RELIGION IS THE STRAIGHT-EDGE OF LIFE.
By Edison Driver
“WHAT do you think of this new idea of changing religion to sort of bring it up to date, as it were, sir?” asked neighbor Tom. “Looks pretty reasonable now, don’t it?” “Well, Tom, I reckon it does to some,” replied the old gentleman, laying aside his plane and squinting thoughtfully along the edge of the board. “From what I have heard, it does look pretty reasonable to many people these days, especially to such as never get down and figure out for themselves. Lots of folks are like that, Tom. They think they have got everything the good Lord knows out of books writ by men, and so they just take it all in on trust without a figure of their own. They are the ones that fall in with this new change.” “But what’s religion after all, they say? I have my own idea, and I answer. It is what you might call the straight-edge of life. Some there are that would differ from me, I suppose, and say that my definition was too simple and easy like; and yet I calculate that it covers the length and breadth of the subject pretty near as well as theirs. So I call religion the straight-edge of life, not something fixed up by man, but the great perfect ruler that God made Himself, and gave to man to shape his nature by, so he would know how crooked it was. What could a fellow like me do without a rule, and a square, and a straight-edge? He could do no sort of a decent job; and what is more, he couldn’t unless his straight-edge was straight, and his steel square was square and his rule checked off even like. But look at the folks that are falling in with this new dicker! They say, Here is a straight-edge that is too straight for us; and this square is a bit too exacting; and we’ll just lengthen out a few of the inches and shorten some of them—and so it goes on. And Tom, I’d like to have you tell me what kind of a house you think they are building for their souls with such kind of measurements. And how do you think they’ll like it on the great court day when the Judge comes round with the correct square to try their joinings?” “I must say there’s good sense in your talk,” said Tom. “I have often thought the same about the folly of it all myself, sir.” EDISON DRIVER.