Chapter 69—Acceptable Service
In His infinite mercy and love God has given us light from His
word, and Christ says to us, “Freely ye have received, freely give.”
Let the light God has given you shine forth to those in darkness. As
you do this, heavenly angels will be beside you, helping you win
souls for Christ....
Dear young friends, remember that it is not necessary to be an
ordained minister in order to serve the Lord. There are many ways
of working for Christ. Human hands may never have been laid on
you in ordination, but God can give you fitness for His service. He
can work through you to the saving of souls. If, having learned in
the school of Christ, you are meek and lowly in heart, He will give
you words to speak for Him....
Our Relation to Mistakes
Do all in your power to gain perfection; but do not think that
because you make mistakes you are excluded from God’s service.
The Lord knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust. As you
use faithfully the talents God has given you, you will gain knowledge
that will make you dissatisfied with self. You will see the need of
sifting away harmful habits, lest by a wrong example you injure
others.
Work diligently, giving to others the truth so precious to you.
Then when there are vacancies to be filled, you will hear the words,
“Come up higher.” You may be reluctant to respond; but move [227]
forward in faith, bringing into God’s work a fresh, honest zeal.
The secret of winning souls can be learned only from the great
Teacher. As the dew and the still showers fall gently on the withering
plant, so our words are to fall gently and lovingly on the souls we
are seeking to win. We are not to wait till opportunities come to us;
we are to seek for them, keeping the heart uplifted in prayer that
God may help us to speak the right word at the right time. When an
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opportunity presents itself, let no excuse lead you to neglect it; for
its improvement may mean the salvation of a soul from death.—The
Youth’s Instructor, February 6, 1902.
The Highest Work
The work above all work,—the business above all others which
should draw and engage the energies of the soul,—is the work of
saving souls for whom Christ has died. Make this the main, the
important work of your life. Make it your special life work. Cooperate
with Christ in this grand and noble work, and become home
and foreign missionaries. Be ready and efficient to work at home or
in far-off climes for the saving of souls. Work the works of God and
demonstrate your faith in your Saviour by toiling for others. O that
young and old were thoroughly converted to God, and would take
up the duty that lies next them, and work as they have opportunity,
becoming laborers together with God!—The Youth’s Instructor, May
[228] 4, 1893.
Chapter 70—Faithfulness in Service
Those who are unfaithful in the least of temporal affairs will be
unfaithful in responsibilities of greater importance. They will rob
God, and fail of meeting the claims of the divine law. They will
not realize that their talents belong to God and should be devoted to
His service. Those who do nothing for their employers except that
which is commanded them, when they know that the prosperity of
the work depends on some extra exertion on their part, will fail to
be accounted faithful servants. There are many things not specified
that wait to be done, that come directly under the notice of the one
employed.
Leaks and losses occur that might be prevented if painstaking
diligence and unselfish effort were manifested, if the principles of
love enjoined upon us by Jesus were carried out in the life of those
who profess His name. But many are working in the cause of God
who are registered as “eye-servants.”
Unfaithfulness Recorded
It is the most abhorrent form of selfishness that leads the worker
to neglect the improvement of time, the care of property, because
he is not directly under the eye of the master. But do such workers
imagine that their neglects are not noticed, their unfaithfulness
not recorded? Could their eyes be opened, they would see that a
Watcher looks on, and all their carelessness is recorded in the books
of heaven. [229]
Those who are unfaithful to the work of God are lacking in principle;
their motives are not of a character to lead them to choose
the right under all circumstances. The servants of God are to feel
at all times that they are under the eye of their employer. He who
watched the sacrilegious feast of Belshazzar is present in all our
institutions, in the counting-room of the merchant, in the private
workshop; and the bloodless hand is as surely recording your ne-
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glect as it recorded the awful judgment of the blasphemous king.
Belshazzar’s condemnation was written in words of fire, “Thou art
weighed in the balances, and art found wanting”; and if you fail to
fulfill your God-given obligations your condemnation will be the
same.
True Motives in Service
There are many who profess to be Christians who are not united
with Christ. Their daily life, their spirit, testifies that Christ is not
formed within, the hope of glory. They cannot be depended upon,
they cannot be trusted. They are anxious to reduce their service to
the minimum of effort, and at the same time exact the highest of
wages. The name “servant” applies to every man; for we are all
servants, and it will be well for us to see what mold we are taking
on. Is it the mold of unfaithfulness, or of fidelity?
Is it the disposition generally among servants to do as much
as possible? Is it not rather the prevalent fashion to slide through
the work as quickly, as easily, as possible, and obtain the wages at
[230] as little cost to themselves as they can? The object is not to be as
thorough as possible but to get the remuneration. Those who profess
to be the servants of Christ should not forget the injunction of the
apostle Paul, “Servants, obey in all things your masters according
to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness
of heart, fearing God: and whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the
Lord, and not unto men; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive
the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.”
Those who enter the work as “eye-servants,” will find that their
work cannot bear the inspection of men or of angels. The thing essential
for successful work is a knowledge of Christ; for this knowledge
will give sound principles of right, impart a noble, unselfish spirit,
like that of our Saviour whom we profess to serve. Faithfulness,
economy, care-taking, thoroughness, should characterize all our
work, wherever we may be, whether in the kitchen, in the workshop,
in the office of publication, in the sanitarium, in the college, or
wherever we are stationed in the vineyard of the Lord. “He that is
faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is
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unjust in the least is unjust also in much.”—The Review and Herald,
September 22, 1891.