Note 5 — NOW AND THEN; OR, TIME AND ETERNITY

The Christian should be governed by the principles of the kingdom in every thing. If he is engaged in business, he should conduct his business as a child of God, and a servant of Christ. He should not have a Christian character on Lord's day and a commercial character on Monday. I should have the Lord with me in my shop, my warehouse, and my counting-house. It is my privilege to depend upon God in my business; but in order to depend upon Him, my business must be of such a nature, and conducted upon such a principle as He can own. If it is not so, I must leave the Lord out, and I am then on the same footing as the men of the world, and left to fall into their ways and manner of doing business.

Of course, everything depends upon the motive which actuates the mind. What, then, is my motive in my daily labor? Is it to provide food and raiment, or is it to lay up treasures upon earth? If the former, God has pleasure in it, and is with it; so that, if you are in the way of His appointment, you have only to depend upon Him.

Faith always puts the soul on a totally different ground from that occupied by the world, no matter where or what our calling may be. Take, for example, David in the valley of Elah. Why did he not fight, like other men? Because he was on the ground of faith. So also Hezekiah. Why did he put on sackcloth when other men put on armor? Because he was on the ground of simple dependence upon God. Just so in the case of a man in trade; he must carry on his trade as a Christian, else he will mar the testimony and rob his own soul of blessing.