Counsels for the Church - Ellen G. White

disturbed if our neighbors build and furnish their houses in a manner that we
are not authorized to follow. How must Jesus look upon our selfish provision
for the indulgence of appetite, to please our guests, or to gratify our own
inclination! It is a snare to us to aim at making a display or to allow our
children, under our control, to do so.
Nothing that can be utilized should be thrown away. This will require
wisdom, and forethought, and constant care. It has been presented to me that
the inability to save, in little things, is one reason why so many families
suffer for lack of the necessities of life.
"Owe No Man Any Thing"
Many poor families are poor because they spend their money as soon as
they receive it.
Abstracting and using money for any purpose, before it is earned, is a
snare.
The world has a right to expect strict integrity in those who profess to be
Bible Christians. By one man's indifference in regard to paying his just dues,
all our people are in danger of being regarded as unreliable.
Those who make any pretensions to godliness should adorn the doctrine
they profess and not give occasion for the truth to be reviled through their
inconsiderate course of action. "Owe no man anything," says the apostle.
Many, very many, have not so educated themselves that they can keep
their expenditures within the limit of their income. They do not learn to adapt
themselves to circumstances, and they borrow and borrow again and again
and become overwhelmed in debt, and consequently they become
discouraged and disheartened.
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