Christians forget that they are servants of the Master; that they themselves, their time, and all that they have belong to Him. Many are tempted, and the majority are overcome, by the delusive inducements which Satan presents to invest their money where it will yield them the greatest profit in dollars and cents. There are but few who consider the binding claims that God has upon them to make it their first business to meet the necessities of His cause and let their own desires be served last. There are but few who invest in God’s cause in proportion to their means. Many have fastened their money in property which they must sell before they can invest it in the cause of God and thus put it to a practical use. They make this an excuse for doing but little in their Redeemer’s cause. They have as effectually buried their money in the earth as had the man in the parable. They rob God of the tenth, which He claims as His own, and in robbing Him they rob themselves of the heavenly treasure. {3T 398.1}

Kristne glemmer, at de er mesterens tjenere, at de selv, deres tid og alt, hvad de har, tilhører ham. Mange fristes og de fleste bliver overvundet af Satans forføreriske tillokkelser til at anbringe deres penge, hvor de vil give det største udbytte i kroner og ører. Der er kun få, som betænker de bindende krav, Gud har på dem om at gøre det til deres første opgave at afhjælpe sagens trang og lade deres egne ønsker komme i anden række. Der er kun få, som yder til Guds sag i forhold til deres midler. Mange har sat deres penge i fast ejendom, som de må sælge, inden de kan sætte dem i Guds sag og således gøre en praktisk anvendelse af dem, Dette bruger de som undskyldning for kun at gøre lidt for deres Genløsers sag. De har begravet deres penge i jorden lige så grundigt, som manden i lignelsen gjorde. De berøver Gud den tiendedel, han Kræver som sin egen og ved at bedrage ham berøver de sig selv den himmelske skat.