"Not Easily Provoked"

Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil. 1Co_13:4-5. 

Many have a vivid, unsanctified sensitiveness which keeps them constantly on the alert for some word, some look, or some action which they can construe as a lack of respect and appreciation. All this must be overcome. Everyone should go forward in the fear of God, doing his best without being troubled by praise or offended by censure, serving God fervently, and learning to place the most favorable interpretation upon whatever in others may seem offensive. 

We may expect that false reports will circulate about us; but if we follow a straight course, if we remain indifferent to these things, others will also be indifferent. Let us leave to God the care of our reputation. . . . Slander can be lived down by our manner of living; it is not lived down by words of indignation. Let our great anxiety be to act in the fear of God, and show by our conduct that these reports are false. No one can injure our character as much as ourselves. It is the weak trees and the tottering houses that need to be constantly propped. When we show ourselves so anxious to protect our reputation against attacks from the outside, we give the impression that it is not blameless before God, and that it needs therefore to be continually bolstered up. 

It does not behoove those from whom Jesus has so much to bear, in their failings and perversity, to be ever mindful of slights and real or imaginary offense. . . . The heart filled with that love which thinketh no evil will not be on the watch to notice discourtesies and grievances of which he may be the object. The will of God is that His love shall close the eyes, the ears and the heart to all such provocations and to all the suggestions with which Satan would fill them. There is a noble majesty in the silence of the one exposed to evil surmising or outrage. To be master of one's spirit is to be stronger than kings or conquerors. 

Choices Being Made Between Two Sides

You shall not pervert the judgment of your poor in his dispute. Keep yourself far from a false matter; do not kill the innocent and righteous. For I will not justify the wicked. Exo_23:6-7, NKJV. 
Christ pronounces a woe upon all who transgress the law of God. He pronounced a woe upon the lawyers in His day because they exercised their power to afflict those who looked to them for justice and judgment. All the terrible consequences of sin will come to those who, even though they may be nominal church members, regard it as a light matter to set aside the law of Jehovah, and to make no distinction between good and evil. 
In the representations the Lord has given me, I have seen those who follow their own desires misrepresenting the truth, oppressing their brethren, and placing difficulties before them. Characters are now being developed, and many are taking sides, some on the side of the Lord Jesus Christ, some on the side of Satan and his angels. The Lord calls for all who will be true and obedient to His law to come out of and away from all connection with those who have placed themselves on the side of the enemy. Against their names is written, “TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting” (Dan_5:27). . . . 
There are many men and women, apparently moral, but who are not Christians. They are deceived in their estimate of what constitutes true Christians. They possess an alloy of character that destroys the value of the gold, and they cannot be stamped with the impress of divine approval. They must be rejected as impure, worthless metal. 
We cannot, of ourselves, perfect a true moral character, but we can accept of Christ's righteousness. We can be partakers of the divine nature, and escape the corruptions that are in the world through lust. Christ has left before us a perfect pattern of what we are to be as sons and daughters of God.-This Day With God, p. 222.

God's Plan to Prevent Poverty

That fiftieth year shall be a Jubilee to you; in it you shall neither sow nor reap what grows of its own accord, nor gather the grapes of your untended vine. . . . And if you sell anything to your neighbor or buy from your neighbor's hand, you shall not oppress one another. Lev_25:11-14, NKJV.
In God's plan for Israel every family had a home on the land, with sufficient ground for tilling. Thus were provided both the means and the incentive for a useful, industrious, and self-supporting life. And no devising of human beings has ever improved upon that plan. To the world's departure from it is owing, to a large degree, the poverty and wretchedness that exist today.
At the settlement of Israel in Canaan, the land was divided among the whole people, the Levites only, as ministers of the sanctuary, being excepted from the equal distribution. The tribes were numbered by families, and to each family, according to its numbers, was apportioned an inheritance.
And although some might for a time dispose of their possessions, they could not permanently barter away the inheritance of their children. When able to redeem their land, they were at liberty at any time to do so. Debts were remitted every seventh year, and in the fiftieth, or year of jubilee, all landed property reverted to the original owner.
“The land shall not be sold for ever” was the Lord's direction: “for the land is mine; for ye are strangers and sojourners with me. And in all the land of your possession ye shall grant a redemption for the land. If thy brother be waxen poor, and hath sold away some of his possession, and if any of his kin come to redeem it, then shall he redeem that which his brother sold. And if the man . . . himself be able to redeem it; . . . he may return unto his possession. But if he be not able to restore it to him, then that which is sold shall remain in the hand of him that hath bought it until the year of jubilee” (Lev_25:23-28). . . . Thus every family was secured in its possession, and a safeguard was afforded against the extremes of either wealth or want.-The Ministry of Healing, pp. 183-185.

The Golden Rule to Govern Business Dealings

What does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God? Mic_6:8, NKJV. 
The laws of the nations bear marks of the infirmities and passions of the unrenewed heart; but God's laws bear the stamp of the divine, and if they are obeyed, they will lead to a tender regard for the rights and privileges of others. . . . His watchful care is over all the interests of His children, and He declares He will undertake the cause of the afflicted and the oppressed. If they cry unto Him, He says, “I will hear; for I am gracious.” 
A man of means, if he possesses strict integrity, and loves and fears God, may be a benefactor to the poor. He can help them, and take no more interest [on the money he lends] than can be mercifully exacted. He thus meets with no loss himself, and his unfortunate neighbor is greatly benefited, for he is saved from the hands of the dishonest schemer. The principles of the golden rule are not to be lost sight of for a moment in any business transaction. . . . God never designed that one person should prey upon another. He jealously guards the rights of His children, and in the books of Heaven great loss is set down on the side of the unjust dealer. 
In the Holy Scriptures fearful denunciations are pronounced against the sin of covetousness. “No . . . covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.” The psalmist says, “The wicked boasteth of his heart's desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the Lord abhorreth.” Paul ranks covetous people with idolaters, adulterers, thieves, drunkards, revilers, and extortioners, none of whom shall inherit the kingdom of God. These are the fruits of a corrupt tree, and God is dishonored by them. We are not to make the customs and maxims of the world our criterion. Reforms must take place; all injustice must be put away. 
We are commanded to “search the scriptures.” The whole Word of God is our rule of action. We are to carry out its principles in our daily lives; there is no surer mark of Christianity than this. We must carry out the great principles of justice and mercy in our relations with one another. We must be daily cultivating those qualities that will fit us for the society of heaven. If we do these things, God becomes our surety, and promises to bless all that we undertake; and we “shall never be moved.”-Signs of the Times, Feb. 7, 1884. 

Never Take Advantage of Another's Misfortune

You shall not pervert justice due the stranger or the fatherless, nor take a widow's garment as a pledge. Deu_24:17, NKJV. 
God's word sanctions no policy that will enrich one class by the oppression and suffering of another. In all our business transactions it teaches us to put ourselves in the place of those with whom we are dealing, to look not only on our own things, but also on the things of others. Those who would take advantage of another's misfortunes in order to benefit themselves, or who seek to profit themselves through another's weakness or incompetence, are transgressors both of the principles and of the precepts of the Word of God. 
“Thou shalt not pervert the judgment of the stranger, nor of the fatherless; nor take a widow's raiment to pledge” (Deu_24:17). “When thou dost lend thy brother any thing, thou shalt not go into his house to fetch his pledge. Thou shalt stand abroad, and the man to whom thou dost lend shall bring out the pledge abroad unto thee. And if the man be poor, thou shalt not sleep with his pledge” (verses 10-12). “If thou at all take thy neighbour's raiment to pledge, thou shalt deliver it unto him by that the sun goeth down: for that is his covering only . . . : wherein shall he sleep? and it shall come to pass, when he crieth unto me, that I will hear; for I am gracious” (Exo_22:26-27). “If thou sell aught unto thy neighbour, or buyest aught of thy neighbour's hand, ye shall not oppress one another” (Lev_25:14). 
“Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in measures of length, of weight, or of quantity” (Lev_19:35, ARV). “Thou shalt not have in thy bag diverse weights, a great and a small. Thou shalt not have in thy house diverse measures, a great and a small” (Deu_25:13-14, ARV). “Just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin, shall ye have” (Lev_19:36, ARV). 
“Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away” (Mat_5:42). “The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous sheweth mercy, and giveth” (Psa_37:21). . . . 
The plan of life that God gave to Israel was intended as an object lesson for all humankind. If these principles were carried out today, what a different place this world would be!-The Ministry of Healing, pp. 187, 188.

Be Like Jesus, Not Like the World

Jesus serving his disciple by washing their feet

You shall not have in your bag differing weights, a heavy and a light. You shall not have in your house differing measures, a large and a small. Deu_25:13-14, NKJV. 
Those who profess to love and fear God should cherish sympathy and love for one another, and should guard the interests of others as their own. Christians should not regulate their conduct by the world's standard. In all ages the people of God are as distinct from worldlings as their profession is higher than that of the ungodly. From the beginning to the end of time, God's people are one body. 
The love of money is the root of all evil. In this generation the desire for gain is the absorbing passion. If wealth cannot be secured by honest industry, human beings seek to obtain it by fraud. Widows and orphans are robbed of their scanty pittance, and poor people are made to suffer for the necessaries of life. And all this that the rich may support their extravagance, or indulge their desire to hoard. 
The terrible record of crime daily committed for the sake of gain is enough to chill the blood and fill the soul with horror. The fact that even among those who profess godliness the same sins exist to a greater or less extent calls for deep humiliation of soul and earnest action on the part of the followers of Christ. Love of display and love of money have made this world a den of thieves and robbers. But Christians are professedly not dwellers upon the earth; they are in a strange country, stopping, as it were, only for a night. They should not be actuated by the same motives and desires as are those who have their home and treasure here. God designed that our lives should represent the life of our great Pattern: that, like Jesus, we should live to do others good. . . . 
Every wrong done to the children of God is done to Christ Himself in the person of His saints. Every attempt to advantage one's self by the ignorance, weakness, or misfortune of another is registered as fraud in the ledger of heaven.-Southern Watchman, May 10, 1904.