give thee, all this
power and wealth with which you may do good to your fellow men;”
but when the object for which they seek is gained, they find themselves
with no connection with the self-denying Redeemer; they are not
partakers of the divine nature. They hold to earthly treasures, and
despise the requirements of self-denial, self-sacrifice, and humiliation
for the truth’s sake. They have no desire to part with the dear earthly
treasure upon which their heart is set. They have exchanged masters,
and accepted the service of mammon instead of the service of Christ.
Satan has secured to himself the worship of these deceived souls
through the love of worldly treasure.
It is often found that the change from godliness to worldliness has
been made so imperceptibly by the wily insinuations of the evil one,
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that the deceived soul is not aware that he has parted company with
Christ, and is His servant only in name.—
The Review and Herald,
September 23, 1890
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Departure From the Self-Sacrifice of the Pioneers
There was a time when there were but few who listened to and
embraced the truth, and they had not much of this world’s goods. Then
it was necessary for some to sell their houses and lands, and obtain
cheaper, while their means were freely lent to the Lord to publish
the truth, and otherwise aid in advancing the cause of God. These
self-sacrificing ones endured privations; but if they endure unto the
end, great will be their reward.
God has been moving upon many hearts. The truth for which a few
sacrificed so much has triumphed, and multitudes have laid hold of it.
In the providence of God, those who have means have been brought
into the truth, that, as the work increases, the wants of His cause may
be met. God does not now call for the houses His people need to live