Some provision should be made for the care
of ministers and others of God's faithful servants who through
exposure or overwork in His cause have become ill and need rest
and restoration, or who through age or loss of health are no
longer able to bear the burden and heat of the day. Ministers
are often appointed to a field of labor that they know will be
detrimental to their health; but, unwilling to shun trying places,
they venture, hoping to be a help and a blessing to the people.
After a time they find their health failing. A change of climate
and of work is tried, without bringing relief; and then what
are they to do?
These faithful laborers, who for Christ's
sake have given up worldly prospects, choosing poverty rather
than pleasure or riches; who, forgetful of self, have labored
earnestly to win souls to Christ; who have given liberally to
advance various enterprises in the cause of God, and have then
sunk down in the battle, wearied and ill, and with no means of
support, must not be left to struggle on in poverty and suffering,
or to feel that they are paupers. When sickness or infirmity
comes upon them, let not our workers be burdened with the anxious
query: "What will become of my wife and little ones, now
that I can no longer labor and supply their necessities?"
It is but just that provision be made to meet the needs of these
faithful laborers and the needs of those who are dependent on
them.
Generous provision is made for veterans
who have fought for their country. These men bear the scars and
lifelong infirmities that tell of their perilous conflicts, their
forced marches, their exposure to storms, their suffering in
prison. All these evidences of their loyalty and self-sacrifice
give them a just claim upon the nation they
have helped to save--a claim that is recognized and honored.
But what provision have Seventh-day Adventists made for the soldiers
of Christ?