Some flatter themselves that they are liberal because they at times donate freely to ministers and for the advancement of the truth. Yet these so-called liberal men are close in their deal and ready to overreach. They have abundance of this world, and this binds upon them great responsibilities as God’s stewards. Yet, when dealing with a poor, hard-laboring brother, they are exacting to the last farthing. The poor side to a bargain is the poor man’s legacy. Instead of favoring his poor brother, the sharp, exacting rich man takes all the advantage and adds to his already accumulated wealth by the misfortune of the other. He prides himself because of his shrewdness, but with his wealth he is heaping up to himself a heavy curse and laying a stumbling block in the way of his brother. By his meanness and close calculation he is cutting off his ability to benefit him with his religious influence. All this lives in the memory of that poor brother, and the most earnest prayers and apparently zealous testimonies from his rich brother’s lips will only have an influence to grieve and disgust. He looks upon him as a hypocrite; a root of bitterness springs up whereby many are defiled. The poor man cannot forget the advantages taken of him; neither can he forget how he has been crowded into difficult places because he was willing to bear burdens, while the wealthy brother ever had some excuse ready for not putting his shoulder under the load. Yet the poor man may be so imbued with the spirit of Christ as to forgive the abuses of his rich brother. {1T 479.1}

Nogle bilder sig selv ind at de er gavmilde, fordi de ind imellem giver frivilligt til prædikanterne og til fremskyndelsen af sandheden. Alligevel er disse såkaldte gavmilde folk tilbageholdende med deres midler og er på spring til at bedrage. De har denne verdens overflod og det giver dem et stort ansvar som Guds tjenere. Når de hjælper en fattig og hårdt-arbejdende bror, stiller de alligevel krav til den mindste øre. Den negative side af forretning er den fattiges lod. I stedet for at begunstige sin fattige bror, udnytter den skarpskårne og strenge rige mand det hele og lægger til hans ophobede rigdomme på grund af andres ulykke. Han roser sig over sin egen skarpsindighed, men ved sine rigdomme ophober han en stor forbandelse for sig selv og sætter anstødsstene i vejen for sin bror. Ved sin gerrighed og nøjeregnethed afskærer sin mulighed for at gavne ham med sin religiøse indflydelse. Alt dette huskes af denne fattige bror og de alvorligste bønner og tilsyneladende nidkære vidnesbyrd fra hans (480) rige brors læber vil virke til bedrøvelse og afsky. Han ser på ham som en hykler; en bitterhed spirer frem, her er mange blevet smittet. Den fattige kan ikke glemme at han er blevet udnyttet, han kan heller ikke glemme hvordan han er blevet ført ud i vanskeligheder fordi han var villig til at bære byrder, medens den velhavende bror altid havde en undskyldning for at ikke at lægge sin skuldre under byrden. Alligevel kan den fattige være så gennemsyret af Kristi Ånd så han kan tilgive sin rige brors misbrug.