Beware of Worldly Entanglements.
O Friends, do not die from the good through the wantonness of fleshly lusts, neither be choked with the cares of this life, nor fear the shearers, neither let the heat scorch your green blade; but dwell under the shadow of the Almighty who will shade you from the heat and cold. Neither be cumbered nor surfeited with the riches of this world, nor bound, nor straitened with them, nor married to them.
(Works, VII., p. 152.)
Every one strive to be rich in the life and in the Kingdom, and things of the world that hath no end.
(Works, VII., p. 197.)
Riches and Poverty.
And in the old parliament’s days many people that used to wear ribbons and lace and costly apparel and followed junkettings and feasting with priests and professors came to leave it off when they came to be convinced of God’s eternal truth and to walk and serve God in the spirit as the apostle did, they left off their curious apparel and ribbons and lace and their sporting and feasting with priests and professors and would not go to wakes nor plays nor shows as they formerly had used to do and would not wear gold nor silver nor lace nor ribbons nor make them.
And then the priests and professors raged exceedingly against us and printed books against us and said that our religion lay in not wearing fine clothes and lace and ribbons and in not eating good cheer, .... And we told them that when they went to their sports and games and plays and the like that they had better serve God than spend their time so vainly; and that costly apparel with lace that we formerly had hung upon our backs that kept us not warm, with that we could maintain a company of poor people that had no clothes.
And so our religion lay not in meats and drinks, nor clothes, nor thee nor thou, nor putting off hats nor making curtseys at which they were greatly offended because we thee’d and thou’d them and could not put off our hats nor bow to them. And therefore they said our religion lay in such things but our answer was, nay, for though the spirit of God led into that which was comely and decent and from chambering and wantonness and from sporting and pastimes and feasting as in the day of slaughter and from wearing costly apparel as the apostle commands and from the world’s honour fashions and customs. But our religion lies in that which brings to visit the poor and fatherless and widows and keeps from the spots of the world, which religion is pure and undefiled before God, and this is the religion which we own which the apostles was in above 1600 years since, and do deny all vain religions got up since which are not only spotted with the world but pleads for a body of sin and death to the grave, and their widows and fatherless lies begging up and down the street and countries.
(C. J., I., pp. 285-286.)