Economy and Thrift
99
inventive faculties are to be put to the stretch, to see how you can
economize
Christ’s Lesson in Economy—There is a lesson for us in the
feeding of the five thousand, a lesson that has a special application
to those times when we are placed in trying circumstances and are
compelled to practice close economy. Having worked the miracle and
satisfied the hunger of the multitude, Christ was careful that the food
that remained should not be wasted
He said to the disciples, “Gather up the fragments that remain, that
nothing be lost.” Though He had all the resources of heaven at His
command, He would not suffer even a morsel of bread to be wasted
Discard Nothing Useful—Nothing that can be utilized should be
thrown away. This will require wisdom, and forethought, and constant
care. It has been presented to me that the inability to save, in little
things, is one reason why so many families suffer for lack of the
necessities of life
They Never Learned to Economize—There is much work to be
done for the Master, and men who might today be occupying high
positions in connection with the work of God have failed because they
never learned to economize. They did not limit their wants to their
incomes when they entered the work, and their spend-thrift habits
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proved the ruin of their usefulness in the cause
How to Teach the Right Use of Money—Let every youth and
every child be taught, not merely to solve imaginary problems, but
to keep an accurate account of his own income and outgoes. Let him
learn the right use of money by using it. Whether supplied by their
parents or by their own earnings, let boys and girls learn to select and
purchase their own clothing, their books, and other necessities; and by
keeping an account of their expenses, they will learn, as they could
learn in no other way, the value and the use of money
The Value of Keeping Accounts—When very young, children
should be educated to read, to write, to understand figures, to keep
3
Manuscript 139, 1898
.
4
Manuscript 3:1912
.
5
Letter 20a, 1893
.
6
Manuscript 3, 1912
.
7
Letter 48, 1888
.
8
Counsels on Stewardship, 294
.