There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth…. The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself. Proverbs 11:24, 25.

Many have pitied the lot of the Israel of God in being compelled to give systematically, besides making liberal offerings yearly. An all-wise God knew best what system of benevolence would be in accordance with His providence, and has given His people directions in regard to it. It has ever proved that nine tenths are worth more to them than ten tenths. Those who have thought to increase their gains by withholding from God, or by bringing Him an inferior offering—the lame, the blind, or the diseased—have been sure to suffer loss.

Providence, though unseen, is ever at work in the affairs of men. God’s hand can prosper or withhold, and He frequently withholds from one while He seems to prosper another. All this is to test and prove man to reveal the heart. He lets misfortune overtake one brother while He prospers others to see if those whom He favors have His fear before their eyes and will perform the duty enjoined upon them in His Word to love their neighbor as themselves and to help their poorer brother from a love to do good. 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. The law of tithing was founded upon an enduring principle and was designed to be a blessing to man.

The system of benevolence was arranged to prevent the great evil, covetousness.—Testimonies for the Church 3:546, 547.

The small streams of beneficence must be ever kept flowing into the treasury. God’s providence is far ahead, moving onward much faster than our liberalities.—Welfare Ministry, 268.

When the grace of Christ is expressed in the words and works of the believers, light will shine forth to those who are in darkness; for while the lips are speaking to the praise of God, the hand will be stretched out in beneficence for the help of the perishing.

We read that on the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples, no man said that aught that he possessed was his own. All they owned was held for the advance of the wonderful reformation. And thousands were converted in a day. When the same spirit actuates believers today, and they give back to God of His own with the same liberality, a wide and far-reaching work will be accomplished.—Welfare Ministry, 271.

From Reflecting Christ

If riches increase, set not your heart upon them. Psalm 62:10.

Listen to the words of your Redeemer: “… Riches are mine. I have placed them in your hands to be wisely employed in My service, to aid the suffering, to invest in opening the gospel to those who are in darkness. Riches must not be your trust, your god, or your saviour.”

The channels for doing good are many, and they stand wide open. Your barns are large, too large already. If they overflow, instead of building larger, send your treasure before you into heaven. There are widows to feed, orphans to be taken under the guardianship of your home, and share your ample stores; there are souls perishing for the bread of life; missions are to be supported, meetinghouses to be built. If God’s cause demands a part, not only of your interest, but of your principal, you are to give back to Him His own. He calls upon you to sow now, that you may reap your harvest with eternal joy.

God’s gifts increase as they are imparted. We see this illustrated in the case of the poor widow whom the prophet Elisha, by a miracle, relieved from debt. She had only one jar of oil; but the prophet told her to borrow vessels of her neighbors, and the oil poured from that one jar continued to flow till all the vessels were filled. The supply ceased only when no more vessels were brought to receive it. So it will be now. So long as we let the gifts of God flow into channels of good, the Lord will supply the flow.

Christ says to His sons and daughters, “Ye are the light of the world.” But who gave you light? You did not have it in you naturally. God is the source of light; the truth has shone into our hearts, to be reflected to others. True love to God will produce love to man. This is what we need—love that is patient, self-sacrificing, persevering, intelligent, practical.

The Lord has given you means, that in putting it to a right use you may develop good and noble traits of character….

The Lord is coming. You have no time to lose. You are not to do as did the inhabitants of the antediluvian world—plant and build, eat and drink, marry and give in marriage, the same as the careless worldling. Let the books of heaven present a different record from that which now appears. Make haste to redeem the time; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not.—The Signs of the Times, January 14, 1886.

From Reflecting Christ

And he said, Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all. Luke 21:3.

The poor widow who cast two mites into the treasury of the Lord showed love, faith, and benevolence. She gave all that she had, trusting to God’s care for the uncertain future. Her little gift was pronounced by our Saviour the greatest that day cast into the treasury. Its value was measured, not by the worth of the coin, but by the purity of the motive which prompted her.

God’s blessing upon that sincere offering has made it the source of great results. The widow’s mite has been like a tiny stream flowing down through the ages, widening and deepening in its course, and contributing in a thousand directions to the extension of the truth and the relief of the needy.

The influence of that small gift has acted and reacted upon thousands of hearts in every age and in every country. As the result, unnumbered gifts have flowed into the treasury of the Lord from the liberal, self-denying poor. And again, her example has stimulated to good works thousands of ease-loving, selfish, and doubting ones, and their gifts also have gone to swell the value of her offering.

Liberality is a duty on no account to be neglected; but let not rich or poor for a moment entertain the thought that their offerings to God can atone for their defects of Christian character. Says the great apostle: “Though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing,”

Again, he sets forth the fruits of true charity: “Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth.” If we would be accepted as the followers of Christ, we must bring forth the fruits of His Spirit; for our Saviour Himself declares: “Ye shall know them by their fruits.”

It is to cultivate a spirit of benevolence in us that the Lord calls for our gifts and offerings. He is not dependent upon men for means to sustain His cause. He declares, by the prophet: “Every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all the fowls of the mountains; and the wild beasts of the field are mine…. The world is mine and the fulness thereof”—The Signs of the Times, January 21, 1886.

From Reflecting Christ

They shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy. Revelation 3:4.

Lead the youth to see that in dress, as in diet, plain living is indispensable to high thinking. Lead them to see how much there is to learn and to do; how precious are the days of youth as a preparation for the lifework. Help them to see what treasures there are in the Word of God, in the book of nature, and in the records of noble lives.

Let their minds be directed to the suffering which they might relieve. Help them to see that by every dollar squandered in display, the spender is deprived of means for feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and comforting the sorrowful.

They cannot afford to miss life’s glorious opportunities, to dwarf their minds, to ruin their health, and to wreck their happiness, for the sake of obedience to mandates that have no foundation in reason, in comfort, or in comeliness.

At the same time the young should be taught to recognize the lesson of nature, “He hath made every thing beautiful in its time” (Ecclesiastes 3:11, R.V.). In dress, as in all things else, it is our privilege to honor our Creator. He desires our clothing to be not only neat and healthful, but appropriate and becoming.

A person’s character is judged by his style of dress. A refined taste, a cultivated mind, will be revealed in the choice of simple and appropriate attire. Chaste simplicity in dress, when united with modesty of demeanor, will go far toward surrounding a young woman with that atmosphere of sacred reserve which will be to her a shield from a thousand perils.

Let girls be taught that the art of dressing well includes the ability to make their own clothing…. It will be a means of usefulness and independence that she cannot afford to miss….

Let the youth and little children be taught to choose for themselves that royal robe woven in heaven’s loom—the “fine linen, clean and white” (Revelation 19:8), which all the holy ones of earth will wear. This robe, Christ’s own spotless character, is freely offered to every human being. But all who receive it will receive and wear it here.

Let the children be taught that as they open their minds to pure, loving thoughts and do loving and helpful deeds, they are clothing themselves with His beautiful garment of character. This apparel will make them beautiful and beloved here, and will hereafter be their title of admission to the palace of the King. His promise is: “They shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.”—Education, 248, 249.

From Reflecting Christ

Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven …: for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Matthew 6:20, 21.

Where their treasure is, there will their heart be also. Those who have the Lord’s talents of means are placed under a heavy responsibility. They are not to invest money merely for the gratification of selfish desires, for whatever is spent in this way is just that much kept from the Lord’s treasury. Through the sovereign goodness of God, the Holy Spirit works through the human agent, and causes him to make smaller or larger investments in the cause of God, to make them redound to the glory of God.

Whenever you think of using the Lord’s money for your own selfish gratification, remember that there are many who are in deep poverty who cannot purchase either food or clothing, and they are God’s heritage. We are to do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. If those who have abundant means are God’s agents in dealing in truth, they will use their treasures wisely, so that none of the household of faith need to go hungry or naked.

The reason there is such accumulated misery in our world is because those who have been entrusted with money expend it to gratify unsanctified desires, in purchasing needless ornaments of gold and precious stones, and in procuring fancy articles for adornment’s sake. But at the same time those who have been purchased by the blood of Christ are starving for food, and their cry entereth into the ears of the God of Sabaoth…. In every place where the truth is to go, those who are to be colaborers with God have a work to do….

Earnest work must be done, not only by a few ministers, but by the whole membership of the church. The Lord God of heaven calls upon men to put away their idols, to cut off every extravagant desire, to indulge in nothing that is simply for display and parade, and to study economy in purchasing garments and furniture. Do not expend one dollar of God’s money in purchasing needless articles. Your money means the salvation of souls. Then let it not be spent for gems, for gold, or precious stones.

Souls for whom Christ died are perishing in their sins, and we are continually bound about because of want of means wherewith to advance the cause of God. Would you not rather have gems in the crown which Jesus shall place upon your head than expend your money for precious stones to please the fancy here in this world? … Every pound is needed, every shilling can be put to use, and invested in such a way as to bring you imperishable treasure.—Letter 90, 1895.

From Reflecting Christ