There is no branch of

legitimate business for which

the Bible does not afford an
essential preparation. Its
principles of diligence,
honesty, thrift, temperance,
and purity are the secret of
true success. These
principles, as set forth in the
Book of Proverbs, constitute
a treasury of practical
wisdom. Where can the
merchant, the artisan, the
director of men in any
department of business, find
better maxims for himself or
for his employees than are
found in these words of the
wise man: AH 391.1
“Seest thou a man diligent in
his business? He shall stand
before kings; he shall not
stand before mean men.” AH
391.2

“In all labour there is profit:

but the talk of the lips tendeth
only to penury.” AH 391.3
“The soul of the sluggard
desireth, and hath nothing.”
AH 391.4

“The drunkard and the

glutton shall come to poverty:
and drowsiness shall clothe a
man with rags.” ... AH 391.5
How many a man might
have escaped financial failure
and ruin by heeding the
warnings so often repeated
and emphasized in the
Scriptures: AH 391.6
“He that maketh haste to be
rich shall not be innocent.” AH
391.7

“Wealth gotten in haste shall

be diminished; but he that
gathereth by labor shall have
increase.” AH 391.8
“The getting of treasures by
a lying tongue is a vanity
tossed to and fro of them that
seek death.” AH 391.9
“The borrower is servant to
the lender.” AH 391.10
“He that is surety for a
stranger shall smart for it: and
he that hateth suretiship is
sure.”1 AH 391.11
The eighth commandment
condemns ... theft and
robbery. It demands strict
integrity in the minutest
details of the affairs of life. It
forbids overreaching in trade
and requires the payment of
just debts or wages.”2 AH 392.1
He [one who utters
falsehood or practices
deception] loses his own self-
respect. He may not be
conscious that God sees him
and is acquainted with every
business transaction, that
holy angels are weighing his
motives and listening to his
words, and that his reward
will be according to his works;
but if it were possible to
conceal his wrongdoing from
human and divine inspection,
the fact that he himself knows
it is degrading to his mind
and character. One act does
not determine the character,
but it breaks down the barrier,
and the next temptation is
more readily entertained, until
finally a habit of prevarication
and dishonesty in business is
formed, and the man cannot
be trusted.3 AH 392.2
As we deal with our fellow
men in petty dishonesty or in
more daring fraud, so will we
deal with God. Men who
persist in a course of
dishonesty will carry out their
principles until they cheat
their own souls and lose
heaven and eternal life. They
will sacrifice honor and
religion for a small worldly
advantage.4 AH 392.3
But Paul did not regard as
lost the time thus spent. As
he worked with Aquila he
kept in touch with the Great
Teacher, losing no
opportunity of witnessing for
the Saviour, and of helping
those who needed help. His
mind was ever reaching out
for spiritual knowledge. He
gave his fellow workers
instruction in spiritual things,
and he also set an example
of industry and thoroughness.
He was a quick, skillful
worker, diligent in business,
“fervent in spirit, serving the
Lord.” Romans 12:11. As he
worked at his trade, the
apostle had access to a class
of people that he could not
otherwise have reached. He
showed his associates that
skill in the common arts is a
gift from God, who provides
both the gift and the wisdom
to use it aright. He taught that
even in everyday toil God is
to be honored. His toil-
hardened hands detracted
nothing from the force of his
pathetic appeals as a
Christian minister. AA 351.3
Paul sometimes worked
night and day, not only for his
own support, but that he
might assist his fellow
laborers. He shared his
earnings with Luke, and he
helped Timothy. He even
suffered hunger at times, that
he might relieve the
necessities of others. His was
an unselfish life. Toward the
close of his ministry, on the
occasion of his farewell talk
to the elders of Ephesus, at
Miletus, he could lift up
before them his toilworn
hands, and say, “I have
coveted no man's silver, or
gold, or apparel. Yea, ye
yourselves know, that these
hands have ministered unto
my necessities, and to them
that were with me. I have
showed you all things, how
that so laboring ye ought to
support the weak, and to
remember the words of the
Lord Jesus, how He said, It is
more blessed to give than to
receive.” Acts 20:33-35. AA
352.1

If ministers feel that they are

suffering hardship and
privation in the cause of
Christ, let them in imagination
visit the workshop where Paul
labored. Let them bear in
mind that while this chosen
man of God is fashioning the
canvas, he is working for
bread which he has justly
earned by his labors as an
apostle. AA 352.2
Work is a blessing, not a
curse. A spirit of indolence
destroys godliness and
grieves the Spirit of God. A
stagnant pool is offensive, but
a pure, flowing stream
spreads health and gladness
over the land. Paul knew that
those who neglect physical
work soon become
enfeebled. He desired to
teach young ministers that by
working with their hands, by
bringing into exercise their
muscles and sinews, they
would become strong to
endure the toils and
privations that awaited them
in the gospel field. And he
realized that his own
teachings would lack vitality
and force if he did not keep
all parts of the system
properly exercised. AA 352.3
It is the purpose of God to
glorify Himself in His people
before the world. He expects
those who bear the name of
Christ to represent Him in
thought, word, and deed.
Their thoughts are to be pure
and their words noble and
uplifting, drawing those
around them nearer the
Saviour. The religion of Christ
is to be interwoven with all
that they do and say. Their
every business transaction is
to be fragrant with the
presence of God.—
Testimonies for the Church
9:21. ChS 26.5
Let the businessman do his
business in a way that will
glorify his Master because of
his fidelity. Let him carry his
religion into everything that is
done and reveal to men the
Spirit of Christ. Let the
mechanic be a diligent and
faithful representative of Him
who toiled in the lowly walks
of life in the cities of Judea.
Let everyone who names the
name of Christ so work that
man by seeing his good
works may be led to glorify
his Creator and Redeemer.—
The Bible Echo, June 10,
1901 (The Review and
Herald, May 1, 1888). ChS 27.1

Belief in the near coming of

the Son of man in the clouds
of heaven will not cause the
true Christian to become
neglectful and careless of the
ordinary business of life. The
waiting ones who look for the
soon appearing of Christ will
not be idle, but diligent in
business. Their work will not
be done carelessly and
dishonestly, but with fidelity,
promptness, and
thoroughness. Those who
flatter themselves that
careless inattention to the
things of this life is an
evidence of their spirituality
and of their separation from
the world are under a great
deception. Their veracity,
faithfulness, and integrity are
tested and proved in temporal
things. If they are faithful in
that which is least they will be
faithful in much. CCh 84.4
I have been shown that here
is where many will fail to bear
the test. They develop their
true character in the
management of temporal
concerns. CCh 84.5
They manifest
unfaithfulness, scheming,
dishonesty, in dealing with
their fellow men. They do not
consider that their hold upon
the future, immortal life
depends upon how they
conduct themselves in the
concerns of this life, and that
the strictest integrity is
indispensable to the
formation of a righteous
character. Dishonesty is ...
the cause of lukewarmness
on the part of many who
profess to believe the truth.
They are not connected with
Christ and are deceiving their
own souls. I am pained to
make the statement that
there is an alarming lack of
honesty even among
Sabbathkeepers.99 CCh 85.1

Business Alliances With

the World
Some have no tact at wise
management of worldly
matters. They lack the
necessary qualifications, and
Satan takes advantage of
them. When this is the case,
such should not remain in
ignorance of their task. They
should be humble enough to
counsel with their brethren, in
whose judgment they can
have confidence, before they
carry out plans. I was
directed to this text: “Bear ye
one another's burdens.”
Some are not humble enough
to let those who have
judgment calculate for them
until they have followed their
own plans, and have involved
themselves in difficulties.
Then they see the necessity
of having the counsel and
judgment of their brethren;
but how much heavier the
burden then than at first.
Brethren should not go to law
if it can be possibly avoided;
for they thus give the enemy
great advantage to entangle
and perplex them. It would be
better to make a settlement at
some loss. CCh 85.2
I saw that God was
displeased with His people
for becoming surety for
unbelievers. I was directed to
these texts: Proverbs 22:26:
“Be not thou one of them that
strike hands, or of them that
are sureties for debts.”
Proverbs 11:15: “He that is
surety for a stranger shall
smart for it: and he that
hateth suretyship is sure.”
Unfaithful stewards! They
pledge that which belongs to
another,—their heavenly
Father,—and Satan stands
ready to aid his children to
wrench it out of their hands.
Sabbathkeepers should not
be in partnership with
unbelievers. God's people
trust too much to the words of
strangers, and ask their
advice and counsel when
they should not. The enemy
makes them his agents, and
works through them to
perplex and take from God's
people.100 CCh 85.3
Those who have physical
strength are to employ that
strength in the service of
God. They are to labor with
their hands, and earn means
to use in the cause of God.
Those who can obtain work
are to work faithfully, and to
improve the opportunities
they see to help those who
cannot obtain labor.—The
Review and Herald, August
21, 1894. CS 122.1
The word of God teaches
that if a man will not work,
neither shall he eat. The Lord
does not require the hard-
working man to support those
who are not diligent. There is
a waste of time, a lack of
effort, which brings to poverty
and want. If these faults are
not seen and corrected by
those who indulge in them, all
that might be done in their
behalf is like putting treasure
into a basket with holes. But
there is an unavoidable
poverty; and we are to
manifest tenderness and
compassion toward those
who are unfortunate.—The
Review and Herald, January
3, 1899. CS 122.2