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Testimonies for the Church Volume 5
or ashamed. “It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in
man. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes.”
Whatever position in life we may occupy, whatever our business,
we must be humble enough to feel our need of help; we must lean im-
plicitly on the teachings of God’s word, acknowledge His providence
in all things, and be faithful in pouring out our souls in prayer. Lean to
your own understanding, dear brethren, as you make your way through
the world, and you will reap sorrow and disappointment. Trust in the
Lord with all your heart, and He will guide your steps in wisdom, and
your interests will be safe for this world and for the next. You need
light and knowledge. You will take counsel either of God or your own
heart; you will walk in the sparks of your own kindling, or will gather
to yourself divine light from the Sun of Righteousness.
Do not act from motives of policy. The great danger of our busi-
nessmen and those in responsible positions is that they will be turned
from Christ to secure some help aside from Him. Peter would not have
been left to show such weakness and folly had he not sought by the
use of policy to avoid reproach and scorn, persecution and abuse. His
highest hopes centered in Christ; but when he saw Him in humiliation,
unbelief came in and was entertained. He fell under the power of
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temptation, and, instead of showing his fidelity in a crisis, he wickedly
denied his Lord.
For the sake of making money, many divorce themselves from
God and ignore their eternal interests. They pursue the same course
as the scheming, worldly man, but God is not in this; it is an offense
to Him. He would have them prompt to devise and execute plans; but
all business matters should be transacted in harmony with the great
moral law of God. The principles of love to God and our neighbor
must be carried out in all the acts of the daily life, the least as well as
the greatest. There must be a spirit to do more than pay tithes on mint,
anise, and cummin; the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy,
and the love of God, must not be neglected; for the personal character
of each one connected with the work leaves its impress upon it.
There are men and women who have left all for Christ’s sake.
Their own temporal interests, their own enjoyment of society and of
family and friends, are made of less importance than the interests
of the kingdom of God. They have not made houses and lands, and
relatives and friends however dear, first in their affections, and God’s