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Testimonies for the Church Volume 2
foolish rich man. Oh, that they would be wise and feel the obligations
resting upon them to use the blessings that God has given them in
blessing others, instead of turning them into a curse. God will say to
all such, as to the foolish rich man: “Thou fool.”
Men act as though they were bereft of their reason. They are
buried up in the cares of this life. They have no time to devote to
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God, no time to serve Him. Work, work, work, is the order of the
day. All about them are required to labor upon the high-pressure
plan, to take care of large farms. To tear down and build greater
is their ambition, that they may have wherewith to bestow their
goods. Yet these very men who are weighed down with their riches
pass for Christ’s followers. They have the name of believing that
Christ is soon to come, that the end of all things is at hand; yet they
have no spirit of sacrifice. They are plunging deeper and deeper
into the world. They allow themselves but little time to study the
word of life and to meditate and pray. Neither do they give others
in their family, or those who serve them, this privilege. Yet these
men profess to believe that this world is not their home, that they
are merely pilgrims and strangers upon the earth, preparing to move
to a better country. The example and influence of all such is a curse
to the cause of God. Hollow hypocrisy characterizes their professed
Christian lives. They love God and the truth just as much as their
works show, and no more. A man will act out all the faith he has.
“By their fruits ye shall know them.” The heart is where the treasure
is. Their treasure is upon this earth, and their hearts and interests are
also here.
“What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath
faith, and have not works? can faith save him?” “Even so faith, if it
hath not works, is dead, being alone.” When those who profess the
faith show their lives to be consistent with their faith, then we shall
see a power attending the presentation of the truth, a power that will
convict the sinner and draw souls nigh to Christ.
A consistent faith is rare among rich men. Genuine faith, sus-
tained by works, is seldom found. But all who possess this faith will
be men who will not lack influence. They will copy after Christ;
they will possess that disinterested benevolence, that interest in the
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work of saving souls, that He had. The followers of Christ should
value souls as He valued them. Their sympathies should be with