Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1879-07-17
[Origlnal,
WORTHY OF NOTE.

In every Christian congregation the enter
prises of the church are mainly supported by a
few. Whoever will take the trouble to exam
inc the subject will find that this declaration
is strictly true All church contributions,
whether of time, labor or money, are purely
voluntary This is the case in the United
States, and it is as it should be. No man
should be forced, by law, to worship God. The
law should 60 no farther than to protect those
who choose to worship God. All men should
be left, untrammeled by law, to choose whom
they will serve. This being the case, no man
ought to be bound, ty law, to make contribu-
tions, either for the support of the gospel in his
own community, or for it's spread among the
nations of the earth. Every offering, that it
may be acceptable 30 God, must be brought
willingly. @Gs q - s...s. b. '-,..
Other things being equal, what men give for
the support of the gospel indicates, very accu-
rately, their spiritual condition. Any one can
see that for the vilest of mercenary purposes,
men may make large donations to the church.
This is one of the many ways which ambitious
men choose to gain notoriety; win applause and
secure for themselves positions Of honor and
power. Such contributions to the church may,
with great propriety, be characterized as fam
ing advertisements, and are good evidence that
the man who makes them is worldly wise.
When the widow cast into the treasury of the
Lord her two mites, she gave, by this act, very
conclusive evidence that she loved the Lord.
That our gifts and sacrifices mark our piety
is worthy of note, and that only a few furnish
the gifts and sacrifices of the Lord is also wor-
thy of note but this is not the thing which
we had in our mind when we commenced this
article. 1t was this Those who contribute
most literally to the work of the Lord never
grow poorer, whilst those who contribute stint
ingly rarely grow richer. One OF the charac-
teristics Of true Christian is that he keeps
the Sabbath day and pays his debts. You may
find some men who will scrupulously pay their
debts who are not Christians, but it will be
found that these men, however honest they
are in all their transactions with their fellow
men, are notoriously dishonest in their trans
actions with God. They filch from God that
portion of their existence which he demands
absolutely for his own service.
1t will be found, on examipation, that the
property which is beneficial to society is to-day
in the hands of humble Christians This prop
erty is not hampered with liens, numbered with
mortgages, or held by fraud and violence; but
is free and unencumbered, productive and ben-
eficial to the whole human family. In every
land where Christ has been embraced God is
fulfilling his promise to his people ''that they
shall dwell in the land and verify be fed"
The temporal possessions of Abraham were
preserved for his descendants for more than
two thousand years, and to-day the most yalu.
able property of the world is in the hands OF
the offspring of pious ancestors.
The history of the world proves that no man
was ever reduced to bankruptcy by sacrificing
to the Lord. When the widow cast into the
treasury of the Lord her two mites-all she
had-she attracted the attention OF Him who
commands the resources of the universe.
The thing most worthy of note is simply the
fact that those persons who are doing thri-
wing business are those who never attempt to
cheat the Lord out of his dues. God blesses
them in their basket and in their store. OF
the good things Of this life they have enough
and to spare. They may not be rich, but ne
who provides for the young eagles provides for
them. Their children grow up and inherit
their estates and enjoy the blessings of cove
nant-keeping God.