70
The Retirement Years
use for their money, they propose to give it to God. But they will
retain it as long as they can, till they are compelled to relinquish it by
a messenger that cannot be turned aside.
God has made us all His stewards, and in no case has He authorized
us to neglect our duty or leave it for others to do. The call for means
to advance the cause of truth will never be more urgent than now.
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Our money will never do a greater amount of good than at the present
time. Every day of delay in rightly appropriating it is limiting the
period in which it will do good in the saving of souls. If we leave
others to accomplish that which God has left for us to do, we wrong
ourselves and Him who gave us all we have. How can others do our
work of benevolence any better than we can do it ourselves? So far as
practicable, God would have every man an executor of his own will in
this matter, during his lifetime.
Adversity, accident, or intrigue may cut off forever intended acts
of benevolence, when he who has accumulated a fortune is no longer
by to guard it. It is sad that so many neglect the golden opportunity
to do good in the present, but wait to be cast out of their stewardship
before giving back to the Lord the means which He has lent them to
be used for His glory.
One marked feature in the teachings of Christ is the frequency
and earnestness with which He rebuked the sin of covetousness, and
pointed out the danger of worldly acquisitions and the inordinate love
of gain. In the mansions of the rich, in the temple, and in the streets,
He warned those who inquired after salvation: “Take heed, and beware
of covetousness.” “Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”
It is this increasing devotion to money-getting, the selfishness
which the desire for gain begets, that deadens the spirituality of many
in the church, and removes from them the favor of God. When the head
and hands are constantly occupied with planning and toiling for the
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accumulation of riches, the claims of God and humanity are forgotten.
If God has blessed us with prosperity, it is not that our time and
attention should be diverted from Him and given to that which He has
lent us. The giver is greater than the gift. We have been bought with a
price; we are not our own. Have we forgotten that infinite price paid
for our redemption? Is gratitude dead in the heart? Does not the cross
of Christ put to shame a life of selfish ease and indulgence?—
The
Review and Herald, November 15, 1906
.