The works of the Rev. John Wesley, Vol. 02 (of 32)Wesley, John
Religion
The works of the Rev. John Wesley, Vol. 02 (of 32)
Wesley, John
Methodist Church; Theology -- Early works to 1800; Theology -- History -- 18th century
please men? Do you please yourself? Then you cannot be a servant of God.
You are of your master and father, the devil.
15. Therefore thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him only shalt
thou serve. Thou shalt lay aside all thoughts of obeying two masters,
of serving God and mammon. Thou shalt propose to thyself no end, no
help, no happiness, but God. Thou shalt seek nothing in earth or heaven
but him: thou shalt aim at nothing, but to know, to love and enjoy
him. And because this is all your business below, the only view you
can reasonably have, the one design you are to pursue in all things;
_therefore I say unto you_ (as our Lord continues his discourse)
_take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall
drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on_. A deep and weighty
direction, which it imports us well to consider and throughly to
understand.
16. Our Lord does not here require, that we should be utterly without
thought, even touching the concerns of this life. A giddy, careless
temper is at the farthest remove from the whole religion of _Jesus
Christ_. Neither does he require us to be _slothful in business_, to
be slack and dilatory therein. This likewise is contrary to the whole
spirit and genius of his religion. A Christian abhors sloth as much as
drunkenness, and flees from idleness as he does from adultery. He well
knows, that there is one kind of thought and care, with which God is
well-pleased; which is absolutely needful for the due performance ♦of
those outward works, unto which the providence of God has called him.
It is the will of God, that every man should labour to _eat his own
bread_: yea, and that every man should provide for his own, for them
of his own houshold. It is likewise his will that we should _owe no man
any thing_, but _provide things honest in the sight of all men_. But
this cannot be done, without taking some thought, without having some
care upon our minds: yea, often, not without long and serious thought,
not without much and earnest care. Consequently, this care, to provide
for ourselves and our houshold, this thought, how to render to all
their dues, our blessed Lord does not condemn. Yea, it ♦is good and
acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour.
It is good and acceptable to God, that we should so take thought
concerning whatever we have in hand, as to have a clear comprehension
of what we are about to do, and to plan our business before we enter
upon it. And it is right that we should carefully consider from time
to time, what steps we are to take therein; as well as that we should
prepare all things before hand, for the carrying it on in the most
effectual manner. This care termed by some, “The care of the head,” it
was by no means our Lord’s design to condemn.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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