No Exorbitant Salaries

No Exorbitant Salaries

No man should be granted an exorbitant salary, even though he may possess special capabilities and qualifications. The work done for God and His cause is not to be placed on a mercenary basis. The workers in the publishing house have no more taxing labor, no greater expense, no more weighty responsibilities, than have the workers in other lines. Their labor is no more wearing than is that of the faithful minister. On the contrary, ministers, as a rule, make greater sacrifices than are made by the laborers in our institutions. Ministers go where they are sent; they are minutemen, ready to move at any moment, to meet any emergency. They are necessarily separated, to a great degree, from their families. The workers in the publishing houses, as a rule, have a permanent home and can live with their families. This is a great saving of expense and should be considered in its bearing on the relative compensation of laborers in the ministry and in publishing houses.

Those who labor wholeheartedly in the Lord’s vineyard, working to the utmost of their ability, are not the ones to set the highest estimate on their own services. Instead of swelling with pride and self-importance, and measuring with exactness every hour’s work, they compare their efforts with the Saviour’s work and account themselves unprofitable servants.

Brethren, do not study how little you may do, in order to reach the very lowest standard, but arouse to grasp the fullness of Christ, that you may do much for Him.—Testimonies for the Church 7:208, 209 (1902). [308]