In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider: God also hath set the one over against the other, to the end that man should find nothing after him. Ecclesiastes 7:14.
God has given in His Word a picture of a prosperous man,—one whose life was in the truest sense a success, a man whom both heaven and earth delighted to honor. Of his experiences Job himself says:—
“In the ripeness of my days,
When the secret of God was upon my tent;
When the Almighty was yet with me,
And my children were about me; ...
The young men saw me and hid themselves,
And the aged rose up and stood; ...
For when the ear heard me, then it blessed me;
And when the eye saw me, it gave witness unto me;
Because I delivered the poor that cried,
The fatherless also, and him that had none to help him.
The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me;
And I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy.
I put on righteousness, and it clothed me;
My justice was as a robe and a diadem.”
“The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and He addeth no sorrow with it.”—Education, 142.
The Bible condemns no man for being rich, if he has acquired his riches honestly. Not money, but the love of money, is the root of all evil. It is God who gives men power to get wealth; and in the hands of him who acts as God’s steward, using his means unselfishly, wealth is a blessing, both to its possessor and to the world.—The Ministry of Healing, 212.
From Radiant Religion - Page 29
Radiant Religion
Thought for the Day
The world loves sin, and hates righteousness, and this was the cause of its hostility to Jesus. All who refuse His infinite love will find Christianity a disturbing element. The light of Christ sweeps away the darkness that covers their sins, and the need of reform is made manifest. While those who yield to the influence of the Holy Spirit begin war with themselves, those who cling to sin war against the truth and its representatives. Desire of Ages, p. 306