I was shown that love of the world has to a great extent shut Jesus from the church. God calls for a change, a surrender of all to Him. Unless the mind is educated to dwell upon religious themes, it will be weak and feeble in this direction. But while dwelling upon worldly enterprises, it will be strong; for in this direction it has been cultivated, and has strengthened with exercise. The reason it is so difficult for men and women to live religious lives is because they do not exercise the mind unto godliness. It is trained to run in an opposite direction. Unless the mind is constantly exercised in obtaining spiritual knowledge and in seeking to understand the mystery of godliness, it is incapable of appreciating eternal things because it has no experience in that direction. This is the reason why nearly all consider it uphill business to serve the Lord. {2T 189.1}

Jeg fik vist at verdenskærligheden i stort omfang har lukket Jesus ud af menigheden. Gud kræver en ændring, en overgivelse fra alle. Hvis sindet ikke oplæres til at dvæle ved religiøse emner, vil det, i den retning, være svagt og kraftesløs. Men når tankerne dvæler ved verdslige foretagender, vil sindet være stærkt; for sindet er udviklet i den retning og er styrket ved denne anvendelse. Grunden til at mænd og kvinder har så svært ved at leve et religiøst liv er at de ikke træner tankerne i gudsfrygt. De er oplært til at gå i den modsatte retning. Medmindre tankerne hele tiden trænes i at opnå åndelig kundskab og søge at forstå gudfrygtighedens mysterier, er de ude af stand til at fatte evige ting fordi de ingen erfaring har i den retning. Dette er grunden til at næsten alle anser det for en besværlig affære at tjene Herren.