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Beneficence
“Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the first fruits of
all thine increase: so shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy
presses shall burst out with new wine.”
Proverbs 3:9, 10
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“There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that
withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty. The liberal
soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also
himself.”
Proverbs 11:24, 25
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“The liberal deviseth liberal things; and by liberal things shall
he stand.”
Isaiah 32:8
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Divine wisdom has appointed, in the plan of salvation, the law
of action and reaction, making the work of beneficence, in all its
branches, twice blessed. He who gives to the needy blesses others
and is blessed himself in a still greater degree.
The Glory of the Gospel
That man might not lose the blessed results of benevolence, our
Redeemer formed the plan of enlisting him as His co-worker. God
could have reached His object in saving sinners without the aid of
man, but He knew that man could not be happy without acting a
part in the great work. By a chain of circumstances which would
call forth his charities, He bestows upon man the best means of
cultivating benevolence, and keeps him habitually giving to help the
poor and to advance His cause. By its necessities a ruined world is
drawing forth from us talents of means and of influence, to present
to men and women the truth, of which they are in perishing need.
And as we heed these calls, by labor and by acts of benevolence, we
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are assimilated to the image of Him who for our sakes became poor.
In bestowing we bless others and thus accumulate true riches.
It is the glory of the gospel that it is founded upon the principle
of restoring in the fallen race the divine image by a constant mani-
festation of benevolence. This work began in the heavenly courts.
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