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and those who dwell therein ... "
(Revised Standard Ve r sion
throughout). These inspired words
are repeated in the New Testa–
ment in 1Corinthians 10:26.
God Almighty owns this earth
and everything that exists or lives
upon it! " Whatsoever is under the
whole heaven is mine," claims
God in Job 41: 11.
Turn to Deuteronomy 10:14:
" Behold, to the Lord your God
belong heaven a nd the heaven of
heavens, the earth wi th all that is
in it." And in Exodus 19:5, God
says: "All the earth is mine."
"lf
1 were hungry," says God
(Psalm 50: 12), "1 would not tell
you: for the world a nd all that is
in it is mine." "For every beast of
the forest is mine, the cattle on a
thousand bilis" (verse 10).
Yes, even the money-even the
gold and silver: "The silver is
mine, and the gold is mine says
the Lord of hosts" (Haggai 2:8).
Dare any man deny this claim
of God? God's cla im stands!
Admit, then, your income be–
longs to God! lt 's His to do with
as He wills.
How God' s Law Regulates Your
lncome
But God is a God of !ove. He
knows your need in this time of
infiation. God is concerned about
you. He has your welfare i n
mind. Therefore God has made a
law respecting that portion of His
wealth which your thinking a nd
your labor has ext racted a nd
worked upon.
Get this fixed thoroughly in
your mjnd. Your wages, your
salary, your profit, your inoome
belongs to God, not to you . Prob–
a bly you never realized this
before. This may seem like a new
idea to you. But it is not an
idea-it is a fact!
So God, the rightful owner of
your income, has made a law
respecting its disposal and its
use.
God's law respecting what you
earn is in fact a deal He has
made with you. He allows you to
work on His earth, to use a part
of the earth, or what is in it , or on
8
it, to utilize its forces and ener–
g ies, and to extract from it food ,
materials, supplies, wood, metals,
oils, coal-or to work on or with
that which others' have extracted
from the earth, in manufactur–
ing, d istributing, buying, selling,
investing- whatever may be your
occupation or job or profession.
So, whether you have realized it
or not you have been working in
partnership with God .
The farmer or gardener may
plant seed, plow, a nd expend his
labor in raising food. But Who
supplied the soil? Who created
the living process that makes the
seed sprout and grow? Who
sends the rain, or provides water
for irrigation? Who set the sun in
the sky and causes it to shine a nd
warm the ear th? Wbo causes the
plant to drink out of the soil the
minerals and good elements, and
to grow into the vegetable, the
grain or the fruit? Did you per–
form this part of the business of
raising the food you eat?
When we rea lly think about it,
we shall see that God supplies
about nine par ts of everything
man makes or produces, a nd
man's thinking, planning, a nd
working supplies only a bout one
part. Bui God does not take nine
tenths of the proceeds or the
income. He doesn' t take even six
tenths, or even two tentbs. God is
generous. God has reserved for
His use only
one
little tenth of
what is produced out of His earth
through His forces and energies!
God takes only ONE tenth. And
after you have been honest in
PA
YING God 's tenth to God's
chosen representa tive, then–
AND
NOT UNTIL THEN-God has
decreed that the other nine tenths
becomes legally yours!
That's God's law!
Not a penny of what you earn,
or a penny's worth of the value of
what you produce, is yours- it all
belongs to God to do with as He
directs. God has legally directed
that after you have honestly paid
Him the one little tenth H e
requires for His creative work,
then the other nine tenths He
gives to you. Then and not unti l
then, can you rightfully claim
ownership over that nine tenths.
When we get our thinking
straight- when we get under–
standing- when we stop to realize
how much of what we have was
provided by God- tben we realize
how loving, how generous, how
solicitous for our welfare in this
time of financia! stress God is.
The Curses and Blessings
But that 's only part of the
story.
Wbat does God want witb that
first tenth? How does He use it?
He requires that small fraction of
wbat is produced out of His earth
for tbe purpose of disseminating
to tbe people His message of the
way of life that wi ll free them
from fears a nd worries, give them
peace of mind and happiness,
give them joy a nd success and life
eterna !!
Yes, even this tenth that God
witbbolds for His use is expended
for human good! For proclaiming
H is gospel of peace, and happi–
ness a nd joy a nd salvation! For
letting people know God will heal
tbem when they are sick- that
God will deliver them from every
trouble-supply their every need!
Give them eterna! life!
This unhappy inflation-ridden
world is starving for that knowl–
edge! This world is under a curse
because it has robbed God of His
money and His wealth, and thereby
withbeld from itself the knowledge
of why it is in economic chaos–
why there is no real peace- why it
finds life empty a nd fruitless, fu ll of
suffering a nd unhappiness, frustra–
tion and death!
All of God 's laws are for man's
good!
Obedience to God 's la ws
brings blessings! When we violate
His laws, we bring curses upon
ourselves!
Even the true Christians- the
Spirit-begotten sons of God–
need to cry out to God for help,
for deliverance. In this world
today, even those who turn to the
ways of God suffer from the
common violations of mankind as
a wbole. But there is belp. There
The PLAIN TAUTH