CHEERFULNESS by Theodore L. Cuyler

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Mar 27, 1893

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 19, No. 21.

CHEERFULNESS.

By Theodore L. Cuyler

MUCH depends upon a cheerful start for the day. The man who leaves his home with a scowl on his brow, and a snap at his children, and a tart speech to his wife instead of a kiss, is not likely to be pleasant company for anybody during the day; he will probably come home with the temper of a porcupine. Wise plans should be laid for every day, so that it be not an idle saunter, or an aimless bustling to and fro. Yet to make good speed on the right track, we must not start overloaded, not too many things to be undertaken, lest they prove a hasty botchwork. The journey is not made in a cushioned car, but on foot, and the most galling is vexatious and worrying care. One step at a time is all that the most busy Christian can take, and steady walking ought not to tire any healthy body or soul. It is overstrained rush, whether in business or study, that breaks people down; especially the insane greed for wealth, or the mad ambition goading brain and nerves to fury. The shattered nerves and sudden deaths in all our

great business centers tell a sad story. A good rule is to take short views. Sufficient to the day is the toil thereof; no man is strong enough to bear to-day's load with to-morrow's load piled on top of it. The only look far ahead that you and I should take should be the look toward the judgment seat and the offered crown at the end of the race. That is the way to get a taste of heaven in advance.

—Rev. T. L. Cuyler.