A Curse or a Blessing? July 7

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal. Matthew 6:19.OHC 194.1

Treasures are those things which engross the mind, and absorb the attention, to the exclusion of God and the truth.... Our Saviour gave a decided warning against hoarding up the treasures of earth.OHC 194.2

All branches of business, all manner of employments, are under the eye of God; and every Christian has been given ability to do something in the cause of the Master. Whether engaged in business in the field, in the warehouse, or in the counting room, men will be held responsible to God for the wise and honest employment of their talents. They are just as accountable to God for their work, as the minister who labors in word and doctrine is for his....OHC 194.3

Property that is treasured up upon the earth will prove only a curse, but if it is devoted to the upbuilding of the cause of truth, that God may be honored, and that souls may be saved, it will not prove a curse, but a blessing. Means are necessary to the furtherance of every good cause; and as some men have been endowed with more ability to acquire wealth than have others, they should put out their talents to the exchangers, that the Lord may receive His own, with usury, at His appearing....OHC 194.4

Those who are ready and willing to invest in the cause of God, will be blessed in their efforts to acquire money. God created the source of wealth. He gave the sunshine, and the dew, and the rain, and caused vegetation to flourish. He blessed men with mental and physical ability, and qualified them to acquire property, so that His cause might be sustained by His professed children. The needy are all around us, and God is glorified, when the poor and the afflicted are aided and comforted. It is no sin to acquire and control property as stewards for God, holding it only until He shall require it for the necessities of His work.^{10The Review and Herald, September 18, 1888.}OHC 194.5

We must ever bear in mind that we are in copartnership with God. His work and His cause demand the first consideration.^{11Manuscript 13, 1896.}OHC 194.6