An Appeal for Self-supporting Laborers to Enter Unworked Fields

A Strong Spiritual Nerve Required

The skill with which the carpenter uses his tools, the strength with which the blacksmith makes the anvil ring come from God. Whatever we do, wherever we are placed, He desires to control our minds, that we do perfect work.... The essential lesson of contented industry in the necessary duties of life is yet to be learned by many of Christ's followers. It requires more grace, more stern discipline of character, to work for God in the capacity of mechanic, merchant, lawyer, or farmer, carrying the precepts of Christianity into the ordinary business of life, than to labor as an acknowledged missionary in the open field. It requires a strong spiritual nerve to bring religion into the workshop and the business office, sanctifying the details of everyday life, and ordering every transaction according to to the standards of God's word. But this is what the Lord requires.Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 277-279. PH005 36.3