Testimonies for the Church Vol 1 - Lansing SDA Church

Chapter 43—The PoorSome who are poor in this world’s goods are apt to place all thestraight testimony upon the shoulders of the men of property. Butthey do not realize that they also have a work to do. God requiresthem to make a sacrifice. He calls upon them to sacrifice their idols.They should lay aside such hurtful stimulants as tobacco, tea, andcoffee. If they are brought into straitened circumstances while exertingthemselves to do the best they can, it will be a pleasure for their wealthybrethren to help them out of trouble.Many lack wise management and economy. They do not weighmatters well, and move cautiously. Such should not trust to theirown poor judgment, but should counsel with their brethren who haveexperience. But those who lack economy and good judgment are oftenunwilling to seek counsel. They generally think that they understandhow to conduct their temporal business, and are unwilling to followadvice. They make bad moves, and suffer in consequence. Their [225]brethren are grieved to see them suffer, and they help them out ofdifficulty. Their unwise management affects the church. It takes meansfrom the treasury of God which should have been used to advance thecause of present truth. If these poor brethren take a humble courseand are willing to be advised and counseled by their brethren, andare then brought into straitened places, the brethren should feel it aduty to cheerfully help them out of difficulty. But if they choose theirown course, and rely upon their own judgment, they should be left tofeel the full consequences of their unwise course, and learn by dearexperience that “in multitude of counselors there is safety.” God’speople should be subject one to another. They should counsel withone another, that the lack of one may be supplied by the sufficiency ofanother. I saw that the stewards of the Lord have no duty to help thosepersons who persist in using tobacco, tea, and coffee.* * * * *217