Daily Devotional

May 26, 2019

Imitate Christ, Not the World

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. 1 Timothy 6:10, NKJV.

I saw that God’s people are in great peril; many are dwellers upon the earth; their interest and affections are centered in the world. Their example is not right. The world is deceived by the course pursued by many who profess great and noble truths. Our responsibility is in accordance with the light given, the graces and gifts bestowed. On the workers whose talents, whose means, whose opportunities and abilities, are greatest rests the heaviest responsibility….

Brother A was presented before me to represent a class who are in a similar position. They have never been indifferent to the smallest worldly advantage. By diligent business tact and successful investments, by trading, not on pounds, but on pence and farthings, they have accumulated property. But in doing this they have educated faculties inconsistent with the development of Christian character. Their lives in no way represent Christ; for they love the world and its gain better than they love God or the truth. “If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”

All the abilities which men and women possess belong to God. Worldly conformity and attachments are emphatically forbidden in His Word. When the power of the transforming grace of God is felt upon the heart, it will send a person, hitherto worldly, into every pathway of beneficence. Those who have in their hearts a determination to lay up treasure in the world will “fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil [the foundation of all avarice and worldliness]: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” …

Jesus has opened to everyone a way by which wisdom, grace, and power may be obtained. He is our example in all things, and nothing should divert the mind from the main object in life, which is to have Christ in the soul, melting and subduing the heart. When this is the case, every member of the church, every professor of the truth, will be Christlike in character, in words, in actions. – Testimonies for the Church 5:277, 278.

From Devotional: To Be Like Jesus, p. 185.

Daily Devotional

May 25, 2019

Reveal Love While Doing God’s Business

Dead flies putrefy the perfumer’s ointment, and cause it to give off a foul odor; so does a little folly to one respected for wisdom and honor. Ecclesiastes 10:1, NKJV.

I appeal to my brothers and sisters in faith, and urge them to cultivate tenderness of heart. Whatever may be your calling or position, if you cherish selfishness and covetousness, the displeasure of the Lord will be upon you. Do not make the work and cause of God an excuse for dealing closely and selfishly with anyone, even if transacting business that has to do with His work. God will accept nothing in the line of gain that is brought into His treasury through selfish transactions.

Every act in connection with His work is to bear divine inspection. Every sharp transaction, every attempt to take advantage of persons who are under pressure of circumstances, every plan to purchase their land or property for a sum beneath its value, will not be acceptable to God, even though the money gained is made an offering to His cause. The price of the blood of the only-begotten Son of God has been paid for every human being, and it is necessary to deal honestly, to deal with equity with every person, in order to carry out the principles of the law of God….

If a brother or sister who has labored disinterestedly for the cause of God becomes enfeebled in body and is unable to work, let him or her not be dismissed and be obliged to get along the best way they can. Give them wages sufficient to support themselves, for remember they belong to God’s family, and that you are all brothers and sisters….

We are commanded to love our neighbors as ourselves. This command is not that we shall simply love those who think and believe exactly as we think and believe. Christ illustrated the meaning of the commandment by the parable of the good Samaritan. But how strangely these precious words are neglected, and how frequently people oppress their fellow human beings, and lift up their souls unto vanity. – The Review and Herald, December 18, 1894.

From Devotional: To Be Like Jesus, p. 184.

Daily Devotional

May 24, 2019

Christians Must Never Depart From Integrity

He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of others; but God knows your hearts; for what is prized by human beings is an abomination in the sight of God.” Luke 16:15, NRSV.

In all the details of life the strictest principles of honesty are to be maintained. These are not the principles which govern our world, for Satan – deceiver, liar, and oppressor – is the master, and his subjects follow him and carry out his purposes. But Christians serve under a different Master, and their actions must be wrought in God, irrespective of all selfish gain.

Deviation from perfect fairness in business deals may appear as a small thing in the estimation of some, but our Savior did not thus regard it. His words on this point are plain and explicit: “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much” (Luke 16:10). People who will overreach their neighbors on a small scale will overreach in a larger scale if the temptation is brought to bear upon them. A false representation in a small matter is as much dishonesty in the sight of God as falsity in a larger matter.

In the Christian world today fraud is practiced to a fearful extent. God’s commandment-keeping people should show that they are above all these things. The dishonest practices which mar the dealing of men and women with their fellow human beings should never be practiced by one who professes to be a believer in present truth. God’s people do great harm to the truth by the least departure from integrity.

Some persons may not have a pleasant exterior, they may be deficient in many respects, but if they have a reputation for straightforward honesty, they will be respected. Stern integrity covers many objectionable traits of character. Those who steadfastly adhere to truth will win the confidence of all. Not only will fellow believers in the faith trust them, but unbelievers will be constrained to acknowledge them as persons of honor. – Mind, Character, and Personality 2:437.

The servants of God are obliged to be more or less connected with the worldly by business transactions, but they should buy and sell with a realization that the eye of God is upon them. No false balances or deceitful weights are to be used, for these are an abomination to the Lord. In every business transaction Christians will be just what they want their church friends to think they are. Their course of action is guided by underlying principles. They do not scheme; therefore they have nothing to conceal, nothing to gloss over. – Mind, Character, and Personality 2:437, 438.

From Devotional: To Be Like Jesus, p. 183.

Daily Devotional

May 23, 2019

Set Right Priorities in Life

Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Matthew 6:33, NKJV.

On every hand there is that which would tempt the Christian to forsake the narrow way; but those who would perfect a character fit for eternity must take the will of God as their standard, separating entirely from everything that is displeasing to Him. Thousands are betrayed into sin because they leave the citadel of the heart unguarded. They become engrossed with the cares of this world, and true godliness is driven from their hearts. They rush eagerly into speculation, seeking to accumulate more of this world’s treasure. Thus they place themselves where it is impossible for them to advance in the Christian life. “Be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.” And while you pray, strive earnestly to guard your heart from all pollution; for prayer without effort is a solemn mockery.

“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” Every moment of our time belongs to God, and we have no right so to burden ourselves with cares that there is no room in our hearts for His love. At the same time, we are to obey the injunction “Not slothful in business.” We are to labor, that we may have to give to him that needs. God does not desire us to allow our powers to rust through inaction. Christians must work; they must engage in business; and they can go a certain length in this line, and commit no sin against God.

But too often Christians allow the cares of life to take the time that belongs to God. They devote their precious moments to business or to amusement. Their whole energies are employed in acquiring earthly treasure. In so doing they place themselves on forbidden ground.

Many professing Christians are very careful that all their business transactions shall bear the stamp of strict honesty, but dishonesty marks their relations with God. Absorbed in worldly business, they fail to perform the duties they owe to those around them. Their children are not brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. The family altar is neglected; private devotion is forgotten. Eternal interests, instead of being put first, are given only the second place. God is robbed because their best thoughts are given to the world, because their time is spent on things of minor importance. Thus they are ruined, not because of their dishonesty in dealing with others, but because they have defrauded God of what is rightfully His own. – The Signs of the Times, December 17, 1896.

From Devotional: To Be Like Jesus, p. 182.

Daily Devotional

May 22, 2019

To Win Souls, Forgo Personal Gain

I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Philippians 4:12, 13, NKJV.

In every age Satan has sought to impair the efforts of God’s servants by introducing into the church a spirit of fanaticism. Thus it was in Paul’s day, and thus it was in later centuries during the time of the Reformation. Wycliffe, Luther, and many others who blessed the world by their influence and their faith encountered the wiles by which the enemy seeks to lead into fanaticism overzealous, unbalanced, and unsanctified minds.

Misguided souls have taught that the attainment of true holiness carries the mind above all earthly thoughts and leads men and women to refrain wholly from labor. Others, taking extreme views of certain texts of Scripture, have taught that it is a sin to work – that Christians should take no thought concerning the temporal welfare of themselves or their families, but should devote their lives wholly to spiritual things. The teaching and example of the apostle Paul are a rebuke to such extreme views….

When Paul first visited Corinth, he found himself among a people who were suspicious of the motives of strangers. The Greeks on the seacoast were keen traders. So long had they trained themselves in sharp business practices, that they had come to believe that gain was godliness, and that to make money, whether by fair means or foul, was commendable. Paul was acquainted with their characteristics, and he would give them no occasion for saying that he preached the gospel in order to enrich himself. He might justly have claimed support from his Corinthian hearers; but this right he was willing to forgo, lest his usefulness and success as a minister should be injured by the unjust suspicion that he was preaching the gospel for gain. He would seek to remove all occasion for misrepresentation, that the force of his message might not be lost. – The Acts of the Apostles, 348, 349.

From Devotional: To Be Like Jesus, p. 181.