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Testimonies for the Church Volume 4
As a people, we lose much by lack of sympathy and sociability
with one another. He who talks of independence and shuts himself
up to himself is not filling the position that God designed he should.
We are children of God, mutually dependent upon one another for
happiness. The claims of God and of humanity are upon us. We must
all act our part in this life. It is the proper cultivation of the social
elements of our nature that brings us into sympathy with our brethren
and affords us happiness in our efforts to bless others. The happiness
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of heaven will consist in the pure communion of holy beings, the
harmonious social life with the blessed angels and with the redeemed
who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the
Lamb. We cannot be happy while we are wrapped up in our interest
for ourselves. We should live in this world to win souls to the Saviour.
If we injure others, we injure ourselves also. If we bless others, we
also bless ourselves; for the influence of every good deed is reflected
upon our own hearts.
We are in duty bound to help one another. It is not always that we
are brought in contact with social Christians, those who are amiable
and mild. Many have not received a proper education; their characters
are warped, they are hard and gnarled, and seem to be crooked in every
way. While we help these to see and correct their defects, we must
be careful not to become impatient and irritable over our neighbor’s
faults. There are disagreeable ones who profess Christ; but the beauty
of Christian grace will transform them if they will set diligently about
the work of obtaining the meekness and gentleness of Him whom they
follow, remembering that “none of us liveth to himself.” Co-workers
with Christ! What an exalted position! Where are to be found the self-
sacrificing missionaries in these large cities? The Lord needs workers
in His vineyard. We should fear to rob Him of the time He claims
from us; we should fear to spend it in idleness or in the adornment of
the body, appropriating to foolish purposes the precious hours God
has given us to be devoted to prayer, to becoming conversant with our
Bibles, and to laboring for the good of our fellow beings, thus fitting
ourselves and them for the great work devolving upon us.
Mothers spend unnecessary labor upon garments with which to
beautify the persons of themselves and their children. It is our duty
to dress ourselves plainly and to clothe our children neatly, without
useless ornamentation, embroidery, or display, taking care not to foster