Chapter 50—A Call to Prayer or Change of
Occupation
Dear Brother and Sister,
I feel tender sympathy for you, and I am praying that you may see
matters in a correct light. You must see that one should not manage
his affairs in a way that will incur debt....
When a man sees that he is not successful, why does he not betake
himself to prayer, or change his work? There are stormy times before
us, and the Lord will accept all who can cooperate with Him. Practice
self-denial and self-sacrifice. Consider every movement carefully
and prayerfully. Walk softly before the Lord. We must preserve a
devotedness to God, and make straight paths for our feet, lest the lame
be turned out of the way.—
Letter 63, 1897
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Counsel to a Colporteur
In your letter you complain of the yoke of debt. But there is no
excuse for your being in debt.... Your freedom in borrowing, with
no reason to suppose that you will be in a position to repay it, is
doing great injustice to others, robbing them of their little all, and
bringing reproach upon the cause of God. If you realized what you
were doing at the time of your action, you would stop. You would see
the sinfulness of robbing men, believers or unbelievers, and bringing
them into strait places in order to relieve your present necessities.
This case of yours, Brother-----, is not a small affair. In the course
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you have pursued, you will leave upon the track of other canvassers a
blighting influence, difficult for you to efface. You will have closed the
door to other persons who would canvass, and do the work honestly,
but who will be regarded as untrustworthy. To those who really need
to have some indulgence and favors in the line of trust, because of the
wrong course some canvassers have pursued, they dare not venture.
And with the experience they have had, in the loss from the treasury of
hundreds of pounds, why should they not be afraid to repose confidence
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