IT PAYS by R. A. Underwood

The Seventh-Day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · November 27, 1879

FromThe Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, Vol. 54, No. 22

IT PAYS.

By R. A. Underwood

Yes, it pays in this life, and it will pay in the world to come, to be honest with God.

One of our brethren who has been born into the truth during the past year, said, when the tithing system was presented to him, that he could not adopt it until all his debts were paid. He said that he was badly in debt, and for the past three years he had not been able to even pay the interest, and he felt that it would be doing injustice to his creditors, for these were honest debts and must be paid first. But when he saw that God had claims on him that were even more sacred than those of his creditors, he decided not to rob God, but to be honest with Him who gives the power to get wealth, Deut. 8:17, 18; and for the past six months he has “rendered to God the things that are God’s.” Lev. 27:30–33; Matt. 23:23.

I called upon this brother a few days ago, and as he met me, he said, “I want to tell you how God has blessed me and my family, both temporally and spiritually.” His countenance lighted up while he told me how, during the past few days, he had come in possession of the means to pay every dollar he owed, and he said, “The Lord shall have the one-tenth.” He also said that when he first took up family worship, he often felt hurried, and that he was losing just that much time from his day’s work. But now he often became so interested in the morning lesson that an hour would pass and seem but a moment. This family are beginning to reap that which they are sowing. Gal. 6:7.

God says, Prove me, and see if I will not open the windows of Heaven, and pour you out a blessing. Try it, brethren, not from selfish motives, but from honest principle, and it will pay now and hereafter. R. A. UNDERWOOD.