Seventh-day Adventist Church

2003 NAD Offering Call

“Becoming Faithful Stewards”

PAY UP

On one occasion the English poet Edmund Spenser presented Queen Elizabeth with some of his poetry. She received the poetry graciously and instructed her treasurer, Lord Burghley, to give Spenser an honorarium of one hundred pounds.. The treasurer was a stingy individual and protested that the amount was too much. “Then give him what you think is reasonable,” she replied.

However, the Queen’s treasurer conveniently forgot to pay the poet anything. After waiting a reasonable amount of time Spenser petitioned Queen Elizabeth herself with these lines:

“I was promised on a time, To have reason for my rhyme:

From that time to this season, I received neither rhyme nor reason.”

The queen scolded Lord Burghley and ordered him to pay the poet immediately.

Unlike the royal treasurer, God never forgets to reward those who are faithful to him. “We are sustained every moment by God’s care, and upheld by his power. He spreads our tables with food. He gives us peaceful and refreshing sleep. . . He gives us His word to be a lamp to our feet and a light to our path... Above all else is the infinite gift of God’s dear Son, through whom flow all other blessings for this life and for the life to come. Because of this, “Not only should we faithfully render to God our tithes, which He claims as His own, but we should bring a tribute to His treasury as an offering of gratitude.” (Counsels on Stewardship, page 18)

Appeal text: “I will sing of the lord’s great love forever: with my mouth I

will make your faithfulness known through all generations.” [Psalm 89:1

NIV]