THEY DO NOT DIE THAT WAY.
A devout colored preacher, whose heart was aglow with missionary zeal, gave notice to his congregation that in the evening an offertory would be taken for missions, and asked for liberal gifts. A selfish well-to-do man in his congregation said to him before the service: “Yer gwine to kill dis church if yer goes on saying, ‘Give! Give!’ No church can stan’ it. Yer gwine to kill it.” After the sermon the colored minister said to the people: “Brother Jones told me I was gwine to kill dis here church ef I keep a-asking yer to give; but, my brethren, churches doesn’t die dat way. Ef anybody knows of a church dat died ’cause of its givin’ too much to the Lord, I’ll be very much obliged ef my brother will tell me whar dat church is; for I’se gwine to visit it; and I’ll climb up on de walls of dat church, under de light of de moon, and cry, ‘Blessed am de dead dat die in de Lord.’”—Anon.