Testimonies for the Church Volume 1 - A New You Ministry

ich brother’s lips will only have an influence to grieve and disgust. He looks uponhim as a hypocrite; a root of bitterness springs up whereby many are defiled. The poorman cannot forget the advantages taken of him; neither can he forget how he has beencrowded into difficult places because he was willing to bear burdens, while the wealthybrother ever had some excuse ready for not putting his shoulder under the load. Yet thepoor man may be so imbued with the spirit of Christ as to forgive the abuses of his richbrother.True, noble, disinterested benevolence is too rarely found among the wealthy. Intheir ambition for wealth they overlook the claims of humanity. They cannot see andfeel the cramped, disagreeable position of their brethren in poverty, who perhaps havelabored as hard as themselves. Like Cain they say: “Am I my brother’s keeper?” “Ihave worked hard for what I have; I must hold on to it.” Instead of praying, “Help meto feel my brother’s woe,” their constant study is to forget that he has any woes, anyclaims upon their sympathy or liberalities.Many Sabbathkeepers who are wealthy are guilty of grinding the face of thepoor. Do such think that God takes no notice of their little acts of meanness? Iftheir eyes could be opened they would see an angel following them wherever theygo, making a faithful record of all their acts in their families and at their places ofbusiness. The True Witness is on their track, declaring: “I know thy works.” As I sawthis spirit of defrauding, of overreaching, of meanness, even among some professedSabbathkeepers, I cried out in anguish of spirit. This great evil, this terrible curse, isfolding around some of the Israel of God in these last days, making them a detestationto even noble-spirited unbelievers. This is the people professedly waiting for thecoming of the Lord.There is a class of poor brethren who are not free from temptation. They are poormanagers, they have not wise judgment, they wish to obtain means without waiting the480