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Welfare Ministry
frequently they are the last ones to seek advice. They think they have
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superior judgment and will not be taught.
These are often the very ones who are deceived by those sharp,
shrewd peddlers of patent rights whose success depends upon the art
of deception. These should learn that no confidence whatever can be
put in such peddlers. But the brethren are credulous in regard to the
very things they should suspect and shun. They do not take home the
instruction of Paul to Timothy: “But godliness with contentment is
great gain.” “And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.”
Let not the poor think that the rich are the only covetous ones. While
the rich hold what they have with a covetous grasp, and seek to obtain
still more, the poor are in great danger of coveting the rich man’s
wealth.—
Testimonies for the Church 1:480, 481
.
To Be Willing to Receive Advice—Many lack wise management
and economy. They do not weigh matters well and move cautiously.
Such should not trust to their own poor judgment, but counsel with
their brethren who have experience. Those who lack good judgment
and economy are often unwilling to seek counsel. They generally
think that they understand how to conduct their temporal business,
and are unwilling to follow advice. They make bad moves and suffer
in consequence. Their brethren are grieved to see them suffer, and
they help them out of difficulty. Their unwise management affects the
church. It takes means from the treasury of God which should have
been used to advance the cause of present truth.
If these poor brethren would take a humble course and be willing to
be advised and counseled by their brethren, and then are brought into
straitened places, their brethren should feel it their duty to cheerfully
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help them out of difficulty. But if they choose their own course and rely
upon their judgment, they should be left to feel the full consequences of
their unwise course, and learn by dear experience that “in a multitude
of counselors there is safety.” God’s people should be subject one to
another. They should counsel with each other, that the lack of one
be supplied by the sufficiency of the other.—
The Review and Herald,
April 18, 1871
.
Most Poor Could Help Themselves—There are very few in our
land of plenty who are really so poor as to need help. If they would
pursue a right course, they could in almost every case be above want.
My appeal to the rich is, Deal liberally with your poor brethren, and