Chapter 15—A Question of Honesty
A close, selfish spirit seems to prevent men from giving to God
His own. The Lord made a special covenant with men, that if they
would regularly set apart the portion designated for the advancement
of Christ’s kingdom, the Lord would bless them abundantly, so that
there would not be room to receive His gifts. But if men withhold that
which belongs to God, the Lord plainly declares, “Ye are cursed with
a curse.” ...
Those who realize their dependence upon God, will feel that they
must be honest with their fellow men, and, above all, they must be
honest with God, from whom come all the blessings of life. The eva-
sion of the positive commands of God concerning tithes and offerings,
is registered in the books of heaven as robbery toward Him.
No man who is dishonest with God or with his fellow men can
truly prosper. The most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth,
says, “Thou shalt not have in thy bag divers weights, a great and a
small. Thou shalt not have in thine house divers measures, a great
and a small. But thou shalt have a perfect and just weight, a perfect
and just measure shalt thou have: that thy days may be lengthened
in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. For all that do such
things, and all that do unrighteously, are an abomination unto the Lord
thy God.” Through the prophet Micah, the Lord again expresses His
abhorrence of dishonesty: “Are there yet the treasures of wickedness
in the house of the wicked, and the scant measure that is abominable?
Shall I count them pure with the wicked balances? ... Therefore also
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will I make thee sick in smiting thee, in making thee desolate because
of thy sins.”—
The Review and Herald, December 17, 1889
.
Forfeiting Peace of Conscience
When we deal unjustly with our fellow men or with our God, we
despise the authority of God, and ignore the fact that Christ has pur-
chased us with His own life. The world is robbing God upon the
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