River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1910-02-24
Is Church of God
a Beggar?
By REV. ALEX. w. BEALER, d. D.
Atlanta, Ga.

On account OIL Lu0 luhSWdTuuSSS Vi
those who profess to love God, his
church on earth is made to stand be-
fore the world in the attitude of q
beggar.
If some disinterested spectator from
the planet of Mars could drop down to
visit us and could mingle freely among
our people it would not be more than
a month before he would come to the
conclusion that the institution which
is called the church of God was the
great beggar of the globe. He could
not reach any other conclusion if he
was a man with a reasoning mind.
On the Sabbath day he would see
preachers standing in their pulpits
begging for money to keep the church
from getting so deep in debt that it
could never more be extricated. And
this plea would be made to men and
women who profess to love the church
and who were willing to do anything
in the world for it if it did not cost
them too much money, too much time,
or too much pleasure.
He would see men who belong to
the different churches going out beg
ging money from the other members
to be used in paying the preachers so
that they could manage to live. And
these men and women who had to be
begged for money for this purpose pro-
TESS to love the preachers and to be
vitality interested n their welfare.
And this visitor would see other
men and women going out to beg mon
ey to be used in carrying on the work
of the church, money designated as
mission money. The people who be-
long to the churches would profess
to believe that God wanted them to
carry on this work and yet they would
have to be begged for the money
needed for this purpose.
And when the summer time was ap-
preaching the visitor from the other
planet would see the poorer classes
starting up little places in which Ice
cream was dispensed at five cents a
plate, and scanty plate at that. And
he would be told that this was char
acteristic of those who had very
money without too much work. And
his surprise would grow when he
would see great companies of women,
when the building of the church they
loved needed repairing, opening up
these ice cream resorts on some pr1-
vate lawn to dispense the cooling stuff
for money to be used in the work they
had in view
The members of these churches for
get that they ought to give cheerfully
to the support of the church which
stands in the place of God, and when
they robe the church they are rob-
bling God. Every member of the
church should give to it's support, both
the rich and the poor. Poverty is no
more of an excuse for not giving than
it is an excuse for not reading the
Bible, not attending church services,
and not praying. 1t is part Of mans
worship and it should be done, for he
commands it, and since money is
needed to carry on the business of the
world it is needed in carrying on Gods
business in the world. When a man
blood of Jesus Christ fails to give
something he is robbing God and
cheating himself out of blessing.
Suppose some foreigner should
come to any of our communities and
should desire to invest a large sum
of money in real estate and the real
estate dealer who was negotiating
with him should desire to prove to
him that the people were in a pros
porous condition? Do you suppose he
would carry him to the treasurer of
any of the churches and say to him:
Look at these books, our people give
as the Lord has prospered them?" The
stranger would reach the conclusion
that the country was in a poverty
stricken condition and that the peo-
pie were on the verge of starvation.
The Christian steward who lives I'M
der this dispensation Of the grace Of
God may know that the scale of lib
crafty in this enlightened and cleo
trio age is not less than it was under
the old Mosaic dispensation when the
people were enjoying but a shadow Of
| Inc D1SSS1uSS VIC dIO 1OCSAtAA5 IO-Ody
The man who gives to the support of
the church to which he belongs in 4
scanty manner is robbing not only the
church, and making it appear as beg
gar, he is also robbing the God he pro-
| fesses to love.
If the people who belong to the
churches would only wake up to their
privileges they would give literally,
and thus prove God who has promised
to bless those who are liberal givers
to the support of his cause. prove
me now," he says. Give me tenth,
and see if 1 will not open the windows
of heaven and pour you out such a
blessing that there shall not be room
enough to receive it." He has always
blessed the man who gives literally.
Few of us dare to prove God.
preached along this line the other day
and at the conclusion of the sermon
a brother, with tears in his eyes, came
to me and said: Il have just found out
why 1 have been poor all my life.
have been stealing from God and am
ro;,o m omit ff "