110
Gospel Workers 1915
* * * * *
When a minister bearing the solemn message of warning to the
world, receives the hospitable courtesies of friends and brethren, and
neglects the duties of a shepherd of the flock, and is careless in his
example and deportment, engaging with the young in trifling conver-
sation, in jesting and joking, and in relating humorous anecdotes to
create laughter, he is unworthy of being a gospel minister, and needs
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to be converted before he is entrusted with the care of the sheep and
lambs. Ministers who are neglectful of the duties devolving on a
faithful pastor, give evidence that they are not sanctified by the truths
they present to others, and should not be sustained as laborers in the
vineyard of the Lord till they have a high sense of the sacredness of
the work of a minister.—
Testimonies for the Church 3:233
.
* * * * *
The minister of Christ should be a man of prayer, a man of piety;
cheerful, but never coarse and rough, jesting or frivolous. A spirit
of frivolity may be in keeping with the profession of clowns and
theatrical performers, but it is altogether beneath the dignity of a man
who is chosen to stand between the living and the dead, and to be a
mouthpiece for God.
* * * * *
The mystery of godliness, opened to the mind of the minister of
Christ, will raise him above earthly and sensual enjoyments. He will
be a partaker of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that
is in the world through lust. The communication opened between God
and his soul will make him fruitful in the knowledge of God’s will,
and open before him treasures of practical subjects that he can present
to the people, which will not cause levity or the semblance of a smile,
but will solemnize the mind, touch the heart, and arouse the moral
sensibilities to the sacred claims that God has upon the affections and
life. Those who labor in word and doctrine should be men of God,
pure in heart and life.
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