Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. Malachi 3:10.

We are not to look upon the property we are handling as our own, with which we may do as we please. It is the Lord’s, to be administered in accordance with His prescribed plans.^{4The Review and Herald Supplement, June 21, 1898.}

God wants all His stewards to be exact in following divine arrangements. They are not to offset the Lord’s plans with some deed of charity, some gift, or some offering, done or given when and how they, the human agents, shall see fit. God has made His plan known, and all who cooperate with Him will carry out His plan instead of daring to attempt to improve on it by their own arrangements…. God will honor them and work in their behalf, for we have His pledged word that He will open the windows of heaven and pour us out a blessing such as there will not be room enough to receive.

It is a very poor policy for men to seek to improve on God’s plan and invent a makeshift, averaging up their good impulses in this and that instance and offsetting them against all that is required by God…. We are to strike true and faithful figures in tithing, and then say to the Lord, I have done as Thou hast commanded me. If Thou wilt honor me by trusting me with Thy goods to trade upon, I will, by Thy grace, be a faithful steward, doing all in my power to bring meat to Thy house….

Men who have large responsibilities are to be sure that they are not robbing God in any jots or tittles, when so much is involved, as is so plainly stated in Malachi. Here we are told that a blessing is given for a faithful disposition of the tithes, and a curse for the covetous retention of the money which should flow into the treasury. Then ought we not to be sure to work on the safe side, so dealing with God in handling the property lent us on trust that no shadow of reproach shall fall upon us? … I need not ask, Will not God bless those who are faithful? We have His pledged word.^5Ibid.

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Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful. 1 Corinthians 4:2.

A steward identifies himself with his master. His master’s interests become his. He has accepted the responsibilities of a steward and he must act in the master’s stead, doing as the master would do if he were presiding over his own goods. The position is one of dignity, in that his master trusts him. If a steward in any wise acts selfishly and turns the advantages gained in trading with his lord’s goods to his own advantage, he has perverted the trust reposed in him. The master can no longer look upon him as a servant to be trusted, one on whom he can depend.

Every Christian is a steward of God, entrusted with His goods…. Let all who claim to be Christians deal wisely with the Lord’s goods. God is making an inventory of the money lent you and the spiritual advantages given you. Will you as stewards make careful inventory? Will you examine whether you are using economically all that God has placed in your charge, or whether you are wasting the Lord’s goods by selfish outlay in order to make a display? Would that all that is spent needlessly were laid up as treasure in heaven! ^{2 The Review and Herald Supplement, June 21, 1898.}

However large the income or the possessions of any person, any family, or any institution, let all remember that they are only stewards, holding in trust the Lord’s money. All profit, all pay, our time, our talents, our opportunities, are to be accounted for to Him who gives them all….

God will encourage His faithful stewards who are ready to put all their energies and God-given endowments to the very best use. As all learn the lesson of faithfully rendering to God what is His due, He through His providence will enable some to bring princely offerings. He will enable others to make smaller offerings, and the small and the large gifts are acceptable to Him if given with an eye single to His glory.^{3The Review and Herald, April 18, 1912.}

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For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; he will save us. Isaiah 33:22.

This morning^{*Early morning diary entry, September 5, 1900.} my soul is filled with praise and thanksgiving to God from whom come all our mercies and blessings. The Lord is good, and His mercies endure forever. I will praise Him who is the light of my countenance and my God. He is the source of all efficiency and power. Why do we not praise Him by speaking words of hope and comfort to others? Why are our lips so silent? Speech is a gift of Heaven, and it should be used in sounding forth the praises of Him who hath called us out of darkness into His marvelous light….

O how much good would be accomplished were God honored by all who profess to be Christians! … The Light of the world is shining upon men in richest blessing. Every provision has been made for the supplying of our temporal and spiritual needs. Yet how little thanksgiving the Giver receives! …

In receiving Christ as our Captain there must be a complete surrender of the human will to the divine will. The Lord can work out His will through those who have made this surrender, for they give prompt and cheerful obedience to His commands. God expects us to obey without questioning. We are to ask, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” Then, though the command may be as stern and startling as that given to Abraham, we are to obey. Abraham’s soul was rent asunder by the command, “Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and offer him for a sacrifice on one of the mountains which I will tell thee of” (Genesis 22:2). But he did not hesitate to obey.

All our activities, all our business arrangements, should be in perfect accord with the Lord’s commands. The laws of God’s kingdom must be obeyed by the subjects of that kingdom. Our zeal for the advancement of God’s kingdom is to mark us as faithful subjects of the cross of Christ. God can trust as His representatives those who implicitly obey Him.^{1Manuscript 96, 1900.}

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And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us. Psalm 90:17.

God wants you to let Him manage you, that you may be a lovable Christian. The Lord would have the natural and hereditary traits of character come under the pruning knife. Look steadfastly unto Jesus, that you may catch His spirit and cherish the qualities of Christlike character. Then it will be recognized by all who have any connection with you, that you have learned of Christ His meekness, His affection, His tenderness, His sympathy. Never rest satisfied until you possess a loving and lovable spirit. Your words may come from the good treasure of the heart to strengthen, help, bless, and win all around you…. Others catch your spirit. The seeds we sow will bear a harvest in goodness, patience, kindness, and love, or exactly the opposite….

Many, many need melting over. Be sound in principle, true to God, but do not manifest one stern, ungenial phase of character. God does not want you to incur contempt by manifesting a disposition like a ball of putty, but He does want you to be in principle as sound as a rock, yet with a healthful mellowness. Like the Master, be full of grace and truth. Jesus was incorruptible, undefiled, yet in His life were mingled gentleness, meekness, benignity, sympathy, and love. The poorest were not afraid to approach Him; they did not fear a rebuff. What Christ was, every Christian should strive to be. In holiness and winsomeness of character He is our model….

We should all learn of Christ what it means to be a Christian. Let us learn of Him how to combine firmness, justice, purity, and integrity with unselfish courtesy and kindly sympathy. Thus the character becomes lovable and attractive. The beauty of holiness will disarm scoffers….

The heart must receive the divine current, and let it flow out in rich streams of mercy and grace to other hearts. All who would win souls to Christ must be winsome.^{48Letter 53, 1895.}

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Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart. Psalm 97:11.

Christ has left His Holy Spirit to be His representative in the world, to give celestial aid to every hungering, thirsting soul…. We are living in a most solemn period of this world’s history, but light is shining for those who will walk in the light….

There are many who have not had the light, and they are not judged guilty. They mourn because of their human ignorance. They find nothing satisfactory, and thirst for a knowledge of the only true God. They have an ideal of God in their minds and they desire to find Him. He has entrusted light to His people to give to all those who are praying for light. He has sent forth His streams of salvation to refresh those who are athirst for a knowledge of truth, virtue, and holiness. To such we should speak as did the apostle Paul to the Athenians, “Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you” (Acts 17:23). Heavenly inspiration has come to men, and they have been entrusted with gospel truth, and have thereby been weighted with a solemn responsibility to devote their God-given powers to making God known to man. Christ says, “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent” (John 17:3)….

Those who have the mind of Christ will “walk even as he walked.” They will live out the law of God, will feed upon Christ, be partakers of the divine nature, and stand as living sentinels for truth. In integrity of heart they will voice the cry, “Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters …” (2 Corinthians 6:17, 18)….

God gives light to those who love light. He imparts truth to those who search for truth as for something of most precious value in order that they may impart light to those who are in the valley and the shadow of death.^{47Letter 84, 1895.}

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