<TITLE>02. Par -</TITLE>E-1d      Now, I either can be the servant of man or the servant of God. In order to be the servant of God, I must abstain. No matter how much I love you, I must abstain from people. I'm not an isolationist. You don't know my heart, how I love people. But I have to stay away from people in order to stay with God. No matter who the person is, even my own people... My own brother drove up here the other day, my wife setting in with them. By the way my brother...?... And my brother in flesh. Said, "You haven't been in my house for years." My mother cried and said. "Billy, why don't you visit them?" But I... That's my mother, but I love her. But the reasons...
There's a lady setting in this...?... this afternoon, which is my wife. I promised God and her that all my affective love would go to her, for that part as a woman. I promised that.
Now, if I go down the street and a--a young lady comes along and says, "Are you, Brother Branham?" "Yes, sir." "Why, I love you." Well, the first place, if I thought I loved--had love for the girl it would be false. My first duty is the love that I pledged to my wife. I must think of that first. That's first. Then I... No matter how much I think here, I know it can't be right, because this has to be right first. If it's contrary to that, I must take this first. That's what I promised God. And that's the way it is with truth, and the Gospel, and Christ, and people. I love people with all my heart, but my first love is to Christ. My first duty is to Him. Therefore, I must serve Him. You understand, don't you?

E-1e      And this missionary offering, I've tried to spend the money... Never took a offering in my life, never took a offering in my life.
I remember one time. I tell this sometimes. My wife gets after me, so she just might as well ready to get after me again today, 'cause here it is.
Right after we'd been married about two years. You know, the depression times was hard. I... We just couldn't make ends meet. Do you ever get that place? We all have. I believe you have. And I was a getting about, oh, about sixteen, eighteen dollars a week, and children to take care of and everything, I thought, "My, what will I do?" So I said, "You know what? I'm going to take an offering tonight."
She said, "Well, I'm going over to watch you do that." I'd never taken one, but she said...


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