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A Curse or a Blessing?, July 7
Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and
rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal.
Matthew 6:19
.
Treasures are those things which engross the mind, and absorb the
attention, to the exclusion of God and the truth.... Our Saviour gave a
decided warning against hoarding up the treasures of earth.
All branches of business, all manner of employments, are under the
eye of God; and every Christian has been given ability to do something
in the cause of the Master. Whether engaged in business in the field, in
the warehouse, or in the countingroom, men will be held responsible to
God for the wise and honest employment of their talents. They are just
as accountable to God for
their
work, as the minister who labors in word
and doctrine is for his....
Property that is treasured up upon the earth will prove only a curse,
but if it is devoted to the upbuilding of the cause of truth, that God may
be honored, and that souls may be saved, it will not prove a curse, but a
blessing. Means are necessary to the furtherance of every good cause; and
as some men have been endowed with more ability to acquire wealth than
have others, they should put out their talents to the exchangers, that the
Lord may receive His own, with usury, at His appearing....
Those who are ready and willing to invest in the cause of God, will be
blessed in their efforts to acquire money. God created the source of wealth.
He gave the sunshine, and the dew, and the rain, and caused vegetation to
flourish. He blessed men with mental and physical ability, and qualified
them to acquire property, so that His cause might be sustained by His
professed children. The needy are all around us, and God is glorified,
when the poor and the afflicted are aided and comforted. It is no sin to
acquire and control property as stewards for God, holding it only until He
shall require it for the necessities of His work.
We must ever bear in mind that we are in copartnership with God. His
work and His cause demand the first consideration.
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