By their words, their works, and their spirit those who pursue such a course are making a record in the books of heaven which they will not care to meet; for God does not value them as they value themselves. They are abusing their probationary opportunities and are grievously neglecting the high privileges conferred upon them. Though finding nothing in the word of God to vindicate their actions or countenance their opinions, yet they persist in their own way. In that day when judgment is passed upon all, the sentence will be pronounced against them, “Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.”Daniel 5:27.
(TM 286.1)
MC
VC
God may entrust men with money and possessions, but because of this they are not to lift themselves up. All they have they hold in trust; it is lent them by God that they may develop a character like His. They are on trial. God wants to see whether they will prove themselves worthy of the eternal riches. If they use their Lord’s goods to set themselves above their fellowmen, they prove unworthy of a place in the kingdom of God. In the great reckoning day they will hear the words: “If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall give you that which is your own?”Luke 16:11, 12.
(TM 286.2)
MC
VC
But if those whom the Lord has made stewards regard their treasures as His gifts and seek to manifest compassion, sympathy, and love for their fellowmen, they are in harmony with the character of God, who gave His only-begotten Son to die for their salvation. If they value the souls of the human race according to the price paid for their redemption, they will not work out their natural impulses, but will manifest the attributes of the mind and will of God, and will be channels through which God’s generous, loving sentiments may flow to humanity.
(TM 286.3)
MC
VC