Failure of the Rich in Bearing the Test

Jesus has said, «He that gathereth not with me, scattereth.» Who is with Christ in the manner in which they treat the poor and suffering? Jesus has said again, «If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.» «So shall ye be my disciples.» In what contrast to the manner of Christ in his humiliation is the manner of those who exalt themselves, and have no care for the needy around them! The rich people of the world are called the great ones, but what does the Creator call them? Thousands and even millions of dollars have been expended in extravagant display, by those who do not know what to do with their abundant means, while at the same time thousands are starving for bread, thousands living in comfortless homes, who are naked and destitute. The souls of the poor are just as valuable in the sight of God as the souls of the rich. The riches of the world belong to God, and he does not estimate men by the amount of money they possess. God intrusts money to men in order that he may see what use they will make of it.

Those who expend their money for self-gratification are only living on husks. What comfort can they take in looking upon their decorated persons, when the poor are all about them, suffering for the necessities of life? How can they desire to load themselves down with treasures, which are necessary neither for comfort, health, or happiness, when, if they distributed their treasures in a wise way, they might make many comfortable who cry in want and suffering, who are dying for the want of proper food and shelter? The cry of the destitute enters into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. He will call for an account from everyone who has shut up the bowels of mercy and compassion.

The Lord has imparted his goods in abundance, and if men and women possessed the attributes of Christ’s character, they would not heap up for themselves treasures, and fail to provide homes for the orphans, schooling for the poor, and food and clothing for the needy. What will rich men do in the judgment when they have failed to be good stewards of the grace of God? «Then shall he also say unto them on his left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was ahungered, and ye gave me no meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me not in; naked, and ye clothed me not; sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee ahungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.»

«God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.» Life and immortality are brought to light through the gospel. He that is the way, the truth, and the life, has illuminated the track that leads heavenward. He came to our world to identify his interest with that of suffering humanity, to demonstrate before the world the goodness, mercy, and love of God to fallen man. In him dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. The requirement of God concerning those that shall enter the pearly gates, is that they be like Jesus, that they bear his image, and have his mind. They are to imitate his example, and live his life.

Being and doing good is essential to Christian character. No man liveth unto himself. All who win the precious boon of eternal life, will exemplify in life the life of Jesus Christ. They will follow in his steps who went about doing good, and healing all who were oppressed of the devil, who cheerfully gave his life a ransom for a lost world.

Conformity to the world and worldly attachments are forbidden by the word of God. Paul says: «I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world; but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.» The Holy Spirit with the cleaver of truth has separated men from the world, that they may go forth as missionaries for God into all the highways and byways of life. They are not only to seek and to save those that are lost, but they are also to minister to the wants of suffering humanity. Jesus says to them: «Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.» This is the reason that they that will be rich, lay up their treasures on earth. They love the world, and the love of the Father is not in them. They decide to risk the consequences of disobeying Christ’s words and fully resolve to lay up treasure upon earth. «They that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil; which while some have coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.» «The wicked boasteth of his heart’s desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the Lord abhorreth.»

To lay plans for the gaining of worldly treasure simply that you may be rich and heap up treasure upon earth, is not laying plans in harmony with God’s will. Selfishness and sin are at the bottom of all such gain. Such men do not love God with all the heart and their neighbors as themselves. Many of the human family are perishing about them, and, though it is in their power to confer blessing upon them, they withhold the good they could do to them, and fail to supply the necessities of those who want. But the cries of orphans and widows come up before God. Their tears are all registered in the books of heaven; and those who have had the opportunity to help, and yet refused the aid they might have given, are charged in the ledger of heaven with robbery toward God, and are sentenced as those who have oppressed and defrauded the poor.

How may have failed when they have been tested with wealth! Many have professed the name of Christ, and have apparently lived as Christians, until their circumstances have changed and they have come into the possession of property. Under the test and proving of God, they have failed to bear the additional responsibility as God would have them, and have not acted as wise stewards. Many who have previously been earnest Christians, have begun to backslide from the time they have received a legacy, or have been successful in some business enterprise that has brought them into possession of greater influence and wealth. Their selfishness has been exhibited in a failure to pay their tithes. When in poorer circumstances they have paid to God his own, but when the tithe amounted to a large sum, when they had a greater talent whereby they might trade for the Master, they began to rob God of his own, and place the tithes of the Lord to their own account. They have been foolish enough to think that by this manner of dealing with God they were enriching themselves. Some have felt greatly troubled over their sin, and have confessed their misdoing, and resolved to pay to the Lord his own. But when they have reckoned up the amount they owed him, Satan suggested that it was too large a sum to be put into the treasury of the Lord, and again they have yielded to his suggestions. They have deceived themselves with the thought that they would by investing it have a larger sum at last to place to the Lord’s account. The only safe way is to deal with the Lord as he has directed in his word. «Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.» —

«This Do, and Thou Shalt Live.»

«And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?»

With breathless attention the large congregation awaited Jesus’ answer. The priests and Pharisees hoped to find something against him, and listened, that they might take advantage of his words, and interpret them in such a way as to bring upon him condemnation. But Christ, the true searcher of hearts, understood the intents and purposes of his enemies. He turned the matter over to the lawyer who had asked the question, saying, «What is written in the law? how readest thou?» The Jews accused Jesus of making too little of the law, but he turned the question of salvation the lawyer had asked to the keeping of God’s commandments. And the lawyer said, «Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right; this do, and thou shalt live.»

The lawyer had asked a plain, decided question, and the answer is equally plain and decided. The scribes, priests, and Pharisees could find nothing by which to put him on trial for his life, except through the testimony of false witnesses, who accused him of violating the law. They had thought to entangle Jesus by having the lawyer ask this question, but the answering of it is required at the questioner’s hand. Christ knew that the lawyer was not satisfied with the position and works of the Pharisees, and, by the answer that he made to his own question, it is evident that he had been studying the Scriptures with a desire to obtain their real meaning. He had a vital interest in the matter, and asked in sincerity, «What shall I do?» The answer of the lawyer, commended by Jesus, and coming from one well instructed in the law, placed Jesus in such a position that the priests and Pharisees could not find occasion against him. In answering the question, «What is written in the law?» the lawyer passed over all the mass of ceremonial and ritualistic ordinances as of no value, and presented only the two great principles on which hang all the law and the prophets, and Jesus commended his wisdom, and said, «This do, and thou shalt live.» Jesus presented the law as a divine unity, and showed that it is not possible to keep one precept and break another, but that man’s position in the courts above will be according to his obedience to the whole law.

In his sermon on the mount Jesus had presented the truth concerning his estimation of the law. He had said: «Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven; but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For . . . except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.»

The views entertained by the scribes and Pharisees are still in vogue in the world, and men think that by a partial obedience to the law, they will be cleared from sin; but Jesus taught that if any man offended in one point, he was guilty of breaking the whole law. The commandments are connected one with another as links in a chain, and if one link is broken, the chain is worthless. It is impossible for a man to obtain eternal life and break the commandments of Jehovah. Men cannot obey one commandment without rendering obedience to all the commandments. We are to regard the whole law as holy, just, and good. The first four precepts reveal the duty of man to God, and the last six reveal the duty of man to his fellow-man. On these two great principles hang all the law and the prophets; and when they are carried out in the life, they constitute the righteousness of their keeper.

In all the instructions of Jesus, he presents before us the character of God. We are called upon to love God with undivided heart. We are not to render to him a formal service, a barren faith, to acknowledge his superior power in a casual way, but we are to render to him praise and thanksgiving, and make it manifest that we are under his rule and dominion. He will accept nothing but the whole heart, the supreme love. There must be nothing that will draw the mind away from him. Anything that interposes itself between God and the soul, assumes the form of an idol. Every other thing that can attract the heart is inferior to God, and no man can serve two masters whose interests are at variance. «Ye cannot serve God and mammon.»

Jesus found himself surrounded by scribes, Pharisees, and lawyers, and the lawyer asked him, «Who is my neighbor?» To this question Jesus presented a parable that laid bare the sanctimonious pretensions of priests and Levites. With fearlessness and fidelity he exposed the false doctrine of those who taught the traditions of man, and disregarded the commandments of God. He illustrated what it means to love our neighbor as ourselves. But he also showed that this love will never be exercised by those who do not keep the first four precepts of the law. Where love to God is practiced, natural self-idolatry will not exist. No man can love God supremely unless he loves his neighbor as himself. «If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar; for he that loveth not his brother, whom he hath seen, how can he love God, whom he hath not seen?» Love to God is the golden chain that binds the ten precepts of Jehovah together.

To answer the question, «Who is my neighbor?» Jesus presented the parable of the good Samaritan. He knew that the Jews included only those of their own nation under the title of neighbors, and looked upon the Gentiles with contempt, calling them dogs, uncircumcised, unclean, and polluted. But above all others they despised the Samaritans. They cursed them, and would have no dealings with them. Jesus himself had been taught, both by precept and example, thus to regard this hated people, and the lawyer had been educated by the same kind of teaching. Yet Jesus said: «A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.»

In journeying from Jerusalem to Jericho the traveler had to pass through a portion of the wilderness of Judea, and the road led through a wild, rocky ravine. It was here that robbers attacked the traveler, stripped him of all that was valuable, wounding and bruising him, and leaving him half dead by the wayside. As the sufferer lies thus, a priest passes by, but merely glances at the wounded man; and, as he does not wish to be put to the trouble and expense of helping him, he passes by on the other side. Then a Levite passes. Curious to know what has happened, he stops and looks at the sufferer; but he has no feeling of compassion to prompt him to help the dying man. He does not like the work, and, as he thinks it is no concern of his, he too passes by. Both these men were in sacred office, and claimed to know and to expound the Scriptures. They had been trained in the school of national bigotry, and had become selfish, narrow, and exclusive, and they felt no sympathy for anyone unless he was of the Jews. They look upon the wounded man, but cannot tell whether he is of their nation or not. He might be of the Samaritans—and they turn away. Had they not read of Job, who said, «The stranger did not lodge in the street; but I opened my doors to the traveler»? Had they not read of Lot, when the two angels came to Sodom, how he bowed himself to the ground, and said, «Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant’s house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways»?

Jesus, enshrouded in the pillar of cloud and fire, had taught them a very different lesson from the lesson they had received from bigoted and exclusive teachers. The merciful Saviour of the Gospels was the One who had instructed the Hebrews in the wilderness; and, had they read the Scriptures correctly, and practiced the teaching he had given, they would have pursued a very different course of action from the one they did pursue. The weightier matters of the law were judgment, mercy, and love. The stranger was to be treated with kindness, and it was to be understood that strangers were under God’s special protection. Directions had been given to Moses for the children of Israel to this effect: «If thou meet thine enemy’s ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again. If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, and wouldest forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help him.» And was not a man better than an ox? ( Concluded next week .) —

In the parable Jesus presented a stranger, a neighbor, a brother in suffering, wounded and dying. How much more should their hearts have been moved with pity for him than for a beast of burden! But, though priests and scribes had read the law, they had not brought it into their practical life. They had read: «For The Lord your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward; he doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment. Love ye therefore the stranger; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.» «And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him. But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt; I am the Lord your God.»

In speaking of the manner in which the priest and the Levite treated the wounded man, the lawyer had heard nothing out of harmony with his own ideas, nothing contrary to the forms and ceremonies that he had been taught were all the law required. But Jesus presented another scene: But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was; and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, and went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two-pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbor unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, He that showed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.»

After Christ had shown up the cruelty and selfishness manifested by the representatives of the nation, he brought forward the Samaritan, who was despised, hated, and cursed by the Jews, and set him before them as one who possessed attributes of character far superior to those possessed by those who claimed exalted righteousness. The Samaritan manifested the pity and love that the priest and Levite gave no evidence of possessing. He gave a demonstration that he had a heart that could feel for suffering humanity, that he had nobility of soul to show mercy to one whom he knew not, that his love was of the right quality, flowing out in disinterested benevolence, and making him treat the wounded stranger as he would desire to be treated were he placed in similar circumstances.

Everyone who claims to be a child of God should note every detail of this lesson. The wounded and bruised sufferer was a man, and the Samaritan showed himself to be a man. He did not stop to consider whether or not this man would be pleasant or disagreeable, whether he was a Jew or a Gentile. He knew that he was in need of help from humanity. «Thy neighbor» does not mean one of the church or faith to which you belong. If our names are upon the church book, we should represent the mercy, compassion, and tenderness of Jesus Christ, with no thought as to race, color, or class distinction. The Samaritan realized that there was before him a human being in need and suffering, and as soon as he sees him, he has compassion upon him.

He takes off his own garment with which to cover his nakedness, and uses the oil and wine he has provided for his own comfort to heal and refresh the wounded man. He forgets that he may be in danger of similar treatment from robbers by tarrying in the place, and places the man on his beast, and moves slowly along, with even pace, so that the stranger may not be jarred and made to suffer increased pain. He brings him to a comfortable inn, takes care of him through the night, watching his case carefully, and in the morning, as the suffering has improved, he ventures to leave him to the care of the inn keeper. He hands him a sum of money, bidding him care for the stranger, and saying that if he spends more than he has provided, he will repay him on his return.

The Samaritan followed the impulse of a kind and loving heart. Christ so presented the scene that the most severe rebuke was placed upon the unfeeling actions of priest and Levite. But this lesson is not only for them; but for Christians of this day, and is a solemn warning to us that for humanity’s sake we may not fail to show mercy and pity to those who suffer. Like Judaism, Christianity has become perverted, and selfishness and cold formality have quenched the fire of love, and dispelled the graces that would make fragrant the character. Holding up before the lawyer the course of the Samaritan, Jesus said to him (for he was no pretender), «Go, and do thou likewise.» There are many who are sentimental, and who are ready to weep over any tale of woe, but who do not manifest real love in doing for the needy those things that should be done. But those who have read this lesson, and have been benefited, will be able to distinguish real love from sentimentalism.

In the parable of the good Samaritan, Jesus presented his own love and character. The life of Christ was filled with works of love toward the lost and erring. In the man bruised and wounded and stripped of his possessions, the sinner is represented. The human family, the lost race, is pictured in the sufferer, left naked, bleeding, and destitute. Jesus takes his own robe of righteousness to cover the soul, and whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. The Lord Jesus gives no encouragement to the idea that one is superior to another, and justifies no one in cherishing feelings of contempt or even indifference toward his fellow-men. The law of God is the standard to which all must attain, and sinful man can obey that law only by the merit and grace of Jesus Christ, who has died for his salvation. —