Time & Talents, Money & Possessions

Dearest Father in Heaven, Because of Your great love for me, how can I do any less than consecrate my entire life to you, including every moment of my time. Each day is a precious gift in which You give me freedom to make choices. Lord, I choose to put You first in every decision. My time, my talents, my money, my possessions, all these You have entrusted to me to be used for Your service. Help me to be a faithful steward of Your goods. Thank You for the privilege of serving You with my whole heart, all I have and all I am. I praise the name of Jesus! Amen.

I confess that I have not valued the gift of time as I should, and have misused it.

The value of time is beyond computation. Time squandered can never be recovered. . . . The improvement of wasted moments is a treasure. {CG 123.4}

Laziness and indolence are not the fruit borne upon the Christian tree. {CG 124.2}

Indolence is a great curse. God has blessed human beings with nerves, organs, and muscles; and they are not to be allowed to deteriorate because of inaction, but are to be strengthened and kept in health by exercise. To have nothing to do is a great misfortune, for idleness ever has been and ever will be a curse to the human family. {CG 124.3}

It is as essential for our daughters to learn the proper use of time as it is for our sons, and they are equally accountable to God for the manner in which they occupy it. Life is given us for wise improvement of the talents we possess. {CG 351.3}

I repent of my wasted years, months, days, hours and minutes wherein I have not glorified God.

Diligence and earnest fidelity are indispensable to success. Every hour's work passes in review before God and is registered for faithfulness or unfaithfulness. The record of wasted moments and unimproved opportunities must be met when the judgment shall sit and the books shall be opened and everyone shall be judged according to the things written in the books. . . . {PM 107.1}

Some might now have been thorough workmen had they made a good use of their time, feeling that they would have to give an account to God for their misspent moments. They have displeased God because they have not been industrious. Self-gratification, self-love, and selfish love of ease have kept some from good, withheld them from obtaining a knowledge of the Scriptures that they might be thoroughly furnished unto all good works. Some do not appreciate the value of time and have idled away in bed the hours that might have been employed in the study of the Bible.--2T 499. {PaM 81.1}

I choose to redeem the time, and seek God's wisdom from hereon.

We are admonished to redeem the time. But time squandered can never be recovered. We cannot call back even one moment. The only way in which we can redeem our time is by making the most of that which remains, by being co-workers with God in His great plan of redemption. {COL 342.4}

I repent of my laziness, my lethargy, my selfish squandering of time and talents.

It is the duty of all who touch the work of God to learn economy in the use of time and money. Those who indulge in idleness reveal that they attach little importance to the glorious truths committed to us. They need to be educated in habits of industry, and to learn to work with an eye single to the glory of God. {CS 292.3}

It is wrong to waste our time, wrong to waste our thoughts. We lose every moment that we devote to self-seeking. If every moment were valued and rightly employed, we should have time for everything that we need to do for ourselves or for the world. In the expenditure of money, in the use of time, strength, opportunities, let every Christian look to God for guidance. "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him."--"Ministry of Healing," pp. 206-208.

I confess that I have not always honored others in my use of time.

Their time may be ever employed to advantage, and they be constantly refreshed with variation, and yet be redeeming the time so that every moment will tell with good account to someone. {AH 507.4}

I confess that I have shown selfishness by my tardiness and absense at God's house.

It is a sad failing with many that they are always behind time on Sabbath morning. They are very particular about their own time, they cannot afford to lose an hour of that; but the Lord's time, the only day out of the seven that the Lord claims as His, and requires us to devote to Him, quite a portion of this is squandered away by sleeping late in the morning. In this they are robbing God. It causes them to be behind in everything; it makes confusion in the family; and finally results in the tardiness of the entire family at Sabbath school, and perhaps at meeting.

It is a serious mistake to neglect the public worship of God. The privileges of divine service should not be lightly regarded. Those who attend upon the sick are often unable to avail themselves of these privileges, but they should be careful not to absent themselves needlessly from the house of worship. {HDL 59.1}

I confess that I have not put God's kingdom above my own pursuits.

Dear reader, will you not candidly and prayerfully consider how the moments are passing in your busy life? Remember that God requires your undivided affections, and that it is your duty to love your neighbor as yourself, and to labor unselfishly for his salvation. Your ability, tact, and talent should be employed to induce your fellow-men to enlist in the service of the Redeemer. Reckon up the hours spent in selfish pursuits when they should have been given to better purposes, and see how your account stands in Heaven. Deal honestly and truly with your soul. Have you not long been guilty of robbery toward God,--that God who constantly employs all the agencies of nature to work in your behalf, and who poured out to you all the treasures of Heaven in one gift, that of his own beloved Son? {ST, July 3, 1884 par. 9}

I choose to seek God's wisdom for balance and responsibility in my use of time so I may glorify Him.

God will not require of man a more strict account of anything than of the way in which he has occupied his time. Have its hours been wasted and abused? God has granted to us the precious boon of life, not to be devoted to selfish gratification. Our work is too solemn, our time to serve God and our fellowmen too short, to be spent in seeking for fame. Oh, if men would stop in their aspirations where God has set the bounds, what different service would the Lord receive! {MM 65.1}

Stewardship

I acknowledge that I cannot serve God and selfish greed at the same time.

God will open the way for His subjects to perform unselfish actions in all their associations, in all their business transactions with the world. By their acts of kindness and love, they are to show that they are opposed to greed and selfishness, and are representing the kingdom of heaven in our world. By self-denial, by sacrificing the gain they might obtain, they are to avoid sin, that in accordance with the laws of God's kingdom they may represent the truth in all its beauty. {TDG 201.4}

God knows, and all who have had the experience know, that there is an elevated and permanent happiness in giving willingly and freely to bless others, which those who spend all on self-gratification, or hoard for greed of gain, can never experience. It is to bless us, to make us happy and rich, that God asks us to adopt His plan of giving. The spirit of liberality is the spirit of heaven. Selfishness is the spirit of Satan. {PUR, October 24, 1901 par. 9}

I ask God to purge me of the love of money.

Christ understood the danger of the love of money; for he said, "How hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!" He looked with sorrow upon the enthusiasm shown for the things that perish, and, lifting the curtain that veiled eternity from view, he declared, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness." "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal." Today he calls upon us to give close attention to our eternal interests. He would have us subordinate every earthly interest to his service. "For what shall it profit a man," he asks, "if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" {ST, January 21, 1897 par. 9}

I repent of my extravagance, my wastefulness, my lack of economy.

Daily the church is becoming converted to the world. Professing Christians are slaves of mammon. Their indulgence of appetite, and extravagant expenditure of money for selfish gratification, greatly dishonors God. PH086 9.2}

All needless expenditures for selfish gratification are to be cut off. Let self-denial and the cross become a part of our individual experience. {ST, December 15, 1909 par. 9}

Many despise economy, confounding it with stinginess and narrowness. But economy is consistent with the broadest liberality. Indeed, without economy there can be no true liberality. We are to save that we may give. {ST, December 15, 1909 par. 10}

I acknowledge that I spend too much on selfish indulgences, and neglect the poor and needy.

From what has been shown me, Sabbathkeepers are growing more selfish as they increase in riches. Their love for Christ and His people is decreasing. They do not see the wants of the needy, nor feel their sufferings and sorrows. They do not realize that in neglecting the poor and the suffering they neglect Christ, and that in relieving the wants and sufferings of the poor as far as possible, they minister to Jesus. {2T 24.1}

If professed Christians would use less of their wealth in adorning the body and in beautifying their own houses, and would consume less in extravagant, health-destroying luxuries upon their tables, they could place much larger sums in the treasury of God. They would thus imitate their Redeemer, who left heaven, His riches, and His glory, and for our sakes became poor, that we might have eternal riches. {CCh 279.3}

I choose to be honest in all my business dealings.

The Christian in his business life is to represent to the world the manner in which our Lord would conduct business enterprises. In every transaction he is to make it manifest that God is his teacher. "Holiness unto the Lord" is to be written upon daybooks and ledgers, on deeds, receipts, and bills of exchange. Those who profess to be followers of Christ, and who deal in an unrighteous manner, are bearing false witness against the character of a holy, just, and merciful God. Every converted soul will, like Zacchaeus, signalize the entrance of Christ into his heart by an abandonment of the unrighteous practices that have marked his life. Like the chief publican, he will give proof of his sincerity by making restitution. The Lord says, "If the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he had robbed, walk in the statutes of life, without committing iniquity; . . . none of his sins that he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him: . . . He shall surely live." Ezekiel 33:15, 16. {DA 556.1}

If we have injured others through any unjust business transaction, if we have overreached in trade, or defrauded any man, even though it be within the pale of the law, we should confess our wrong, and make restitution as far as lies in our power. It is right for us to restore not only that which we have taken, but all that it would have accumulated if put to a right and wise use during the time it has been in our possession. {DA 556.2}

I choose to avoid any business or enterprise that pulls me away from devotion to God.

Jesus does not release us from the necessity of effort, but He teaches that we are to make Him first and last and best in everything. We are to engage in no business, follow no pursuit, seek no pleasure, that would hinder the outworking of His righteousness in our character and life. Whatever we do is to be done heartily, as unto the Lord. {AG 21.4}

Our Creator demands our supreme devotion, our first allegiance. Anything which tends to abate our love for God, or to interfere with the service due him, becomes thereby an idol. With some their lands, their houses, their merchandize, are the idols. Business enterprises are prosecuted with zeal and energy, while the service of God is made a secondary consideration. Family worship is neglected, secret prayer forgotten. {ST, January 26, 1882 par. 12}

I choose to shun get rich quick schemes and marketing plans that absorb my affections.

The question is asked, "What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" It is dangerous to give time, thought, and strength to the pursuit of worldly gain, even if success follows persevering effort; for in thus doing there is danger of making God and his righteousness secondary. It is better far to be in poverty, to endure disappointment, and have our earthly hopes shattered, than to have our eternal interests imperiled. Flattering inducements may be presented to us, and we may think to obtain wealth and honor, and so set our heart and soul on worldly enterprises. But as we cannot serve God and mammon, we are led to give up the service of God. {ST, June 26, 1893 par. 1}

We see family and home religion neglected, altars broken down, first love abandoned, and the religion of Christ expelled from the soul, to give place to engaging in speculation and business enterprises, and these things are constantly multiplying. {PC 389.1}

Let us not be determined to get rich. If we see that poverty will be our portion in abiding in the simple truth, let us abide by the truth and enter into life. {ST, June 26, 1893 par. 3}

I choose to shun debt like the plague, and to live within my means.

Shun the incurring of debt as you would shun leprosy.--Letter 60, 1896. {CS 272.1}

When one becomes involved in debt, he is in one of Satan's nets, which he sets for souls. . . . {AH 392.5}

Abstracting and using money for any purpose, before it is earned, is a snare. {AH 392.6}

The very highest kind of education that could be given is to shun the incurring of debt as you would shun disease. {6T 211.1}

Be determined never to incur another debt. Deny yourself a thousand things rather than run in debt. This has been the curse of your life, getting into debt. Avoid it as you would the smallpox. {AH 393.4}

I choose to avoid speculative investments or business dealings.

God desires His servants to avoid all speculation. Satan may pave the way by making the first investment successful, but Oh, how bitter will be the final outcome! If the professing Christian has success in his first speculation, His ruin is almost certain. Visionary schemes are wildly entered into as schemers present promising enterprises which they declare will pay a large percentage on all money invested. Good men are fascinated and deceived. Shares are purchased. Then comes confusion and loss. Some are totally ruined, having in the excitement invested all they had. In the thirst for riches, reason seems to depart. One or two may gain wealth, to their own injury, but many, many are bitterly disappointed. {15MR 72.3}

Man proposes, but to save him from ruin, God disposes. The Lord has instructed me that should our brethren who are engaged in speculation realize their expectation, it would be the greatest curse that could come to Seventh- day Adventists. Thus others would be led into the snare, to the peril of their souls. Those who can earn an honest living would give up their business to speculate in mining stock, selling their souls for the hope of gain. {15MR 73.1}

God requires His people to deal justly and in all kindness, never oppressing their fellow-beings in any way. Instead of entering into speculation, let those who know the truth find some steady, honest employment, in which they can earn their living in a way that glorifies God. Those who encourage the thirst for speculation will extinguish the light that God has given to guide their feet aright. Making money easily, they will spend it unwisely, and their prodigality will be their ruin. To maintain their habits of selfish indulgence, they must continue to make money rapidly. The effort to make money fast enough to meet their extravagant expenses, draws many into the gambling hell. {15MR 73.2}

I choose to avoid partnerships with those not of my same faith.

Some have been in partnership with unbelievers, and the influence of these Sabbath-breaking associates has had its effect upon them. Some have been so blinded that they could not discern the danger in such connections, but it is only the greater because unperceived. While one partner is professedly observing the Sabbath, the other, with the laborers employed, is carrying on the business of the firm. The Sabbath-keeper, though not outwardly engaged in labor, cannot keep his thoughts from business matters. While he may endeavor to keep the Sabbath, he does not keep it. The Lord looks upon him as a transgressor. {HS 215.3}

Even in business relations we cannot, without involving principle, connect ourselves with those who are not loyal to God. What the one party feels that conscience forbids, the other allows. And this not merely in regard to religious matters, but in business transactions. The one acts from selfish motives, regardless of God's law or the salvation of the soul; and if the other sincerely loves God and the truth, there must be either a sacrifice of principle or frequent and painful differences. It will require a continual struggle to resist the worldly influence and example of his ungodly associate. He has great difficulties to meet; for he has placed himself on the enemy's ground. The only safe course is to give heed to the inspired injunction: "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers; for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?" "Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean; and I will receive you." {HS 215.4}

I choose to avoid chance games, lotteries, sweepstakes, gambling of any type.

But Satan sets in operation schemes that will produce in the minds of our brethren a great desire to try their fortunes, as in a lottery. One and still another are flattered by strong representations of financial gain if they will only invest their money in lands; and they take their means out of our institutions, and bury it in the earth, where the Lord's cause is not benefited. Then if one is successful, he is so elated over the fact that he has gained a few hundred dollars, that he decides to keep on getting money if he can. He continues to invest in real estate or in mines. The device of Satan is successful. {13MR 236.3}

While we shun the false and artificial, discarding horse racing, card playing, lotteries, prize fights, liquor drinking, and tobacco using, we must supply sources of pleasure that are pure and noble and elevating. {AH 499.1}

Governor Washburn, of Wisconsin, in his annual message declared "that church fairs, charitable raffles, concert lotteries for charitable and other purposes, prize packages, 'grabbags,' Sabbath-school and other religious chances by ticket, are nurseries of crime, inasmuch as they promise something for nothing, are games of chance, and are really gambling. He says that the pernicious spirit of gambling is fostered, encouraged, and kept alive by these agencies to a degree little known by good citizens; and that, but for them, the ordinary laws against gambling would be much less violated and much more easily enforced. These practices, he declares, ought not to be permitted any longer to debauch the morals of the young." {GC88 387.2}

I want God to give me a generous heart, so that selfish interests do not rule in my life.

Thus the love of gain becomes, with many, the ruling passion. They become slaves to this world. Selfish interests are predominant. Their example tends to lead others away from the truth. They have, by profession, said to the world, "Our citizenship is not here, but above," while their works proclaim that they are dwellers on the earth. The word of God declares that the day of Judgment shall come as a snare upon all those who dwell on the earth. Their profession is only a hindrance to other souls,--a false light to lure them to destruction. {RH, November 28, 1882 par. 14}

I choose to return a faithful tithe and offering to God.

God lays his hand upon the tithe, as well as upon gifts and offerings, and says, "That is mine. When I intrusted you with my goods, I specified that a portion should be your own, to supply your necessities, and a portion should be returned to me." As you gathered in your harvest, storing barns and granary for your own comfort, did you return to God a faithful tithe? Have you presented to him your gifts and offerings, that his cause may not suffer? Have you looked after the fatherless and the widow? This is a branch of home missionary work that should by no means be neglected. Are there not around you, poor and suffering ones who need warmer clothing, better food, and, above everything else, that which will be most highly prized,--sympathy and love? What have you done for the widows, the distressed, who call upon you to aid them in educating and training their children or grandchildren? How have you treated these cases? Have you tried to help the orphans? When anxious, soul-burdened parents or grand-parents have asked you, and even begged you, to consider their case, have you turned them away with unfeeling, unsympathetic refusals? If so, may the Lord pity your future; for "with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again." Can we be surprised that the Lord withholds his blessing, when his gifts are selfishly perverted and misapplied? {RH, December 23, 1890 par. 8}

I entreat my brethren and sisters throughout the world to awaken to the responsibility that rests upon them to pay a faithful tithe. Do not allow lax principles to lead you to rob God. Keep a faithful account with your Creator. Realize fully the importance of being just with Him who has divine foreknowledge. Let every one search his heart diligently. Let him look up his accounts, and find out how he stands as related to God. {RH, December 3, 1901 par. 1}

I consecrate all my possessions to God, willing to give up any and all for His cause.

The atonement of Christ makes all who will be saved His own chosen. All that stand as Christ's faithful soldiers will consecrate themselves and all their small and their large possessions to the Lord, to advance His work in this world. Their humble homes, and necessary equipments for business will be used as lent of God. Surplus property will be disposed of for Him. God's full sovereign grace is exercised to save to the uttermost all who shall come to Him. The divine honor is most jealous and uncompromising. "By grace are ye saved, through faith; and that not of yourself: it is the gift of God." {GH, December 1, 1901 par. 15}

How can those for whom Christ has sacrificed so much, continue to enjoy His gifts selfishly? His love and self-denial are without a parallel; and when this love enters into the experience of His followers, they will identify their interests with those of their Redeemer. Their work will be to build up the kingdom of Christ. They will consecrate themselves and their possessions to Him, and use both as His cause may require. {CS 55.1}

I choose to abstain from involvement in politics.

We are not as a people to become mixed up with political questions. All would do well to take heed to the Word of God, Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers in political strife, nor bind with them in their attachments. There is no safe ground in which they can stand and work together. The loyal and the disloyal have no equal ground on which to meet. {2SM 336.3}

"The Lord has been greatly dishonored by his people catching up the issues that arise in this time of test and trial. His people are to keep free from politics. They are to stand as a separate and peculiar people; the name of God, our Ruler, is to be in their foreheads, showing to all that he is their Sovereign. {RH, June 21, 1898 par. 31}

God's people have been called out of the world, that they may be separated from the world. It is not safe for them to take sides in politics, whatever preference they may have. They are ever to remember that they are one in Christ. God calls upon them to enter their names as under His theocracy. He cannot approve of those who link up with worldlings. We are entirely out of our place when we identify ourselves with party interests. Let us not forget that we are citizens of the kingdom of heaven. We are soldiers of the cross of Christ, and our work is to advance the interests of His kingdom.--Ms 67, 1900, p. 10. ("Words of Instruction to the Church," typed Nov. 19, 1900.) {3MR 40.3}

God has warned His people not to become absorbed in politics. We cannot bear the sign of God as His commandment-keeping people, if we mingle with the strife of the world. {3MR 41.1}

The Lord has been greatly dishonored by His people's catching up the issues that arise in this time of test and trial. His people are to keep free from politics. They are to stand as a separate, peculiar people; the name of God our Ruler is to be in their foreheads, showing to all that He is their sovereign.--Ms 1, 1897, p. 7. ("Forgetfulness." No date.) {3MR 41.2}

Neither you nor any of your brethren had any work to do in arguing or writing or taking any part whatever in politics. God was dishonored by all who acted any part in politics. God has chosen a people who are to proclaim the third angel's message to the world. They are to be a separate and peculiar people in this world of churches who are transgressing His commandments. . . . {3MR 41.3}

There is a large vineyard to be cultivated; but while Christians are to work among unbelievers, they are not to appear like worldlings. They are not to spend their time talking politics or acting politics; for by so doing they give the enemy opportunity to come in and cause variance and discord. Those in the ministry who desire to stand as politicians, should have their credentials taken from them; for this work God has not given to high or low among His people. {GW 395.1}

God's children are to separate themselves from politics, from any alliance with unbelievers. They are not to link their interests with the interests of the world {GW 395.3}

The Christian life is not to be a haphazard, emotional life. True Christian influence, exerted for the accomplishment of the work God has appointed, is a precious agency, and it must not be united with politics, or bound up in a confederacy with unbelievers. God is to be the center of attraction. Every mind that is worked by the Holy Spirit will be satisfied with Him.--MS., June 16, 1899.

I accept the counsel against labor unions, and choose not to join.

These unions are one of the signs of the last days. Men are binding up in bundles ready to be burned. They may be church members, but while they belong to these unions they cannot possibly keep the commandments of God, for to belong to these unions means to disregard the entire Decalogue. {2MR 179.1}

The trades unions and confederacies of the world are a snare. Keep out of them, and away from them, brethren. Have nothing to do with them. Because of these unions and confederacies, it will soon be very difficult for our institutions to carry on their work in the cities. {2SM 142.3}

I accept the counsel against secret societies, and choose not to join.

We are not to unite with secret societies or with trades unions. We are to stand free in God, looking constantly to Christ for instruction. All our movements are to be made with a realization of the importance of the work to be accomplished for God.--Testimonies for the Church, vol. 7, p. 84 (1902).

The strong, corrupting sentiments of Satan are cherished, and they exert a masterly, compelling power. Under the influence of these sentiments, men bind up with one another in confederacies, in trade unions, and in secret societies. There are at work in the world agencies that God will not much longer tolerate.--Lt 114, 1903. {1MCP 28.3}

Those who choose to unite with these secret societies are paying homage to idols as senseless and as powerless to bless and save the soul as are the gods of the Hindus. {2SM 131.2}

Many are laying up their treasure in these secret societies, and can we not see that their heart is there? .The fascination of the club room, the suppers, and the world-loving associates, has led, as did Belshazzar's feast, to forgetfulness of God and dishonoring of His name. {2SM 135.2}

Those who stand under the bloodstained banner of Prince Immanuel cannot be united with the Free Masons or with any secret organization. The seal of the living God will not be placed upon anyone who maintains such a connection after the light of truth has shone upon his pathway. Letter 21, 1893. {2SM 140.1}

I choose to give up all hobbies and interests that keep me from a deep commitment to God's cause.

We must turn away from a thousand topics that invite attention. There are matters that consume time and arouse inquiry, but end in nothing. The highest interests demand the close attention and energy that are too often given to comparatively insignificant things. {8T 316.3}

He revealed to them how vain were the pursuits in which they were engaging, the importance of every moment of life, and urged upon them as upon us the necessity of giving their all to God and of devoting their faculties to his service, that they might bear precious fruit to the glory of God. {RH, March 10, 1896 par. 4}

Seventh-day Adventists profess to believe that the day of this world's history is far spent, and that the night is at hand. Should we then, as the end draws nigh, manifest greater earnestness and zeal in the service of God, or may we now relax our energies, and participate in the pursuits and pleasures of the world? The Lord has ever required his people to show in all their habits of life a marked difference between themselves and worldlings. Even if the end were not near, it would be the duty of every Christian to be true to his profession of faith, and by an example of simplicity and self-denial, to rebuke the pride and selfishness of the ungodly. How much more, then, is it incumbent upon this people to manifest unfailing zeal and consecration! {RH, November 12, 1914 par. 1}

We have not the opportunity of turning from the person of Christ, as did the Gadarenes; but there are many in these days who refuse to follow his teachings, because in so doing they must sacrifice some worldly interest. Many, in the various pursuits of life, turn Jesus from their hearts, fearful that his presence may cost them pecuniary loss. Like the selfish Gadarenes, they overlook his grace, and ruthlessly drive his Spirit from them. To such his words apply: "Ye cannot serve God and mammon." {3Red 89.1}

 

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