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| God's cause at this time is in special need of men and women who possess Christlike qualifications for service, executive ability, and a large capacity for work, who have kind, warm, sympathetic hearts, sound common sense, and unbiased judgment; who will carefully weigh matters before they approve or condemn, and who can fearlessly say No, or Yea and Amen; who, because they are sanctified by the Spirit of God, practice the words "All ye are brethren," striving constantly to uplift and restore fallen humanity. -- Manuscript Releases, vol. 2, p. 88 {DG 101.1} |
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| The Lord is displeased with the want of harmony that has existed among the workers. He cannot impart His Holy Spirit, for they are bent on having their own way, and the Lord presents to them His way. Great discouragement will come in from Satan and his confederacy of evil, but "all ye are brethren," and it is an offense to God when you allow your individual, unsanctified traits of character to be active agencies to discourage one another. -- Letter 31, 1892. {Ev 101.3} |
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| The desire to have one's own way, contrary to the judgment of co-workers, is to find no place in our institutions. "All ye are brethren." A spirit of love and tenderness is to be shown. In our sanitariums, and in any institution, kind words, pleasant looks, a condescending demeanor, are of great value. There is a charm in the intercourse of men who are truly courteous. In business transactions what power for good a little condescension has! How restoring and uplifting the influence of such dealing upon men who are poor and depressed, borne down to the earth by sickness and poverty! Shall we withhold from them the balm that such dealing brings? . . . {MM 172.2} |
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| If a man is sanguine of his own powers, and seeks to exercise dominion over his brethren, feeling that he is invested with authority to make his will the ruling power, the best and only safe course is to remove him, lest great harm be done, and he lose his own soul, and imperil the souls of others. "All ye are brethren." ... Those in authority should manifest the spirit of Christ. They should deal as He would deal with every case that requires attention. They should go weighted with the Holy Spirit.-- Lt 55, 1895. (SpIRHWBC 32, 33.) {PM 139.3} |
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| The Lord will have faithful men who love and fear Him connected with every school, every printing office, health institution, and publishing house. Their wages should not be fashioned after the worldling's standard. There should be, as far as possible, excellent judgment exercised to keep up, not an aristocracy, but an equality, which is the law of heaven. "All ye are brethren" (Matt. 23:8). A few should not demand large wages, and such wages should not be presented as an inducement to secure ability and talents. This is placing things on a worldly principle. The increase of wages brings with it a corresponding increase of selfishness, pride, display, self-gratification, and needless extravagance that the people who do their utmost to pay their tithes and present their offerings to God do not have. Poverty is seen in all their borders. The Lord loves the one just as much as the other, with the exception that the self-sacrificing, humble, contrite souls who love God and strive to serve Him, are ever kept nearer to the great heart of Infinite Love than the man who feels at liberty to have all the good things of this life.-- 2SM 192. {PM 239.4} |
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| We want to understand that there are no gods in our Conference. There are to be no kings here, and no kings in any Conference that is formed. "All ye are brethren." Let us work on the platform of humility, seeking the Lord earnestly that his light may shine into our hearts, and that the arrangements we make may be after God's order. I thank God that we are today in the presence of the whole heavenly universe. While we are making these arrangements, all heaven is witnessing to them. If the veil could be removed, if our ears could be opened, we would see the holy angels and hear a song of triumph ascending to God, because advance is to be made in the Southern field. This field, because it is a hard one, has stood with little help and with little sympathy. Those who work there must put on the righteousness of Christ. He says, My righteousness shall go before you, and the glory of God shall be your rearward. {GCB, April 5, 1901 par. 12} |
| true brotherhood |
| Those who love Jesus and the souls for whom he had died will follow after the things which make for peace. But they must take care lest in their efforts to prevent discord, they surrender truth; lest in warding off division, they sacrifice principle. True brotherhood can never be maintained by compromising principle. As Christians approach the Christlike model, and become pure in spirit and action, they will feel the venom of the serpent. The opposition of the children of disobedience is excited by a Christianity that is spiritual. At this crisis is the time to decide who are God’s faithful servants, who will be true to principle, who will bear in mind that truth is too dearly purchased for its least principle to be surrendered. That peace and harmony which are secured by mutual concessions to avoid all differences of opinion are not worthy of the name. On points of feeling between man and man, concessions should sometimes be made; but never should one iota of principle be sacrificed to obtain harmony. All our words and actions pass in review before God; and if we wish to stand in the Judgment as having done all that we could do to exert a correct influence over our fellow men, we must return kind acts for acts of mischief and malice. Christ is our pattern; we must follow him. { RH January 16, 1900, par. 6 } |
