Not Men, but Principles
By L. A. S.
We can not judge correctly of the merits of any cause merely by looking at the men who may be connected with it. Good men are often connected with a bad cause, and a good cause often has bad men among its adherents. To make comparisons between men as a means of discerning between right and wrong, is totally misleading. We must look not at the men who may be connected with any cause, but at the principles which it represents. All men are sinful and erring, and there is no cause which may not be discredited if it is to be judged by the characters or by the mistakes of some of its adherents. Men change, but principles remain ever the same. A good principle is good always, and will never lead any person in the wrong path. An evil principle, likewise, is evil always, and can never do else but bring its adherents to grief, sooner or later, no matter how good or how great men may be its champions. When a controversy arises in the Christian church, the thing of chief importance is not the reconciliation of the opposing parties, however desirable this in itself may be. There is something more essential than this, and that is the maintenance of the principles of righteousness. But in order to see this, and do it, we must get at the principles which are involved in the controversy, and not merely compare the opposing parties with each other. We must look beneath the surface, disregarding mere appearances, and discover the foundation principles which are staked upon the issue. When Luther and his associates raised a protest against the practices of Rome, there were many who saw in it only a church quarrel, which called merely for some action that would reconcile the opposing factions. But it was vastly more than a controversy between men; it was a contest between principles. Judged by some of the men who contended for it, the cause of Rome was a good cause, and Luther and the Reformers made a mistake in persisting in their opposition to it, thereby causing a permanent division in the Christian church. And for a like reason many regard it as a great mistake for people to separate from the Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, and other churches adhered to by many good and eminent men, and which are doing much philanthropic and Christian work, to constitute a new sect known as Seventh-day Adventists. But a principle is involved which justifies all the sacrifice that can be required to uphold it—the Protestant and Christian principle of obedience to the Word of God as constituting the sole rule of Christian conduct, in opposition to human traditions and the mandates of men. At all hazards, and at whatever cost, this principle must be maintained in the Christian church. Only by its maintenance can the cause of God move forward in the earth. No unity or peace which is gained at the sacrifice of this principle amounts to anything for Christian purposes. God's way, God's word, and not man's, must be followed. We are never safe when we follow men, but only when we know and follow the voice of the good Shepherd. Let us make no comparisons between finite, erring men, but only between the principles for which men stand; and when we have found the underlying principles involved in any issue which may arise, let us choose the right, and stick to it. L. A. S.