Testimonies for the Church, Volume 2 - Ellen G. White

selfishness. The mind is devoted to self and not to
the good of others. Satan's power is upon you in a
great degree. Yet there are precious lights among
you, and those who are seeking to walk according
to the will of God. Pride and the love of the world
are the snares which are so great a hindrance to
spirituality and a growth in grace.
This world is not the Christian's heaven, but
merely the workshop of God, where we are to be
fitted up to unite with sinless angels in a holy
heaven. We should be constantly training the mind
to noble, unselfish thoughts. This education is
necessary to so bring into exercise the powers
which God has given us that His name shall best be
glorified upon the earth. We are accountable for all
the noble qualities which God has given us, and to
put these faculties to a use He never designed we
should is showing base ingratitude to Him. The
service of God demands all the powers of our
being, and we fail of meeting the design of God
unless we bring these powers to a high state of
cultivation, and educate the mind to love to
contemplate heavenly things, and strengthen and
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