"And they that be wl*e «hall ehlne at the brightness of the firmament;
and they that turn many to righteousness, as the stars forever and ever.”
®1jp Jfamgtt Hiastott Journal.
Kqi#r*>] «i ibe I’Ost
fcl Ulcbmond, Vs., ss Second Cl us Matter.
Vol. LXI. JANUARY, 1911. No 7.
GIVING
Some people seem to think that preach¬
ing, praying and praising are acts of de¬
votion, but that giving causes coldness of
heart and Is a nuisance. If any one will
tnko the time to note how often Christ re¬
fers to giving, he will at once see that
our Lord magnifies this act of devotion.
Tho whole gospel is based on God's lovo
and God’s gift. In our homes if we do not
give, wo do not love. Wo arc not made to
live for self alone, but tho best expres¬
sions of our heart's devotion are mani¬
fested in what wo give. Christ told us
that it was more blessed to give than to
receive. Tho Old Testament inculcates
giving as well as the New. Under tho old
dispensation tho Jews gave tithes. Their
gifts were regular and systematic. On a
certain occasion where Christ refers to
some neglect of duty on the part of those
who gavo tithes, He said, "These ought ye
to have done (namely, give the tithes) and
not to leave the other undone.” Paul
commended weekly giving. We are to
give cheerfully and regularly as wo are
blessed. Wo ought to give of the first of
tho first fruits, not that which is
blemished. It is an offering to the Lord.
No child of grace ought to give less than
a person gavo under law. We do not be¬
lieve that a child of God ought ever to
givo less than the tenth. Ofttimes they
ought to givo more. Somo one savs, "1
cannot afford to give tho tenth.” Here
you are mistaken. Nine-tenths with God
is more ttr. t U* tenths without Him.
Tako God 'u»5, j:i,* plans, and you will
find that
Ш
• &, ' 'ou m His.
Some one buys, “I do not know how to
TITHES.
calculate the tenth of my net income.”
You are mistaken there. If you are doing
any largo amount of business, and are
competent to carry on that business, you
are certainly competent to estimate
1Г
there are any profits In it. You can decide
whether you have made anything in your
business, and after so ueciding, you can
take out one-tenth of the profits for God.
If your business is small, surely you can
decide.
Some one answers and says, “Disaster
and trouble have come upon me, and I am
not able to give a tenth.” In the midst
of the storm is when you most need help.
Do not rob God when you are in trouble.
Then is the time when you need to prove
faithful, and let Him see that you trust
Him in the storm, as well as In the calm.
Many of our people have adopted the
plan of giving at least a tenth. Some give
more. We have decided for a few months
to put short statements in the Journal
from those who have adopted this plan.
We will not give any names, so that no
one need be afraid to send us a short
statement, for we feel confident that who¬
ever has adopted tho plan in the right
spirit, will give glory to God in making
the statement of what God has done for
Him. We will be glad to receive a num¬
ber of these statements from brethren
and sisters, and we promise them that we
will not make their identity known. We
ask for the statements feeling that when
some have told fully what God has done
for them, it will cause others to adopt the
tithing plan.
