Chapter 3—Why God Employs Men as His Almoners
God is not dependent upon men for the advancement of His cause.
He might have made angels the ambassadors of His truth. He might
have made known His will, as He proclaimed the law from Sinai with
His own voice. But in order to cultivate a spirit of benevolence in us,
He has chosen to employ men to do this work.
Every act of self-sacrifice for the good of others will strengthen the
spirit of beneficence in the giver’s heart, allying him more closely to
the Redeemer of the world, who “was rich, yet for our sakes became
poor, that we through His poverty might be rich.” And it is only as we
fulfill the divine purpose in our creation that life can be a blessing to
us. All the good gifts of God to man will prove only a curse, unless
he employs them to bless his fellow men, and for the advancement
of God’s cause in the earth.—
The Review and Herald, December 7,
1886
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The Fruit of Seeking Gain
It is this increasing devotion to money getting, the selfishness
which the desire for gain begets, that deadens the spirituality of the
church, and removes the favor of God from her. When the head
and hands are constantly occupied with planning and toiling for the
accumulation of riches, the claims of God and humanity are forgotten.
If God has blessed us with prosperity, it is not that our time and
attention should be diverted from Him and given to that which He has
lent us. The giver is greater than the gift. We have been bought with a
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price, we are not our own. Have we forgotten that infinite price paid
for our redemption? Is gratitude dead in the heart? Does not the cross
of Christ put to shame a life of selfish ease and indulgence? ... We are
reaping the fruits of this infinite self-sacrifice; and yet, when labor is to
be done, when our money is wanted to aid the work of the Redeemer
in the salvation of souls, we shrink from duty and pray to be excused.
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