A close, selfish spirit seems to prevent men from giving to God His own. The Lord made a special covenant with men, that if they would regularly set apart the portion designated for the advancement of Christ’s kingdom, the Lord would bless them abundantly, so that there would not be room to receive His gifts. But if men withhold that which belongs to God, the Lord plainly declares, “Ye are cursed with a curse.”(Malachi 3:9) ...
(CS 77.1)
MC
VC
Those who realize their dependence upon God, will feel that they must be honest with their fellow men, and, above all, they must be honest with God, from whom come all the blessings of life. The evasion of the positive commands of God concerning tithes and offerings, is registered in the books of heaven as robbery toward Him.
(CS 77.2)
MC
VC
No man who is dishonest with God or with his fellow men can truly prosper. The most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth, says, “Thou shalt not have in thy bag divers weights, a great and a small. Thou shalt not have in thine house divers measures, a great and a small. But thou shalt have a perfect and just weight, a perfect and just measure shalt thou have: that thy days may be lengthened in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. For all that do such things, and all that do unrighteously, are an abomination unto the Lord thy God.”Deuteronomy 25:13-16. Through the prophet Micah, the Lord again expresses His abhorrence of dishonesty: “Are there yet the treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked, and the scant measure that is abominable? Shall I count them pure with the wicked balances? ... Therefore also will I make thee sick in smiting thee, in making thee desolate because of thy sins.”(Micah 6:10~13)—The Review and Herald, December 17, 1889.
(CS 77.3)
MC
VC
It is a serious thing to embezzle the Lord’s goods, to practice robbery toward God; for in so doing the perceptions become perverted and the heart hardened. How barren is the religious experience, how clouded is the understanding, of one who loves not God with pure, unselfish love, and who fails, therefore, to love his neighbor as himself....
(CS 86.1)
MC
VC
The last great day will reveal to them and to the whole universe what good might have been done, had they not followed their selfish inclinations, and thus robbed God in tithes and offerings. They might have placed their treasure in the bank of heaven, and preserved it in bags that wax not old; but instead of doing this, they expended it upon themselves and their children, and seemed to feel afraid that the Lord would get any of their money or their influence, and thus they met with eternal loss. Let them contemplate the consequence of withholding from God. The slothful servant, who puts not out his Lord’s money to usury, loses an eternal inheritance in the kingdom of glory.—The Review and Herald, January 22, 1895.
(CS 86.2)
MC
VC
To defraud God is the greatest crime of which man can be guilty; and yet this sin is deep and widespread.—The Review and Herald, October 13, 1896.
(CS 86.3)
MC
VC
Will you withhold from God His own? Will you divert from the treasury the portion of means which the Lord claims as His? If so, you are robbing God, and every dollar is charged against you in the books of heaven.—The Review and Herald, December 23, 1890.
(CS 86.4)
MC
VC
One sister belonging to the Melbourne church, has brought in eleven pounds [$54] back tithe which she had not understood that it devolved on her to pay. As they have received the light, many have made confession in regard to their indebtedness to God, and expressed their determination to meet this debt.... I proposed that they place in the treasury their note promising to pay “the full amount of an honest tithe as soon as they could obtain the money to do so.” Many heads bowed assent, and I am confident that next year we shall not, as now, have an empty treasury.—Manuscript 4, 1893.
(CS 97.1)
MC
VC
Many, many have lost the spirit of self-denial and sacrifice. They have been burying their money in temporal possessions. There are men whom God has blessed, whom He is testing to see what response they will make to His benefits. They have withheld their tithes and offerings until their debt to the Lord God of hosts has become so great that they grow pale at the thought of rendering to the Lord His own,—a just tithe. Make haste, brethren, you have now the opportunity to be honest with God; delay not.—General Conference Daily Bulletin, February 28, 1893.
(CS 97.2)
MC
VC
What of your stewardship? Have you during the past year robbed God in tithes and offerings? Look at your well-filled barns, at your cellars stored with the good things the Lord has given you, and ask yourselves whether you have returned to the Giver that which belongs to Him. If you have robbed the Lord, make restitution. As far as possible, make the past right, and then ask the Saviour to pardon you. Will you not return to the Lord His own, before this year, with its burden of record, has passed into eternity?—The Review and Herald, December 23, 1902.
(CS 97.3)
MC
VC