I AM conscious that I am now talking upon a tender point; for no man considers himself dishonest (no man of any standing); but the difficulty lies here, the standard of rectitude has been trailing long in the dust, and it has been so soiled with clay, and saturated with filth, that its characters have been made almost illegible.
A bad example has been set in our high places. The rotten system of banking, and its various and disastrous workings, taken in connection with the expansive credits consequent upon the almost endless ebbings and flowings of a currency, which no one dared to keep long in possession, has contributed largely toward creating a looseness in the manner of doing business, which has given a character to most of our business men which in itself is subversive of good morals, and is diametrically opposed to the law of God.
This system of credits has caused some of our States to contract debts, which now, by heavy interests and partial payments, are weighing like mountains upon them, while repudiation on the part of some, and inability to pay on the part of others, has given our nation an unenviable reputation abroad, and travelers abroad often meet with taunts from foreigners about repudiation. It is said that the greatness and strength of the British empire owes much of its stability to the honesty and stability of her business men, whose word in any foreign port is like solid gold.
But this is not to the point. I wish to draw attention to the well-known, but seldom-thought-of fact, that the business principles of the present age, especially in our own country, are very corrupt, and becoming more and more so.
Large houses of business are carried on without capital. Credit! credit! and when that fails, down comes the firm, bringing with it many a duped, deceived victim, who had no idea that what he saw was only a bubble. Here is deceit and fraud; yet it is so adroitly done that there is no redress or penalty. The robber is soon reinstated by an expansion of some kind, and so crime seems rewarded.
Such a thing as a nice sense of honor in regard to honesty, is seldom carried out, and when it is, it is often called scrupulousness, or the like, and the quality of cunning covetousness is honored with such names as shrewdness, smartness, &c. So vice is called virtue, and virtue is called vice.
I assert it boldly, that from our highest to our lowest places, dishonesty has been the order of the day; for "lo these many years," the hackneyed maxim, "to the victor belong the spoils," has been the ruling principle of the age.
Those youth who have been brought up within the last twenty-five years, have seen but few examples of strict honesty. On the contrary, they have been reared amidst such examples of oppression and villainy, as might mantle the cheek of a pirate with disgust and shame.
But these philippics are not dealt out to those who are trying to overcome the world. No, no. I wish to arouse such to a sense of the danger of dabbling with this matter of dishonesty. Be assured, dear brother or sister, we must be without guile before the throne of God.
When I see the word, dishonest, I understand it to apply to all debts contracted without ability to pay, to all attempts to do business which the parties are not capable of carrying out; in fact, to every unfair dealing, intentional or unintentional.
An act is honest or dishonest in itself, without regard to motive; as, I agree to pay a debt at a certain time, but after much labor to do so, and having done all in my power to pay it, I fail. The failure is in itself dishonest, but the creditor and God pardon, as circumstances forbade it.
That such a failure is in itself criminal, is evident from the fact that pardon is indispensable to an extension of confidence; yet few will agree with me here for the aforesaid reason, that a bad example has been set before the present generation, and promises are no more than straws, when custom makes it proper to break them.
The principle here involved is this: I have in my hands the property of another man, on condition that I pay at a certain time. I have his earnings, the product of his bone and muscle, in a sense, a part of himself; and if pay-day passes, I have forfeited his confidence. What right has he to think or suppose I shall pay at all, if I once fail? And a failure is only healed by pardon, and that on the ground of intentional honesty, proved by the best of good works; and if I should ask pardon, while by neglect or willfulness, or bad management I fail, my chance of pardon would be poor indeed.
I believe there are many in this message who have not that high sense of honor, and moral rectitude in this respect, which becomes those who would be without guile before the throne of God. To prove that there are such, I ask, How many of us would consider that pardon was indispensable upon the failure of payment of a debt punctually, on the day required? If more proof were required, I appeal to those who conduct the financial department of the Review, &c.; and such is the strength of this evil, that it would be thought by some insulting to be dunned, even after they had forfeited their word by failure to redeem as the bond required.
To be honest, and yet be well supplied with comforts, to be honest, yet liberal and hospitable, to be honest, and yet lay by as God would prosper us, for his cause, to live comfortably, to be clothed and fed, and yet pay all as we go, (for the Bible gives us no liberty to go in debt,) this, I say, requires effort, effort! Indolence is no part of godliness.
Not only is effort necessary, but constant industry (as far as is consistent with health) and management, good, thrifty management; and if we have made a series of mistakes, until our creditors are about closing down upon us, let us conclude that advice might assist our own judgments. We may flatter ourselves that our judgment is excellent, but if we have not proved it, and are alone in this opinion, let us ask advice. It would do no harm, and then we can walk surely. It is better to exchange a filthy robe for a clean one, even if self-conceit goes with it. Only think of self-conceit being wrapped up in a filthy robe! Yet so it is!
Beware! O beware of the spirit of the age! "An article is worth all it will bring," "get all you can," &c. Brethren, do not let us spot our hands with the filthy lucre of the world, but use the world as not abusing it; and let the prayer of Agur be ours. See Prov. xxx, 8, 9. J. CLARKE.