Importance of Wills
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hands the money with which to carry forward the great work for the
salvation of souls for whom Christ left His home, His riches, His glory,
and became poor that He might, by His own humiliation and sacrifice,
bring many sons and daughters of Adam to God. In His providence, the
Lord has ordained that the work in His vineyard should be sustained
by the means intrusted to the hands of His stewards. A neglect on their
part to answer the calls of the cause of God in carrying forward His
work, shows them to be unfaithful and slothful servants.—
Testimonies
for the Church 3:116, 117
.
Wills Should Stand Test of Law
Some wills are made in so loose a manner that they will not stand
the test of the law, and thus thousands of dollars have been lost to the
cause. Our brethren should feel that a responsibility rests upon them,
as faithful servants in the cause of God, to exercise their intellect in
regard to this matter, and secure to the Lord His own.
Many manifest a needless delicacy on this point. They feel that
they are stepping upon forbidden ground when they introduce the
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subject of property to the aged or to invalids in order to learn what
disposition they design to make of it. But this duty is just as sacred as
the duty to preach the word to save souls. Here is a man with God’s
money or property in his hands. He is about to change his stewardship.
Will he place the means which God has lent him to be used in His
cause, in the hands of wicked men, just because they are his relatives?
Should not Christian men feel interested and anxious for that man’s
future good as well as for the interest of God’s cause, that he shall
make a right disposition of his Lord’s money, the talents lent him for
wise improvement? Will his brethren stand by, and see him losing his
hold on this life, and at the same time robbing the treasury of God?
This would be a fearful loss to himself and to the cause, for, by placing
his talent of means in the hands of those who have no regard for the
truth of God, he would, to all intents and purposes, be wrapping it in a
napkin and hiding it in the earth.
The Lord would have His followers dispense their means while they
can do it themselves. Some may inquire, “Must we actually dispossess
ourselves of everything which we call our own?” We may not be
required to do this now, but we must be willing to do so for Christ’s