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Colporteur Ministry
ing money on vanities, and are failing to bear the cross after Jesus.
Many who were privileged with precious, God-given opportunities
have wasted their lives and are now found in suffering and want.
God calls for decided improvement to be made in the various
branches of the work. The business done in connection with the cause
of God must be marked with greater precision and exactness. There
has not been firm, decided effort to bring about essential reform.—
Testimonies for the Church 6:337, 338
(1900).
Not to Incur Debt—All must practice economy. No worker
should manage his affairs in a way to incur debt. The practice of
drawing money from the treasury before it is earned, is a snare. In
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this way the resources are limited, so that laborers cannot be sup-
ported in missionary work. When one voluntarily becomes involved
in debt, he is entangling himself in one of Satan’s nets which he sets
for souls.—
Manual for Canvassers, 65
(1902).
Canvassers Who Expect to Be Helped—When they get into dif-
ficulty, some canvassers expect that money is to be drawn from the
treasury to help them out, only to get into strait places again, and again
to require help. Those who are stewards of the means in the treasury
must keep a sharp lookout to see that the supply is not exhausted by
these drafts. When men cannot by canvassing bring into the treasury
every dollar that belongs to it rightly, let them stop just where they are.
They should not engage in canvassing unless they can bring means into
the treasury, instead of robbing it.—
Manual for Canvassers, 65
(1902).
Truthful, Honest, and Faithful—The canvassing work is not to
be conducted in a slack, loose manner. Those engaged in work that
calls for the handling of money should keep a strict account of every
penny received and paid out. The education in accuracy thus gained
will fit them for greater usefulness.
If a canvasser continues to order books, and sends no report of his
work, making no statement regarding their delivery and the receipt
and expenditure of the money that he handles, those in charge of the
work should, in a kind, friendly manner, endeavor to ascertain the true
situation. To supply books freely to an agent until he is hopelessly
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involved in debt is to do injustice both to the canvasser and to those by
whom he is employed. Such a loose, careless way of working brings
discouragement.