Wesley Corpus

5. The Lord of all will next inquire, "How didst thou employ the worldly goods which I lodged in thy hands Didst thou use thy food, not so as to seek or place thy happiness therein, but so as to preserve thy body in health, in strength and vigour, a fit instrument for the soul Didst thou use apparel, not to nourish pride or vanity, much less to tempt others to sin, but conveniently and decently to defend thyself from the injuries of the weather Didst thou prepare and use thy house, and all other conveniences, with a single eye to my glory -- in every point seeking not thy own honour, but mine; studying to please, not thyself, but me Once more: in what manner didst thou employ that comprehensive talent, money -- not in gratifying the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eye, or the pride of life; not squandering it away in vain expenses -- the same as throwing it into the sea; not hoarding it up to leave behind thee -- the same as burying it in the earth; but first supplying thy own reasonable wants, together with those of thy family; then restoring the remainder to me, through the poor, whom I had appointed to receive it; looking upon thyself as only one of that number of poor, whose wants were to be supplied out of that part of my substance which I had placed in thy hands for this purpose; leaving thee the right of being supplied first, and the blessedness of giving rather than receiving Wast thou accordingly a general benefactor to mankind feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, comforting the sick, assisting the stranger, relieving the afflicted, according to their various necessities Wast thou eyes to the blind, and feet to the lame, a father to the fatherless, and an husband to the widow And didst thou labour to improve all outward works of mercy, as means of saving souls from death"