p. 268 | He Left It All

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · May 6, 1886

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 12, No. 17.

He Left It All.

THE following incident occurred, a few years ago, in New York City at a meeting of gentlemen, who had under their management the most extensive system of railways on the continent. It is related by one who was present, and who vouches for the truth of the narrative. The directors were assembled from many parts of the country, and together represented millions upon millions of dollars. Perhaps any one glancing at the company, with a knowledge of their immense pecuniary power and resources, would have fancied that they were all happy, and that they occupied a most enviable position in the world.

Before proceeding to business, while awaiting the arrival of some director who was absent, one said to another in a loud tone that instantly commanded attention, "Have you heard that — is dead?" "Why, no; you surprise me. I saw him on the streets last week, apparently in the enjoyment of perfect health; when did he die?" "He died day before yesterday." A moment of silence ensued, and one of the gentlemen said to the first speaker, "He was very rich, was he not?" "Oh, yes, very." "How much did he leave?" "He left it all," was the answer, uttered with a deep, solemn voice, as if on purpose; and another not altogether agreeable silence fell upon the company of millionaires.

Yes, he left it all; and so must the richest man on the earth leave it all very soon; "for we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out." 1 Tim. 6: 7. Death is the great leveler in more respects than one. It not only brings the king and the hod-carrier to the same level of dependence upon others for burial, but in a little while it sweeps away all distinction between a Rothschild and a beggar. Neither of them owns a penny when he dies. True, the dead body of the one may be borne in royal pomp from the doors of a palace, and the dead body of the other may be trundled off in a cart from the poor-house; but of each it must be said, "He left it all."

It is amazing that men of sense who have money do not reflect upon this, and it is unaccountable that rich men, professing to be Christians, so often fail to see the purpose for which wealth has been put into their hands. They frequently cling to it with a grasp that grows tighter and tighter, and when they are at last compelled to leave it all, they have accomplished far less good in the world than if they had never possessed a farthing. Nay, money expended in selfish gratification, or hoarded for the sake of accumulating a larger sum, is a positive injury to the cause of Christ, and becomes a burning curse to the unfaithful steward.

What says the unerring word of God? "Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days." James 5: 1-3.

Hence while in one sense the rich man leaves it all at death, in another sense he does not leave it, or rather it does not leave him, but it is a witness for or against him at the bar of God. "Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; that they do good, that they may be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate, laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life." 1 Tim. 6: 17-19. It is needless to say that this is addressed to men already professing to be Christians, and hence it does not touch the ground of our salvation in the finished work of Christ. But faithfulness or unfaithfulness in the use of the means God has conferred will enter largely into the question of our approval or disapproval at the appearing of the Lord, and determine largely the measure of our enjoyment of what is truly life. In the context, Timothy is exhorted to "lay hold on eternal life," and yet we know he was already delivered from condemnation.

God often warns men about the proper use of riches: "For he seeth that wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others. . . . Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased; for when he dieth he shall carry nothing away; his glory shall not descend after him" (Ps. 49); "If riches increase, set not your heart upon them" (Ps. 62: 10); "Riches profit not in the day of wrath" (Prov. 11: 4); "There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing" (Prov. 13: 7); "There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt" (Eccl. 5: 13); "God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee; then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God" (Luke 12: 20, 21); "How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God?" (Luke 18: 24.)

Yet with such admonitions scattered all through the sacred Scriptures, money is still the god of this world; alas! it is the god of many who profess to have been crucified unto the world. It is worshiped; it is regarded as the chief good; it is sought for with an eagerness that overlooks all dishonor in the method of its attainment. Women are bought with it every day, and are led to be offered as sacrifices upon the altar of mammon, exulting in their degradation and slavery. Men barter for it nobility, conscience, the soul, Christ himself. Truly "the love of money is the root of all evil, which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." 1 Tim. 6: 10. Yet the sure and speedy outcome of this shameful idolatry and debasing vice is the inscription written on the tomb of the richest, "HE LEFT IT ALL."