The Truth to Eclipse Every Earthly Interest

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Tacoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Jul 30, 1914

The Truth to Eclipse Every Earthly Interest

In a personal letter received from a brother laboring in the South, some principles were touched upon which are worthy of being passed on for the consideration and help of others:—

“Each race, each nation, has its own peculiar conditions and prejudices. God has never given to this denomination the task of breaking them down or erasing them. There is convincing evidence before us that these will last to the end, and be aggravated more and more as the days go on. England has its ‘home rule.’ China has its ‘north and south.’ Mexico has its ‘Huerta and Villa.’ Principles of right and wrong are involved in these national controversies the world over. Should one line up decisively on either side of the controversy, his opportunity to reach men on the other side would be gone, perhaps never to return. This is the paramount question: Can we afford to dig an impassable gulf between us and any living soul?—Never!

“This question should be more important to us than the guaranty of our individual rights, liberties, privileges, and pursuits of happiness. Every Seventh-day Adventist must understand this. When we go to the world with this great advent message, we cannot label ourselves politically on one side or the other. We may have our conscientious convictions as to who is right; but where there is a possibility of our being shut off from reaching the man on the other side with the truth, we must hide everything that would arouse his prejudice as we step up to him to arrest him with the message of present truth. When he gets that into his heart, we need have no fears nor anxiety as to what will be his relation to his political antagonist. It is so with every national problem. It is the aim of Satan, it is his studied purpose, to blind the eyes of the people of this world with some great national problem or racial prejudice. He seeks to bring on an eclipse of the everlasting gospel message, and I am doing what I can to help people discover his designs and escape them.”