Lesson 28. DISHONESTY.

Waiapu Church Gazette, Volume XVI, Issue 3, 1 September 1925, Page 2

Lesson 28. DISHONESTY.

"My duty towards my "neighbor" tells us that we must be -'true. and just m all our dealing, and ' ' keep our hands from picking and stealing. ' } , Of course, no Christian boy or girl would steal. Our. Lord told us "Whatsoever ye would (wish) that men should do unto you, do ye' also unto them,"' and we shouldn't like other people to take away our things from us. Still there are boys and girls and men and women who break God's law against dishonesty. If we borrow anything from anybody and do not pay it back, we are dishonest — we are stealing. If we buy things and do not pay for them we are stealing. If we cheat anybody by selling them things that we know are of poor quality we are both lying and stealing. If we do not pay fair wages to those who work for us, or if we do not do our best when we are working for other people for wages, we are steal-■:-r. We must not take anything that does not belong to us, anything v?e liave not earned, or that is not £rc?ly given to us. The worst kind of stealing is stealing from God. Perhaps you wonder how it is possible to steal from God. Tf money is entrusted to us by ■ -i /'i-eone elese to use for him, for example, if mother sends us to the shop. ro buy things and we spend some of it for ourselves m lollies, or keep some of it back and do not give her all the change, we are stealing* from mother. Now God has given us health and strength, and all other good things. He wants us to spend what we need on food and clothing, to use our strength to earn money for what we need and so on, but we belong to Him ourselves. He does not give us His gifts for ourselves only. He wants us to use them for other people as well. If mothers and fathers were to starve their children and use their money to buy luxuries for themselves they would be robbing their children. So if we allow orphans and poor children to starve while we have more than enough we are robbing the poor. When we rob the poor we rob God. To those who did not help the poor and fatherless, Our Saviour will say m the Day of Judgment, "Begone from me, with a curse resting on you, into the Fire of Ages, which has been prepared for the Devil and his angels. For when I was hungry you gave me nothing to eat; when thirsty, you gave me nothing to drink ; when homeless, you gave me no welcome; illclad, and you clothed Me not." Then they will answer, "Lord, when did ■we see Thee hungry or thirsty or-ill-

cladiOrgsick and did not come to serve lh|e.?i|land He will answer, "In solemnf truth I tell you that when you did not serve the poor and hungry you did not serve Me." Would you like to do something for Jesus? You can;do it fbiv|h« poor arid He will count it ./as if it were done ■ for Him. There are t^fo for. orphans and poor children m this diocese, there are hungry children m London and other big, towns m Engr land. You can send toys or other gifts for the orphanages or you can give your pennies. If you want to help the orphans m this diocese send ypur gifts to St. Hilda's Home, Otane, or to Abbotsford Home, Waipawa. If you want to help the poor children m England send your money to the Rev. F. W. Whibley, Ormondville, for the Church Army Homes, or to Canon Packe, Gisborne, for the Church of England Homes for Waifs and Strays; or you can help poor children you know m any way that seems best. We can give money to God m other ways, and we can help God m other ways. For example, we can give help to Missions; we can send money to Archdeacon Simkin, Box 227, Napier, for the Board of Missions, but it is best to send it through the churchwarden m your parish. Or we can help God's work m our own parish by putting our, money m the collection plate at church, or sending it to the churchwarden. If we do not help God's work we are robbing God. The prophet Malachi said : Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. And ye say: "Wherein have -we robbed Thee?" m tithes and offerings. We owe God ourselves. Satan wants to make us his slaves, but Jesus has bought us with His own Blood to make us free. We oye everything to Jesus and we must give ourselves to Him to be his servants, and our possessions to Him to be used for His service. Write out as an exercise: "Take my silver arid my gold, Not a mite would I withhold; Take my intellect, and use Every power as Thou -Shalt . choose." "Let him that stole, steal no more; but rather let him labor working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth." 1