Business Principles
God’s Word does not approve of any policy that will enrich one class by the oppression and suffering of another. It teaches us to put ourselves in the place of those with whom we are dealing in all our business transactions. We are to look out not only for our own interests but for those of others. Anyone who would take advantage of another’s misfortunes in order to benefit self, or who seeks to profit through another’s weakness or incompetence, is a transgressor both of the principles and of the precepts of the Word of God.MHH 99.3
“‘You shall not pervert justice due the stranger or the fatherless, nor take a widow’s garment as a pledge.’” “‘When you lend your brother anything, you shall not go into his house to get his pledge. You shall stand outside, and the man to whom you lend shall bring the pledge out to you. And if the man is poor, you shall not keep his pledge overnight.’” “‘If you ever take your neighbor’s garment as a pledge, you shall return it to him before the sun goes down. For that is his only covering. ... What will he sleep in? And it will be that when he cries to Me, I will hear, for I am gracious.’” “‘If you sell anything to your neighbor or buy from your neighbor’s hand, you shall not oppress one another.’” Deuteronomy 24:17, 10-12; Exodus 22:26, 27; Leviticus 25:14.MHH 99.4
“‘You shall do no injustice in judgment, in measurement of length, weight, or volume.’” “‘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.’” “‘You shall have honest balances, honest weights, an honest ephah, and an honest hin.’” Leviticus 19:35; Deuteronomy 25:13, 14; Leviticus 19:36.MHH 99.5
“‘Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.’” “The wicked borrows and does not repay, but the righteous shows mercy and gives.” Matthew 5:42; Psalm 37:21.MHH 99.6
“‘Take counsel, execute judgment; make your shadow like the night in the middle of the day; hide the outcasts, do not betray him who escapes. Let My outcasts dwell with you, ... be a shelter to them from the face of the spoiler.’” Isaiah 16:3, 4.MHH 100.1
The plan of life that God gave to Israel was intended as an object lesson for the entire human family. If these principles were carried out today, what a different place this world would be!MHH 100.2
Within the vast boundaries of nature there is still room for suffering and needy people to find a home. Within her bosom there are resources sufficient to provide them with food. Hidden in the depths of the earth are blessings for all who have the courage, will, and perseverance to gather her treasures.MHH 100.3
Cultivating and working the soil—the employment that God appointed to Adam in Eden—opens a field in which there is opportunity for multitudes to gain a subsistence.MHH 100.4
“Trust in the Lord, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.”
Psalm 37:3.MHH 100.5
Thousands and tens of thousands might be working on the soil who are crowded into the cities, watching for a chance to earn a trifle. In many cases this trifle is not spent for food but is put into the coffers of the liquor seller, to obtain that which destroys soul and body.MHH 100.6
Many look upon a regular job as drudgery, and they try to obtain a livelihood by scheming rather than by honest work. This desire to get a living without work opens the door to wretchedness, vice, and crime almost without limit.MHH 100.7