Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
T. PIERSON
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entrustments be not perverted to self-indulgence; sagacity, so
that they b1e converted into as large ,gains as poss1ible.
This is a perfectly plain and simple basal p,rinciple, yet it
is not the acCepted foundation of our money-making and
using. The vast majority, even of disciples, practically leave
God out of their thoughts when they engage in 6.nance. Men
consider themselves owners ; they ''make money'' by their
i.ndttstry, economy,I shrewdness, .applicatio ,n; i.t i.s th~irs to do
as they will with it. . There is little or no sense of stewardship
or of its implied obligation. If they give, it is an act, not of
duty, but of generosity; jt ran .ks, not unde .r law, but under
grace. . Hence there is no inconsistency felt in hoarding or
spending vast sums for worldly ends and appropriating . an
insignificant fraction to benevolent purposes. Such methods
and noti ,ons would be utterly turned upside down could . n1en
but think of th ,emselv es as stewards acoo untab le to the one
Master for having wasted His goods. The great day _pf
account wi.11bring an awful reckonin g, not on1,y to waste .rs, but
to hoarder .s; for even the u.nfaitl1fu.l servants brought b:ack to
their Jo,rd the talent and the pound at last, but without pro~t,
and the condemnation was for not having used s.o as to
incr ,eas e the entrusted goods.
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traders? It was not fear but slotl1 that lay behind h~s, unfaithulness and unprofitableness..
dealt a blow at his money, the 1d.olatry became appar ,ent, and
.nt a\Y~l -~or,ro~f4.l, clinging ta his idol ..,,
the slav~ . reed "'.'~
It was not the mans havin reat possessions ti,at was wrong,
hut that hj~. pos.se~s~qn~
the ~.?-~; they possessed him and
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V. SUPERIOR BLESSEDNESS
VI., CO~IPUTATION
BY COMPARISON
We rise a s,tep higher in c,onsidering God's l~w of computatio1i. How does He reckon gifts? Our Lord teaches us
that it is by comparison. No one narrative is more telling
on this theme than that .0 . the poor widow* who dropped ~nto
the treasury her two mites. The ,Lord Jesus, standing near,
watched the offering ,s cast in,to th ,e treasury. There we,re rich
givers that gave large amounts. There was one poor woman,
a widow, who threw in two mites, and He declared her offering . to be mor~ 1th.an any 0 all the res~, because, while they
'*Mark 12: 4t .44; f:.,uke21: t-4,.\
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Much giving is not giving at all, but only lending 'or excl1ang
II,
VIII.
SA CTIFIED GIVING
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, The Fundamentals
IX. 'TRANSMUTATION
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lal'ish its treasures on His feet, and fill the house with the
0 dor of self-sacrifice I :
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