ALL THINGS TO ALL MEN by Bertha L. Selmon

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Mountain View, California · Apr 11, 1906

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 32, No. 15.

"ALL THINGS TO ALL MEN."

By Bertha L. Selmon

THE Gospel missionaries in the frozen regions of the North may find it advisable in some degree to adopt the costume found suitable in this icy atmosphere; but in almost every land the question of apparel is one which little concerns the success of the messenger. Nowhere else in all the world does one meet the same or similar conditions as those found in the great heart of the Chinese Empire. In each of the great port cities, and even in Hankow, the metropolis of the interior, foreign settlements have been built up. The French, English, and German, in their several concessions, have come to be a matter of fact in the Chinese economy.

These people have even become infatuated with the ingenuity and vices of the strange intruder, learning only too rapidly to ape the cigaret-smoking and other ways of the iniquitous class, who, for selfish interests, have found their way to these centers of trade and traffic. In these places, where even these commercial classes regard the missionary with infidel contempt, no matter in what garb he may appear, it would often place him at a disadvantage in the eyes of both natives and foreigners to appear in the dress of the people.

But this is not real China—the ancient, unawakened Middle Kingdom. Far in the interior, among the thousands of market places and villages, live the farming class, many of whom have never seen one of another race. Here the missionary meets altogether another problem. Often for months and even years, he may be alone amid the hundreds of millions; alone but for a sprinkling of others here and there, whom he may or may not occasionally meet. Little by little, through hardship, toil, and self-denial, has been won the privilege of going up and down with the Gospel tidings among the masses of a people who have dwelt long behind the bulwarks of idol and devil worship, prejudiced by superstition and conceit, superstition which, tho to-day has given way in greater or less degree to tolerance of the stranger and his message, still manifests itself in the path of Gospel progress.

The missionary is frequently termed foreign devil, and many children yet believe him capable of digging out their eyes, and various other atrocities. The foreign doctrine, as they call it, is supposed to possess some bewitching influence; the young convert is believed to have in some way eaten the foreigner's doctrine, often his relatives regard him as one insane. Thus it is that the Gospel worker finds even the children afraid of him. They must be kindly won, as one would tame the birds of the forest. But once they find he has a loving heart, and is a human being like themselves, they at once become our neighbors and friends.

Then there is the conceit. In the language of the Chinese, China is termed the Great Pure Kingdom, and while they are willing to admit there is much that is not pure in the hearts of the present generation, much of the downward trend is not unjustly blamed upon the foreigner's opium. The foreigner is, they believe, willing to do anything for money, while their noble ancestors were devoted only to the improvement of themselves and the good of their race.

Let us for a moment cast aside our own prejudice, and weigh thoughtfully the observations of an ambassador of the "son of heaven" in a foreign court.

The English are a hard-working race, and they have millions of devices for getting money. . . . . In their view our holy doctrine (Confucianism) is mere useless and empty talk. . . . . But this true knowledge of theirs consists of various feats of deft manipulation, knowledge that can turn out a machine; nothing more. . . . . The doctrine handed down to us from holy men of old may be summed up in two words, humanity and justice. . . . . A man who follows the precepts of humanity and justice is beautiful in his speech and admirable in his actions. . . . . But do we see these results in western lands? No, indeed; the whole energy is centered in the manufacture of different kinds of machines; steam vessels and locomotives to bring rapid returns of profit, and guns and rifles to slay their fellow men. They rival one another in greed and cunning methods of acquiring wealth.

A maxim from the Chinese classics is, "What Confucius teaches is true, what is contrary to his teaching is false; what he does not teach is unnecessary." And such is the attitude of a civilization and education which has dwelt within itself for centuries, that in its light the foreigner is a barbarian who is dressed in strange-looking garments, and does not know how to feed himself with chop-sticks!

The pioneer missionaries in this field were close followers in the footsteps of Him who laid off in the courts above the robes of heaven; He was willing for our sakes to be on earth,—the Son of Man,—to wear the garb disgraced by a race of rebels, that He might win back some from the land of the enemy. Surely the followers of Jesus could only regard it a little thing to thus become one among these sons of the East, "that by all means they might save some."

Buried under the superstition and conceit of these people, are hearts not unlike our own, hearts filled with longings, burdened with grief, longing for love and sympathy which is truly found only in the blessed message of salvation. How can we reach them, one by one? How can we win them? Often through the little ones we reach the parents. How can we get so near to these that our hearts beat with theirs, and they are not afraid to climb in our laps and put their little arms around us?

Yes, we must become one of them. We may wear the blue cotton garments, and whisper to them the words of their mother tongue. Some even of our own race regard us as of no nationality; but Jesus said, He that would be great, let him be servant of all. And when we have given ourselves to win these, whom we have learned to love as our neighbors, friends, and brothers and sisters in the Gospel, the dress only seems a part of it all. We have no caste to lose; we look for a "city which

hath foundations," and when the sheaves are gathered, we hope and live and pray that some of these may dwell with us in that home above, where there is neither barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free, but Christ is all in all.

BERTHA L. SELMON. Siang Cheng, Honan, China.