272
Messages to Young People
Gifts to God
Let all who profess to believe the present truth calculate how much
they spend yearly, and especially upon the recurrence of the annual
holidays, for the gratification of selfish and unholy desires, how much
in the indulgence of appetite, and how much to compete with others in
unchristian display. Sum up the means thus spent all needlessly, and
then estimate how much might be saved as consecrated gifts to God’s
cause without injury to soul or body.
Mites and more liberal gifts may be brought in, according to the
ability of the giver, to aid in lifting debts from churches which have
been dedicated to God. Then there are missionaries to be sent into
new fields, and others to be supported in their respective fields of
labor. These missionaries have to practice the strictest economy, even
denying themselves the very things you enjoy daily, and which you
consider the necessaries of life. They enjoy few luxuries.—
The Review
and Herald, November 21, 1878
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