Thou shalt have a perfect and just weight, a perfect and just measure shalt thou have: that thy days may be lengthened in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. Deuteronomy 25:15.

In all the details of life, Christians are to follow the principles of strict integrity. These are not the principles that govern the world; for there Satan is master, and his principles of deception and oppression bear sway. But Christians serve under a different Master, and their actions must be wrought in God. They must put aside all desire for selfish gain.

To some, deviation from perfect fairness in business deals may look like a small thing, but our Saviour does 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; and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.” A man who will overreach in a small matter will overreach in a larger matter if the temptation comes to him.

Christ’s followers are obliged to be more or less connected with the world in business matters. In His prayer for them the Saviour says, “I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.” Christians are to buy and sell with the realization that the eye of God is upon them. Never are they to use false balances or deceitful weights….

In every action of life the true Christian is just what he desires those around him to think he is. He is guided by truth and uprightness. He does not scheme; therefore he has nothing to gloss over. He may be criticized, he may be tested; but through all, his unbending integrity shines out like pure gold. He is a friend and benefactor to all connected with him; and his fellow men place confidence in him; for he is trustworthy.

Does he employ laborers to gather in his harvest? He does not keep back their hard-earned money. Has he means for which he has no immediate use? He relieves the necessities of his less fortunate brother. He does not seek to enlarge his possessions by taking advantage of the untoward circumstances of his neighbor. He accepts only a fair price for that which he sells. If there are defects in the articles sold, he frankly tells the buyer, even though by so doing he may seem to work against his own pecuniary interests.

A man may not have a pleasant exterior; but if he has a reputation for straightforward, honest dealing, he is respected…. A man who steadfastly adheres to the truth wins the confidence of all. Not only do Christians trust him; worldlings are constrained to acknowledge the worth of his character.—The Signs of the Times, February 19, 1902.

From Reflecting Christ

The integrity of the upright shall guide them. Proverbs 11:3.

The case of Daniel, portrayed in a very limited manner by the prophetic pencil, has a lesson for us. It reveals the fact that a businessman is not necessarily a sharp policy man. He can be a man instructed of God at every step. Daniel while the prime minister of the kingdom of Babylon, was a prophet of God, receiving the light of heavenly inspiration….

Especially are businessmen needed, not irreligious businessmen, but those who will weave the great, grand principles of truth into all their business transactions. Men who have qualifications for the work need to have their talents exercised and perfected by most thorough study and training. Not one businessman that has any appointment in the work need to be a novice. If men in any line of work need to improve their opportunities to become wise, efficient businessmen, it is those who are using their ability in the work of building up the kingdom of God in our world.

The lessons for the present time are for all to understand, but they are very feebly appreciated. There should be greater thoroughness in labor; and more vigilant waiting, more vigilant watching and praying, and more vigilant working, in prospect of the events now taking place, and which are swelling to large importance as we near the close of this earth’s history. The human agent is to reach for perfection, to be an ideal Christian, complete in Jesus Christ.

Those who labor in business lines should exercise every precaution against error through wrong principles or methods. Their record may be like that of Daniel in the courts of Babylon. In all his business transactions, when subjected to the closest scrutiny, there was not found one item that was faulty. He was a sample of what every business man may be. But the heart must be converted and consecrated. The motives must be right with God. The inner lamp must be supplied with the oil that flows from the true messengers of heaven through the golden tubes into the golden bowl. Then the Lord’s communication never comes to man in vain.

God will not accept the most splendid services unless self is laid upon the altar, a living, consuming sacrifice. The root must be holy, else there can be no sound, healthful fruit, which alone is acceptable to God…. While worldly ambition and worldly projects and the greatest plans and purposes of men shall fade like the grass, “they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.”—Special Testimonies 9:65, 66.

From Reflecting Christ

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