Chapter 35—Releasing the Streams of Benevolence
To Be God’s Almoners—God has placed property in the hands of
men in order that they may learn to be merciful, to be His almoners to
relieve the suffering of His fallen creatures.—
The Signs of the Times,
June 20, 1892
.
To Keep Hearts Tender and Sympathetic—Acts of generosity
and benevolence were designed by God to keep the hearts of the
children of men tender and sympathetic and to encourage in them an
interest and affection for one another in imitation of the Master, who
for our sakes became poor, that we through His poverty might be made
rich.—
Testimonies for the Church 3:547
.
Streams of Beneficence to Be Kept Flowing—The small streams
of beneficence must be ever kept flowing into the treasury. God’s prov-
idence is far ahead, moving onward much faster than our liberalities.—
Manuscript 26, 1891
.
A Constant Flow of Gifts—The money that God has entrusted to
men is to be used in blessing humanity, in relieving the necessities of
the suffering and the needy. Men are not to feel that they have done
a very wonderful thing when they have endowed certain institutions
or churches with large gifts. In the wise providence of God there are
constantly presented before them the very ones who need their help.
They are to relieve the suffering, clothe the naked, and help many
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who are in hard and trying circumstances, who are wrestling with all
their energies to keep themselves and their families from a pauper’s
home.—
The Review and Herald, January 4, 1898
.
We Ask for Others—When we pray, “Give us this day our daily
bread,” we ask for others as well as ourselves. And we acknowledge
that what God gives us is not for ourselves alone. God gives to us in
trust, that we may feed the hungry. Of His goodness He has prepared
for the poor. And He says, “When thou makest a dinner or a supper,
call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy
rich neighbours.... But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the
maimed, the lame, the blind: and thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot
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