Chapter 4—God’s Purpose in the Publishing Work
Reveal the Beauty of Christ’s Character—An appearance of
wealth or position, expensive architecture or furnishings, are not essen-
tial to the advancement of the work of God; neither are achievements
that win applause from men and administer to vanity. Worldly display,
however imposing, is of no value with God.
While it is our duty to seek for perfection in outward things, it
should ever be kept in mind that this aim is not to be made supreme.
It must be held subordinate to higher interests. Above the seen and
transitory, God values the unseen and eternal. The former is of worth
only as it expresses the latter. The choicest productions of art possess
no beauty that can compare with the beauty of character which is the
fruit of the Holy Spirit’s working in the soul....
Our institutions will give character to the work of God just ac-
cording to the consecrated devotion of the workers—by revealing the
power of the grace of Christ to transform the life.—
Testimonies for
the Church 7:143, 144
.
Demonstrate Christian Principles—We are not only to publish
the theory of the truth, but to present a practical illustration of it in
character and life. Our publishing institutions are to stand before the
world as an embodiment of Christian principles. In these institutions,
if God’s purpose for them is fulfilled, Christ Himself stands at the
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head of the working forces. Holy angels supervise the work in every
department. And all that is done in every line is to bear the impress of
heaven, to show forth the excellence of the character of God....
Even in mechanical lines, God desires that the perfection of His
character shall appear. The exactness, skill, tact, wisdom, and per-
fection which He required in the building of the earthly tabernacle,
He desires to have brought into everything that shall be done in His
service. Every transaction entered into by His servants is to be as pure
and as precious in His sight as were the gold and frankincense and
myrrh which in sincere, uncorrupted faith the Wise Men from the East
brought to the infant Saviour.
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