Ministry to the Poor
123
depended in faith upon God alone for his virtue and goodness, will be
pronounced heir to eternal riches in the kingdom of God.—
Manuscript
22, 1898
.
World’s Great Men Cannot Solve the Problem—In the great
cities there are multitudes living in poverty and wretchedness, well-
nigh destitute of food, shelter, and clothing; while in the same cities
are those who have more than heart could wish, who live luxuri-
ously, spending their money on richly furnished houses, on personal
adornment, or worse still, upon the gratification of sensual appetites,
upon liquor, tobacco, and other things that destroy the powers of the
brain, unbalance the mind, and debase the soul. The cries of starving
humanity are coming up before God....
There are not many, even among educators and statesmen, who
comprehend the causes that underlie the present state of society. Those
who hold the reins of government are not able to solve the problem of
moral corruption, poverty, pauperism, and increasing crime. They are
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struggling in vain to place business operations on a more secure basis.
If men would give more heed to the teaching of God’s Word, they
would find a solution of the problems that perplex them.—
Testimonies
for the Church 9:12, 13
.
God’s Plan for Israel to Check Inequality—It was to be im-
pressed upon the minds of all that the poor have as much right to a
place in God’s world as have the more wealthy. Such were the pro-
visions made by our merciful Creator, to lessen suffering, to bring
some ray of hope, to flash some gleam of sunshine, into the life of the
destitute and distressed.
The Lord would place a check upon the inordinate love of property
and power. Great evils would result from the continued accumulation
of wealth by one class and the poverty and degradation of another.
Without some restraint the power of the wealthy would become a
monopoly, and the poor, though in every respect fully as worthy in
God’s sight, would be regarded and treated as inferior to their more
prosperous brethren. The sense of this oppression would arouse the
passions of the poorer class. There would be a feeling of despair
and desperation which would tend to demoralize society and open
the door to crimes of every description. The regulations that God
established were designed to promote social equality. The provisions
of the sabbatical year and the jubilee would, in a great measure, set