A large amount of means should not be used in selfishly building up an immense institution in one part of the country, to the neglect of other parts of the field that are just as much in need of similar facilities. Large sums would be required to furnish the rooms, many helpers would be needed, and heavy expenses would be incurred in carrying on such large interests. In doing this supposedly great work, our brethren would be losing sight of the real work that our sanitariums are established to accomplish. 7MR 211.1
The Lord's plan is to have small sanitariums established in many places, so that the greatest number of people, East and West, North and South, can be reached through this means. These institutions should be located where they can be easily managed, and where the conditions are best adapted for sanitarium work. Let us preserve these institutions in their original simplicity, ever bearing in mind that other places are just as much in need of similar facilities for the treatment of disease. We must not allow ambition to lead us to rob a neighboring field or a sister institution in order to upbuild our own. 7MR 211.2
It is not the largeness or the grandeur of an edifice that impresses hearts, but the principles of righteousness, of justice and equity, practiced within. Pronounced Bible principles must prevail in every one of the Lord's institutions. Thus those who are handling sacred responsibilities will reveal that their characters are sanctified by the truth that they claim to believe. 7MR 211.3
Let us forbear to weave the threads of selfishness into any line of our work; for if we should act selfishly, the Lord will surely humble us. He desires every plant to have a chance to live and to accomplish the good and excellent work that it was appointed to do. We should remember that all these years many of our medical institutions have not been doing the missionary work that God designed they should do. In them God's truth has not always been revealed in the power of the Holy Spirit. 7MR 211.4
Our health institutions are of value in the Lord's estimation only when He is allowed to preside in their management. If His plans and devisings are regarded as inferior to plans of men, He looks upon these institutions as of no more value than the institutions established and conducted by worldlings. God cannot endorse any institution, unless it teaches the living principles of His law and brings its own actions into strict conformity to these precepts. Upon these institutions that are not maintained according to His law, He pronounces the sentence, “Unaccepted. Weighed in the balances of the sanctuary, and found wanting.” 7MR 212.1
The man at the head of any work in God's cause is to be a man of intelligence, a man capable of managing large interests successfully, a man of even temper, Christlike forbearance, and perfect self-control. He only whose heart is transformed by the grace of Christ can be a proper leader. 7MR 212.2
Those who act as managers and overseers in our sanitariums are not to make the world's policy their criterion; for the sign of God, as defined in Exodus 31:12-18, is to be revealed in all its comprehensive meaning. The proper observance of the Sabbath day by all connected with our sanitariums will exert an untold influence for good. Every medical institution established by Seventh-day Adventists is to bear God's sign before the world prominently, without disguising the facts in any way. We are to voice the message of the third angel flying in the midst of heaven with the everlasting gospel to proclaim to the world. We are to bear aloft the banner on which is inscribed the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.—Manuscript 154, 1902, 5-7. (“Instruction to Men in Positions of Responsibility,” typed October 24, 1902.) 7MR 212.3
Released November 10, 1975.