poor, but has sufficient for his needs. [Prov. 30:7-9+, Prov. 15:16-17+]
Poverty may tempt a man to dishonesty; and riches may lead him to
avarice, hardness of heart, worldliness and extravagance. [I Tim. 6:9,
10, I Tim. 6:17+] Riches make it hard for a man to enter into the
kingdom of God. [Matt. 19:24+, Matt. 13:22] We should respect men for
what they are, and not for what they have. We should not flatter the
rich nor despise the poor. [Jas. 2:1-4]

USE OF PROPERTY. God entrusts earthly property to us as His stewards.
[Luke 19:12-27, Matt. 25:14-30, Luke 16:1-8] Whether we are rich or
poor, we should so use our property as to be able to give an account to
God. _For ourselves_ and those dependent on us [I Tim. 5:8+] we should
use it for the supply of our bodily needs (food, clothing, shelter, a
reasonable amount of pleasure) and of our spiritual needs [Luke 12:15+,
Matt. 6:33, I Cor. 9:14] (the Church and the Gospel). _For our
fellow-men_ we should, when necessary, use it according to our ability
for their bodily needs (the poor) and their spiritual needs (Home and
Foreign Missions). [Matt. 22:39]

I. WHAT IS FORBIDDEN.

1. ROBBING OUR NEIGHBOR. The grossest forms of dishonesty are Robbery,
Theft, Burglary, Embezzlement, and Forgery. These are recognized by all
as wrong. But it is also wrong to bring our neighbor's property into our
possession, by

2. UNFAIR DEALING AND FRAUDULENT MEANS, [Prov. 29:24, Lev. 6:2, 3, Ps.
37:21, Jer. 22:13, Lev. 19:35, 36, Hab. 2:6, Prov. 15:6, Deut. 24:14,
Jas. 5:4, Prov. 11:1] such as Concealing stolen property, Withholding
lost or borrowed property, Evading taxes, Refusing to pay debts, Wilful