Spiritual wealth

“ By doing good with his money, a man, as it were, stamps the image of God upon it, and makes it pass current for the merchandise of heaven.
—Rutledge. Wealth tends to materialize the soul. Every contribution to spiritual objects counteracts the tendency. It is another step up the ladder, whose foot is deep down in materialism, but whose top reaches to the holy heavens of spirit and love. ”

“ Excellence encourages one about life generally; it shows the spiritual wealth of the world." ”

“ He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much. He that serves God, and does good, with his money, will serve God, and do good, with the more noble and valuable talents of wisdom and grace, and spiritual gifts, and the earnests of heaven; but he that buries the one talent of this world's wealth will never improve the five talents of spiritual riches. God withholds his grace from covetous worldly people more than we are aware of. ”

“ Their wealth ought not to be a hindrance but a help to high spiritual attainments. When we use bread rightly we get strength out of it; when we use water rightly we get refreshment out of it; when we use light rightly we get guidance out of it; and when the gift of wealth is rightly used, men get wisdom out of it. ”

“ Used thus, with understanding of the relation which it bears to spiritual and intellectual wealth, material wealth becomes one with them, and is no more to be shunned and feared than it is to be sought for its own sake. ”

“ Mental wealth is eternal, material wealth belongs only to time. Gold had a beginning, because the earth had a birthday, but wisdom is as old as God.
III. Wisdom is to be preferred to wealth, because it is an absolute necessity to man’s well-being, which gold is not. The first man, in his state of sinlessness, had no need of what men now call wealth, but wisdom—spiritual wisdom—was absolutely necessary to his continuation in a state of blessedness. ”

“ He knows how to use his more limited opportunities and influence to the best advantage—how to put out his small capital so as to obtain the best interest upon it—how to trade with his five talents so as to make them other five, and so he is daily laying up a treasure which is better than all the fame and wealth that belongs to this world, for it is the riches of a righteous character by which he is raised himself to a higher spiritual level, and by which he is able to make the world better than he found it. ”

“ And shall we not put a like value upon the spiritual life, the life of the soul, reckoning that the gain of all the world cannot countervail the loss of the soul? See the vanity of worldly wealth, and the uncertainty of its continuance with us. Riches make themselves wings and fly away ”

“ and when one sees the way in which wealth-getting enters as an ideal into the very bone and marrow of our generation, one wonders whether a revival of the belief that poverty is a worthy religious vocation may not be 'the transformation of military courage,' and the spiritual reform which our time stands most in need of. ”

“ This holds true with blessings of every kind: with station and wealth, with bodily health and vigour, with, great powers of mind, with large means of spiritual improvement. To whom much is given, of him shall be much, required. It is required of us to enjoy our blessings by using them: so will they be blessings indeed. So it is with money and influence, with health, with talents, with spiritual knowledge, and good friends and parents. There are first who shall be last ”

“ Let us suppose that a rich man was to put up such a prayer as this to God:
“O Lord, I thy sinful creature, whom thou hast called to a lively hope of glory in Christ Jesus, beg of thee to grant me a thousand times more riches than I need, that I may be able to gratify myself and family in the delights of eating and drinking, state and grandeur. Grant that as the little span of life wears out, I may abound more and more in wealth; and that I may see and perceive all the best and surest ways of growing richer than any of my neighbours. ”

“ Noble aims, high aspirations, pure thoughts, treasures of wisdom, treasures of goodness—these are the real wealth corresponding to man's nature, destined for his enrichment, and to last with him for ever. But we may gather the whole contrast into two words: the small, the 'unrighteous,' the wealth which being mine is not mine but remains another's, and foreign to me, is the world. The great riches, the 'true riches,' the good destined for me, and for which I am destined, is God. In these two words you have the antithesis, the real antithesis, God versus the world. ”

“ The gifts of money, or of direction, or of pity, are one in kind. The right use of wealth comes from the gift of God's grace; so does the right use of any sway which any of us have over any of our brethren; and so does the glow of compassion, the exercise of the natural human sympathy which belongs to all, and is deepened and made tenderer and intenser by the gift of the Spirit. ”

“ Those are the rich, who with pride love earthly riches more than heavenly. Many rich men thrive to God, those who do as it is written, "The rich man's wealth is his soul's redemption." His wealth is his soul's redemption, if he with those transitory treasures buy for himself eternal life, and heavenly wealth with God. ”

“ Grace is the gift of God's peculiar favour; gold only of common providence. Grace is for ourselves; gold for others. Grace is for the soul and eternity; gold only for the body and time. Grace will stand us in stead in a dying hour, when gold will do us no good. 2. The getting of this heavenly wisdom is better than the getting of worldly wealth. Many take care and pains to get wealth, and yet come short of it; but grace was never denied to any that sincerely sought it. There is vanity and vexation of spirit in getting wealth, but joy and satisfaction of spirit in getting wisdom. ”

“ Earthly riches are concealed in the elements God has given to man, and the essence of wealth is power to organize from these elements every comfort and convenience of life for our sustenance here, and for eternal existence hereafter. The possession of all the gold and silver in the world would not satisfy the cravings of the immortal soul of man. The gift of the Holy Spirit of the Lord alone can produce a good, wholesome, contented mind. Instead of looking for gold and silver, look to the heavens and try to learn wisdom until you can organize the native elements for your benefit ”

“ If we wish to be rich the Lord has wealth in store for us, but let us take a course to gather it together, and then to prepare it for usefulness when it is gathered. I am not for hoarding up gold and other property to lie useless, I wish to put everything to a good use. ”

“ But wealth in itself is no more a bar to heaven than [285] intellect, health, strength, or any other gift, and, if it be rightly used, is one of the most powerful tools that can be used in the service of God. ”

“ By thy great wisdom and by thy traffick has thou increased thy riches, and thine heart is lifted up because of thy riches.—By scientific suppositions of infidel Evolution and Higher Criticism, and by good salesmanship of these worthless goods, thou hast heaped up wealth; and thou hast become proud, because of thy riches of materials, doctrines and membership. ”

“ But when your treasure is in the spirit, and you love the riches of the soul better than anything else, you will live on the mountain top. You will dwell in realms sublime, in the very light of His infinite wisdom; all your thinking will be illumined with that light; you will thus think only the truth, and he produces no evil who always thinks the truth.
To lay up treasures in heaven is not to prepare for a heaven in the future, but to accumulate greater and greater spiritual riches now. ”

“ Can we compare houses and lands, gold or silver, or the wealth of the earth, to the salvation of the souls of men? What will a man not give for his own life? And what will it profit a man though he gain the whole world, if he at last lose his own soul? ”

“ As far as I am concerned I would like to see the people possess great wealth in this present state—what is now called riches—gold and silver, houses and lands, etc. I would like to see men, women and children live only to do good. Shall we now seek to make ourselves wealthy in gold and silver and the possessions which the wicked love and worship, or shall we, with all of our might, mind and strength, seek diligently first to build up the Kingdom of God? ”

“ And I, unworthy as I am, come to you, dear friends, now, with this proffer of the great gift of wealth from which 'neither life, nor death, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us.' And I beseech you to ask yourselves, Is there anything worth calling wealth, except that wealth which meets my deepest need, which satisfies my whole nature, which I may have all in one, and which, if I have, I may have for ever? ”

“ In the struggle for natural riches—the wealth that meets the eye and charms the imagination—how many forget that true riches can only be laid up in the heart; and that, without these true riches, which have no wings, gold, the god of this world, cannot bestow a single blessing! ”

“ What that wealth is which is indeed desirable, not having abundance only, but having it and no sorrow with it, no disquieting care to get and keep it, no vexation of spirit in the enjoyment of it, no tormenting grief for the loss of it, no guilt contracted by the abuse of it—to have it and to have a heart to take the comfort of it, to do good with it and to serve God with joyfulness and gladness of heart in the use of it. ”

“ This is the autobiography of a Soul glad of life—one who finds riches in the possessions of others and, above all, a golden wealth in man’s Impersonal Estate—in SKY and STAR, SUN and CITY, the SEA and the OPEN WORLD—one who finds the Religion of Beauty in all things, and reveals the secret whereby all who will may dig up “real wealth” while having a good time. ”

“ Golden between the heaven and earth he shineth. The Gods possessed the wealth bestowing Agni. 6. Root of wealth, gathering-place of treasures, banner of sacrifice, who grants the suppliant's wishes: Preserving him as their own life immortal, the Gods possessed the wealth-bestowing Agni. 7. Now and of old the home of wealth, the mansion of what is born and what was born aforetime, Guard of what is and what will be hereafter,--the Gods possessed the wealth bestowing Agni. 8. May the Wealth-Giver grant us conquering riches; may the Wealth-Giver grant us wealth with heroes. ”

“ When we possess this power by the irrevocable decree of heaven, we possess wealth that cannot take the wings of the morning and leave us poor indeed. Can we live to learn some of these things?
We have in our mortal state the trial of our faith, and we are gathered together from the nations expressly to learn the character of our religion and its worth. We have come here to learn God and ourselves. Man is made in the image of God, but what do we know of him or of ourselves, when we suffer ourselves to love and worship the god of this world—riches? ”

“ We well know that, of late, there has been an increase of wealth, and of the means of acquiring luxuries and comforts. God has bestowed these upon us, and the question now is with us, Will we use these, means aright, with an eye single to his glory? Will we, with our increased prosperity, devote ourselves in the future, as we have in the past, to the building up of the kingdom of God, as our paramount duty? Not for our own aggrandizement, but for the benefit of our fellow-men in every land, as well as for the benefit of those who reside in this Territory. ”

“ "It is not the spirit of wealth, of learning, or of culture that can make the church of value, or a power for good in the world, but the spirit of Christ only. ”

“ Oh, the tauntings, and the high looks, the stiff neck, and the contemptuous sneer, with which wealth and station conduct themselves towards the lowliness of Christian meekness! Oh, the power that nerves itself against holiness! Wealth and imposing splendour, eloquence and numbers, are in its ranks. ”

“ The worth of money hoarded or spent unnecessarily, contrasted with the worth of souls as gems in the Saviour's crown. The true value of wealth as a worldly good we fully appreciate. It contains no hidden excellence which the circumstances of life conceal. ”

“ We have already partaken to some extent of this wealth; we already have realized to some extent its richness, its abundance; and what we have already obtained of it should be an incentive to us to be still more diligent and persevering in seeking with earnestness and faith unto God to give unto us of his power, and more and more of his Spirit, and of that wealth which He alone possesses, that we may go on increasing in eternal riches on earth to be prepared to enjoy them throughout eternity. ”

“ The richest in such seasons are those who give most, not those who have most. A wonderful sense of the glorious wealth of a heart which has a guest-chamber for Christ, and whose pulses beat joyously as the free tide of the Divine love flows through and over it on all around, kindles men's souls to a new conception of riches. It fills the beatitudes with a wonderful meaning, and shows the sorrows and straits of poverty overflowed by the riches and joys of God. ”

“ He required us to devote these godlike powers to our own advantage, life, wealth, beauty, comfort, and exaltation by giving to His cause—the cause of righteousness—universal triumph over sin. Then do not hoard up your gold; if you do, it will canker, but put out every dollar to usury. Instead of your souls being bound up in your cattle and other property, put it all where it should be placed for the benefit of the kingdom of God on earth and for his glory. ”