THE MINISTER AND THE MERCHANT.
A MERCHANT in one of the towns of the State of New York, says Mr. Finney, was paying a large part of his minister's salary. One of the members of the church was relating the fact to a minister from abroad, and speaking of the sacrifice which this merchant was making. At this moment the merchant came in. “Brother,” said the minister, “you are a merchant. I suppose you employ a clerk to sell your goods, and schoolmasters to teach your children. You order your clerk to pay your schoolmaster out of the store such an amount for his services in teaching. Now suppose your clerk should give out that he had to pay this teacher his salary, and should speak of the sacrifices that he was making to do it, what would you say to this?” “Why,” said the merchant, “I should say it was ridiculous.” “Well,” said the minister, “God employs you to sell goods as his clerk, and your minister he employs to teach his children, and he requires you to pay his salary out of the income of the store. Now do you call this your sacrifice, and say that you are making a great sacrifice, to pay this minister’s salary? No; you are just as much bound to sell for God as he is to preach for God. You have no more right to sell goods for the purpose of laying up money, than he has to preach the gospel for the same purpose. You are bound to be just as pious, and to aim as singly at the glory of God, in selling goods, as he is in preaching the gospel. And thus you are as absolutely to give up your whole time for the service of God, as he is. You and your family may live fully out of the avails of this store; and so may the minister and his family, just as lawfully. If you sell goods from these motives, selling goods is just as much serving God, as preaching is. And a man who sells goods upon these principles, and acts in conformity to them, is just as pious, just as much in the service of God, as he is who preaches the gospel. Every man is bound to serve God in his calling,—the minister by teaching, the merchant by selling goods, the farmer by tilling his field, and the lawyer and physician by discharging the duties of their profession.”—Selected.