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

own convenience and how to please themselves,
their wives, and their children; and the work upon
which they have entered is nearly lost sight of.
God calls for humiliation of soul and humble
confessions from the ministers whose works have
not been wrought in Him. I was cited to men who
engage in worldly enterprises. They know that if
they would gain their object they must suffer
fatigue. They sacrifice ease and love of home, and
endure privations; they are persevering, energetic,
and ardent. Our ministers do not all manifest half
the zeal shown by those who are securing earthly
gain. They are not as intent upon their purpose, nor
as earnest in their efforts; they are not as
persevering, and are not as willing to deny
themselves, as those who engage in worldly
pursuits.
Compare these two enterprises. One is certain,
eternal, enduring as the life of God; the other is a
thing of this life, changeable, perishable, and if
men succeed in their ambitious pursuits, that which
they gain frequently stings like an adder, and
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