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Counsels for the Church
Those who withhold from the treasury of God and hoard their
means for their children, endanger the spiritual interest of their chil-
dren. They place their property, which is a stumbling block to them-
selves, in the pathway of their children, that they may stumble over it
to perdition. Many are making a great mistake in regard to the things
of this life. They economize, withholding from themselves and others
the good they might receive from a right use of the means which God
has lent them, and become selfish and avaricious. They neglect their
spiritual interests and become dwarfs in religious growth, all for the
sake of accumulating wealth which they cannot use. They leave their
property to their children, and nine times out of ten it is even a greater
curse to their heirs than it has been to themselves. Children, relying
upon the property of their parents, often fail to make a success of this
life, and generally utterly fail to secure the life to come.
The very best legacy which parents can leave their children is a
knowledge of useful labor and the example of a life characterized by
disinterested benevolence. By such a life they show the true value
of money, that it is only to be appreciated for the good that it will
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accomplish in relieving their own wants and the necessities of others,
and in advancing the cause of God
“If Riches Increase, Set Not Your Heart Upon Them”
The special system of tithing was founded upon a principle which
is as enduring as the law of God. This system of tithing was a blessing
to the Jews, else God would not have given it them. So also will it be
a blessing to those who carry it out to the end of time.
Those churches who are the most systematic and liberal in sustain-
ing the cause of God are the most prosperous spiritually. True liberality
in the follower of Christ identifies his interest with that of his Master.
If those who have means should realize that they are accountable to
God for every dollar that they expend, their supposed wants would
be much less. If conscience were alive, she would testify of needless
appropriations to the gratification of appetite, of pride, vanity, and love
of amusements, and would report the squandering of the Lord’s money,
which should have been devoted to His cause. Those who waste their
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Testimonies for the Church 3:399