4. Little Things that Make for WEALTH.

4. Little Things that Make for WEALTH.

"But you shall remember the Lord your God; for it is He who gives you power to get wealth!"Deuteronomy 8:18 A false impression prevails as to the possession of wealth, and its consistency with a righteous character. The common idea is, that goodness and poverty go hand in hand; that to possess wealth, is to be possessed by the wicked one.

Money is not the root of all evil. It is the love of money that excludes a higher and nobler affection, and is the beginning, the source, the root of all evil.

Abraham was the friend of God, yet he was rich, had been, and was, abundantly blessed in that friendship. Job was rich, and his integrity was not impaired by his prosperity. Even in his distress and affliction, he maintained his righteousness, and in the end was blessed even more abundantly in flocks and herds, lands and money. Joseph of Arimathea, who, with Nicodemus, was a friend of Jesus, was rich in worldly goods, as also in spiritual experiences.

God’s plan in conferring upon us the dignity and self-respect of ownership--as a steward of His--is often thwarted by the abuse of that stewardship and the criminal disregard of the trust committed to us. The undue haste to get rich, occurs only when the relationship between God the Giver and man the steward, is forgotten or ignored. Such forgetfulness or rebellion results in degradation of soul to the sordidness of things of time and sense and the material world.

God plans and places everything at the disposal of His children. He lays His kingdom at their feet, and bids them become His stewards. "For all things are yours . . . whether the world, or life, or things present, or things to come--all are yours." He made all things for the good of His creatures and for His glory. He said: "Truly, there is no man that has left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands for My sake, and the gospel’s--but he shall receive a hundred-fold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life."

God’s creation and preservation of all material things are for the use, the comfort, the necessity of His children, who are here in material form, with very material wants that must be supplied; hence He bids us possess, own, become masters of all things. When we cease to exist in bodily form, when we pass into eternal existence, with a spiritual body--no longer will we need these houses, and lands, and institutions, and implements of material conquest--agencies of communication and transportation; for we shall have passed the limitations of our lowly sphere and hampered condition, and become possessors of greater wealth, in a realm where we may in perfection hold all things in common.

Rev. Joyce said to a body of laymen: "Make money; make all you can; make it honestly; use it wisely for God’s glory and the good of men." It was a wise exhortation, and harmonizes with God’s Word and the truth of the Gospel.

Why did He give us power to get wealth, if the getting is wrong? Would He mock us with strength that was not to be used in material conquest? Would He give us skill and genius to discover and invent and become the masters of material forces, if such mastery is inconsistent with highest manhood and deepest reverence? Would opportunities of making the wilderness bloom and blossom as the rose, the desert to become a garden, the mines of the mountains to pour their untold wealth at the feet of His children--if He did not design all these to be items of wealth for them, tokens of His love and helpfulness?

"For it is He who gives you power to get wealth." But having gotten it, having taken advantage of God-given opportunities, exercised God-given strength, God-allotted time, and God-endowed skill and discernment--woe to that soul that says: "I have much goods laid up for many years; behold, all the good things I have made, I have produced, I have worked for, and I have earned. Soul, take your ease--eat, drink and be merry!" Hear God’s comment on such Self-Conceit, such folly: "You fool! this night your soul shall be required of you! Then whose shall those things be which you have provided?" Was he the same man--or only a brother--who fared sumptuously every day, clothed in purple and fine linen, who permitted a beggar to be left at his gate day after day, and still be a beggar? "And in Hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torment!" and heard that most tantalizing reminder of misused wealth: "Son, remember that you, in your lifetime, received your good things," sufficient, but still such limited satisfaction, in exchange for infinite wealth in the bosom, in the home and heart of father Abraham--"the figure of the Father Almighty."

God gives you power to get wealth, not alone for self, or for the sake of getting--but for His glory, for your comfort, and the comfort of your fellow-man. In the getting, remember your relationship to your Heavenly Father and to your Heavenly Father’s other children around you. But is it possible for us all to get wealth, become possessors of sufficient of material resources as to be independent? Yes, and No.

If we were now, and had been from the beginning, and were to continue to be, faithful to God--the diligence of each family would accumulate sufficient for daily, yearly wants and to spare. But sin came, and at its coming came . . .
weakness, physical, mental, moral;
selfishness, ambition, oppression of the weak by the strong; 
all humanity became out of harmony with righteousness; 
robbery, conquest, war, vices that waste and eat up in a year the earnings of a lifetime.

If, then, that desirable state ever again is reached, even in a measure, in a measure will it be possible to see every family in possession of reasonable comfort secured by the accumulation of wealth. But we shall always be dependent upon each other. It is not possible, even with fabulous wealth and vast resources, to be even comfortably independent of our fellows. Drive out quickly every living thing, man, woman, and child, from some great city; let it become the home and habitation of the strongest, wisest man on earth--how helpless and hopeless and unhappy such a soul would be, alone and unattended amid the wealth and splendor of an abandoned city! Warehouses filled with the products of field and forest and factory; banks with the money of all nations; machinery, motionless, in all the mammoth buildings waiting his touch to produce the cunning products of skill and usefulness; libraries, music halls, echoing gloomily the tread of this one lonely owner! Plenty to eat, plenty to wear throughout a lifetime of ten thousand such as he; fuel, food, furniture; all the comforts, nay, luxuries abundant--but abandoned.

Plenty, yet poverty in the midst of a wilderness of wealth. Though the monarch and master of it all should live to enjoy it all a thousand years, not one of those long years would pass without a longing for companionship--for the very things men seek to avoid--dependence, and service for others. For with this interlocking of interest comes social life and its blessed, reciprocal relations.

Cooperation is the law of the largest liberty in human life. The law of the Lord is, "Subdue and have dominion." This wide world must be made habitable. Its wildness must be conquered, or else man himself will be overcome by the encroachment of nature, animal and vegetable, around him. He, then, is a benefactor of the race who, by skill and diligence, makes two blades of grass or grain grow where one grew before; who brings one more square foot or one acre more of wildness into a state of culture; who digs a well, builds a fence, a machine, a city, a nation, though he may not live forever to enjoy all the fruits of his labor. Each individual effort at wealth accumulation, is a contribution to the sum-total of the world’s wealth. Each wasteful life, each day lost, is so much of a burden on the energies of others.

"You have lost an hour!" said the manager to a tardy engineer for whom he was waiting.

"O no, sir. I’m only five minutes late."

"Yes, but there are twelve of us. By your delay, each of us had to wait five minutes. That loss is all because of you."

If the present civilization, the present wealth of the world, could be summed up, and over against it could be placed the hours of idleness, destructive wickedness, the avoidable losses, the unnecessary wars, the willful obstructions--it might easily be seen that twice as much has been earned as has been saved. If added to this, we place floods, fires, storms, decay, delays by death, misdirected energies--then we shall have a view of the struggle for existence that puts the price of present civilization at an enormous figure.

Indeed, social civilization has had a heavy burden to bear. Some men never cost the State a cent to govern. They have learned and practice self-government. But how expensive to the State are a few men among every thousand law-abiding citizens! A bad boy in a school may retard the work of a score of diligent students, and cause more anxiety, take more of the teacher’s time, than is exercised for the good of a number of his fellows! Police force, jails, court officials, militia, penitentiaries, are expensive necessities--and most of the cost must be borne by the inoffensive and innocent.

Add to all this the wastes and burdens of the liquor and opium habit, protected because permitted by law--and we are not surprised at the staggering steps of sober citizenship in the efforts toward progress, because of the heavy load carried. Parasites are in every community, able-bodied men and women, who live off of other people.

Therefore he is doing a valuable service who instructs youth, trains the rising generation to usefulness. The "trust in God" that is the exhortation and entreaty of His Book, and of the Church and good men in all ages of the world, is not inconsistent with the most diligent and painstaking effort at the increase of material wealth for human comfort.

Consider, then, some of the little things that make for wealth. 

1. Industry.

Lord Clarendon said: "There is no art or science that is too difficult for industry to attain to. It is as the gift of tongues, and makes a man understood and valued in all countries and by all nations. It is the Philosopher’s Stone that turns all metal and even stones into gold, and allows no poverty to break into its dwellings. It is the Northwest Passage that brings the merchant’s ships as soon to him as he can desire. In a word, industry conquers all enemies and makes fortune itself pay contribution." The world owes no mana living. The Creator has made it possible for every man, not only to earn a living, but make a contribution to the vast store of wealth needed by an expanding and oncoming civilization.

Dr. Ray has said: "I persuade myself that the Author of man’s being is well pleased with the industry of man in adorning the earth with beautiful cities, with pleasant villages and country houses, with gardens and orchards and plantations, with pastures clothed with flocks and meadows richly carpeted, and whatever else that makes a difference between a civilized and well-cultivated region--and a barren and desolate wilderness."

What but labor, hard, persistent application to the task, could bring about a change so well described? Every stroke of the ax, every spade diligently used, all efforts vigorously prosecuted, have their reward. Not by ascheme,
not by the visionary coming ofDame Fortuneto your door,
not by the death of some wealthy relative,
nor the lucky discovery of some gold-field,
nor the successful patenting and sale of some invention
--does wealth bring its sweetest or largest gifts; but by the hand of the diligent, the well-directed, unremitting toil of the individual workman, "whose setting sun sees some task completed, whose early rising saw it first begun."

Preparation for service is the first advice needed by all who would serve well. The tool should have a keen edge, or else much of the strength is wasted in wielding a dull instrument. Discipline the hand, by the most careful culture of the mind. Be not in haste to sell your time and strength and skill at a meager price, when a keener edge may command a higher premium by preparation.

Make yourself indispensable to him who gives employment. Please him, and you will be best pleased in turn. Always be employed, if for no other reason than the cultivation of an industrious habit. Be your own employer as soon as possible. There will always be competition in all lines of unskilled labor. Begin to give employment to others, and the industrious habit and the experience as a wage-earner will serve you well.

If no work is at hand,study. Seek instruction. Read books, papers, magazine articles, especially those that concern your calling. The example of very many around you may be of the indifferent sort. Its effect might be enervating, misleading, destructive. Do nottrifle. When at play, play. In hours of relaxation give yourself over to sports and pastimes for a purpose. When study or work is resumed, make the most of it. By a resolution of the will, seek for excellence along all lines of honest toil.

Money makes money. The first one hundred dollars earned and saved, and rightly invested, may tell of hardships, sacrifices, and anxiety, beyond that experienced in the accumulation of the next nine hundred. But still the story of the conquest of the first thousand dollars will read like a romance, compared with the dull prose that describes the coming of nine companions of like number. All this has . . .
itsbeginningin determination,
itsprogressin self-denial,
itssuccessin studious habits,
itsendin victory and satisfaction. But what does industry avail, if its fruits are all wasted? The next little-great thing that makes for wealth is:

2. Economy.

If, at the end of the year, there has been no saving, there has been an absolute loss; for time has gone, and strength is going, and something must be saved to show for the year besides a mere living.

Dr. Johnson has said: "Without economy, none can be rich; and with it, few can be poor."

Haliburton said: "No man is rich whose expenditure exceeds his means; and no one is poor whose income exceeds his outgoings."

"Frugality," said another, "may be termed the daughter of Prudence, the sister of Temperance, and the parent of Liberty. He who is extravagant will quickly become poor, and poverty will enforce dependence and invite corruption."

What is happiness? Living within one’s income.

What is misery? Spending more than is earned.

See what splendid results flow from annual savings with interest: Suppose $50 per year is saved, and put out at 6 percent interest, and compounded. In ten years it has amounted to $650. In twenty years, $1,860; in thirty years, $3,950; in forty years, $7,700, and in fifty years it has grown to $14,500. Think of it! A snug sum for an old man to retire on at the age of seventy! The wastefulness of the average man or woman would, if corrected, put him or her in a fair way of practical financial independence.

3. Investment.

Money earned and judiciously invested, becomes a helper at further earnings. As to the manner and place of such investment, only general suggestions can be made. Let safety be the first consideration. The promise of quick returns and unusually large profits, is always accompanied with an element of risk that is not wise to take.

Consider your earnings well invested, when spent for mental and manual instruction. What you store up of knowledge will be your permanent possession. The best capital any man or woman can have, is a well-trained mind. The best education, one can possibly secure with the time and means and opportunity at hand, is great wealth. This truth will be felt more keenly in the coming years than ever before in all the past. Competition will make it an absolute necessity. The coming to America of such vast armies of unskilled laborers will either drive out the unprepared native, or push him to climb for a superior position.

Place your earnings, next, most largely in the business or calling in which you are engaged. Improve the facilities and conveniences and agencies of your own profession or enterprise, and thus keep your investments largely under your own control. One may wisely enter into cooperation with others, using discretion, considering in order the questions of safety, congeniality, and profit. There are many such opportunities. You may have skill and experience; your friend may have means and facilities, but failing health. He leases you his farm, his factory, or shop, or asks that you share with him his office and a percentage of the receipts in return for services. Be as diligent with other people’s interests as you would they should be with yours. Make deposits of stated sums weekly or monthly in savings banks, until sufficient has accumulated to be used in more remunerative investment. Be willing to consult with business men of discreet and conservative reputation respecting the character of any and all inducements offered concerning investments. They have not lived in vain. They have seen optimistic expectations doomed to disappointment. They may be "slow" and "Old Fogy," but they doubtless have paid well for what they know. They have had experience that is always wise to respect. As a protection, if not an investment, take out a life insurance policy for an amount you can readily pay for, in one of the many safe, sound, and conservative companies, upon the endowment plan. The prejudice and superstition that once existed against life

It was once argued that to insure one’s life was a distrust of God--a form ofwagerwith a corporation that you would live out the allotted period written in your insurance paper, or that you must die in order to win. The guarantee that, by the payment of a certain sum per annum for a certain term of years, you should have a certain sum of money returned to you in case you were alive, or if you did not live, your heirs or dependents should have it at your death--was but a straight, strict business transaction, based upon definite calculations and long years of observation--removed the element ofchancefrom the proposition. To the little things that make for wealth must not be omitted:

4. Liberality.

I do not mean the wealth of soul that comes from sympathizing in a substantial way with the distressed, but, as a means to wealth, systematic, proportionate giving, beginning with the tithe of one’s income, and increasing as God prospers, is as essential to the accumulation of wealth as industry or economy. It is a form of judicious investment.

"He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and He will reward him for what he has done." (Proverbs 19:17.) Isn’t that good security? Will He pay less interest than an ordinary savings bank?

"There is one who scatters and yet increases; and there is one who withholds more than is fit, but it tends to poverty. The liberal soul shall be made fat, and he who waters shall be watered also himself." (Proverbs 11:24-25.)

"Whoever stops his ears at the cry of the poor--he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard." (Proverbs 21:13.) That a portion of our earnings belongs to God, and the withholding of it from Him is robbery--is a truth of divine origin. We save only when we are honest with God. "Give, and it shall be given unto you." Enter into partnership with the Almighty. Say at the beginning of your life’s pilgrimage: "If God will be with me and keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to put on--then shall the Lord be my God, and of all that You shall give me I will surely give the tenth unto You." That’s a common-sense contract!

He who gives you power to get wealth, will not withdraw Himself from you, but will be your stay, and your shield, and your exceeding great reward! Be industrious;
Be economical;
Be judicious;
Be liberal and just--
and your God will never leave nor forsake you!