十月二十六日
你們盼望多得，所得的卻少；你們收到家中，我就吹去。這是爲什麽呢？因爲我的殿荒涼，你們各人卻顧自己的房屋。這是萬軍之耶和華說的。（該1：9）
吝嗇的人不肯爲教會、傳道人和宣教事業多奉獻，認爲是省錢的妙算，其實他們幷沒有想到這會使他們貧窮起來的。他們回護說，他們必須照應自己一家人的用度，他們卻忘了忽略神的家，便是破壞自己的家的捷徑。我們的神有一種辦法，使我們的事業出乎意料之外地昌盛起來，或是使我們的計劃成爲幻泡虛影；他的手一揮就可以使我們的船順流而行，或者使它在貧困、破産之中擱了淺。
聖經的教訓告訴我們說：神使慷慨的人豐富，卻把貧困留給貪婪的人。我曾作了一番廣泛的觀察，發現我所認識的最熱心捐錢的人都是最快樂，而且也都是一些凡事順利的人。我曾看到慷慨捐輸的人得了夢想不到的財富；我也常看到一些鄙吝的人雖然百般努力想發財，卻是日漸衰落下去。人們常把很多的錢財托付一位好管家，神也是這樣；他以車輛的滿載賜給那以升鬥奉獻的人。
神所要的十分之一，在分別爲聖的人看來幷不算多，因爲一切財富他都不看作是自己的，所以他甘心奉獻給神。自私常叫人先看到自己的家，而虔敬的人卻先看到神的國和他的義，但至終看來自私是吃虧的事，虔敬爲神乃是最上算的事。我們對神大方寬宏必須有信心，但他已經爲我們存留了那信心；我們所能作的，只不過是感激他的洪恩大愛罷了。我們實在是虧欠他，這一點感激之心又算得什麽呢？
October
26
“Ye
looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did
blow upon it. Why? saith the Lord of hosts. Because of mine house that is
waste, and ye run every man unto his own house.”–Haggai 1:9
Churlish souls stint their contributions
to the ministry and missionary operations, and call such saving good economy;
little do they dream that they are thus impoverishing themselves. Their excuse
is that they must care for their own families, and they forget that to neglect
the house of God is the sure way to bring ruin upon their own houses. Our God
has a method in providence by which he can succeed our endeavours beyond our
expectation, or can defeat our plans to our confusion and dismay; by a turn of
his hand he can steer our vessel in a profitable channel, or run it aground in
poverty and bankruptcy. It is the teaching of Scripture that the Lord enriches
the liberal and leaves the miserly to find out that withholding tendeth to
poverty. In a very wide sphere of observation, I have noticed that the most
generous Christians of my acquaintance have been always the most happy, and
almost invariably the most prosperous. I have seen the liberal giver rise to
wealth of which he never dreamed; and I have as often seen the mean, ungenerous
churl descend to poverty by the very parsimony by which he thought to rise. Men
trust good stewards with larger and larger sums, and so it frequently is with
the Lord; he gives by cartloads to those who give by bushels. Where wealth is
not bestowed the Lord makes the little much by the contentment which the
sanctified heart feels in a portion of which the tithe has been dedicated to
the Lord. Selfishness looks first at home, but godliness seeks first the
kingdom of God and his righteousness, yet in the long run selfishness is loss,
and godliness is great gain. It needs faith to act towards our God with an open
hand, but surely he deserves it of us; and all that we can do is a very poor
acknowledgment of our amazing indebtedness to his goodness.
