CHEAP SACRIFICES by A.

Publishing Committee · Battle Creek, Mich. · Sep 25, 1860

CHEAP SACRIFICES.

By A.

"And the king [David] said unto Araunah, Nay, but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt-offerings unto the Lord my God of that which doth cost me nothing" 2 Sam. xxiv, 24.

Dear brethren and sisters, is not here something for our instruction? How is it with us? Are we anxious to have what we offer to the Lord cost us something? or do we find we have a disposition to give that to God's cause, or his poor, that we do not feel? Let us examine our hearts, and look well to our motives, realizing God's eye is upon us; and let us be careful and not feel that the blessing pronounced upon the liberal soul is ours, if only the inferior wheat, wood, &c., finds its way from our granary and forest to the abode of the needy saint, while the grain of a superior quality is held for a higher market price, and an abundance of timber stands to testify to those ungodly neighbors that we do not believe the Lord is soon coming.

Perhaps these may be thought small things; but is it not the little foxes that spoil the vines? and is not God as often dishonored by the selling of a pint of milk or a pound of butter as in disposing of crops of grain or a farm? We cannot be too cautious, especially in our dealings with the world. They are watching us to see if another than the Master we profess to follow rules our hearts. Let us be careful and give full weight and measure, and in transactions of greater importance, let not our names be found where they will have even the appearance of evil. A.

Parma, Mich.