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

not merely to engage his brain, bone, and muscle in
common labor; it means more than this. You are
acquainted with this work from a worldly point of
view, and have some experience in it in a religious
capacity. But for a few years past you have been
losing time, and now you will have to work fast to
redeem the past. To possess talents is not enough;
you must so use them as to advantage not merely
yourself but Him who bestowed them. All that you
have is a loan from your Lord. He will require it
again at your hand with interest.
Christ has a right to your services. You have
become His servant by grace. You are not to serve
your own interest, but the interest of Him who has
employed you. As a professed Christian you are
under obligations to God. It is not your own
property that is entrusted to you for investment.
Had it been so, you might have consulted your own
pleasure in regard to its use. The capital is the
Lord's, and you are responsible for its use or abuse.
There are ways in which this capital can be so
invested—put out to the exchangers—that it shall
be earning the Lord something. If it is allowed to
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