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Review and Herald, Vol. 77, No. 51.

WORDS TO PARENTS

Review and Herald

Dec 18, 1900

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Dec 18, 1900

WORDS TO PARENTS

By Ellen G. White

MRS. E. G. WHITE
MANY parents fail to realize their God-given responsibility. They do not realize that the best missionary work they can do is to present to the world a well-disciplined, well-trained family. Upon such a family God looks with pleasure.
Parents should redouble their efforts for the salvation of their children. They should faithfully instruct them, not leaving them to gather up their education as best they can. The youth should not be allowed to learn good and evil indiscriminately, the parents thinking that at some future time the good will predominate and the evil lose its influence. The evil will increase faster than the good. It is possible that the evil which children learn may be eradicated after many years , but who would trust to this? If parents could be aroused to realize their fearful responsibility in the work of educating their children, they would devote more time to prayer and less to needless display. They would pray earnestly for divine aid in the training and education of their children.
The work of dealing with human minds requires careful study. The susceptible, expanding mind of a child longs for knowledge. Parents should keep themselves well informed, that they may give the minds of their children proper food. Like the body, the mind derives its strength from the food it receives. It is broadened and elevated by pure, strengthening food. But it is narrowed and debased by feeding upon that which is of the earth earthy.
Parents, you are the ones to decide whether the minds of your children shall be filled with pure, elevating thoughts, or with vicious sentiments. You can not keep their active minds unoccupied, neither can you frown away evil. Only by the inculcation of right principles can you exclude wrong thoughts.
Unless parents, by earnest, assiduous efforts, plant the seeds of truth in the hearts of their children, the enemy will sow the ground with tares. Good, sound instruction is the only preventive of the evil communications which corrupt good manners. Truth will protect the soul from the endless temptations that must be encountered.
Parents, your minds should be full of the truths of the Bible. Your memory should be stored with its inspiring examples and fascinating incidents, your hearts softened and subdued by its deep spiritual lessons. Then as you teach your children, they will catch the enthusiasm you feel.
Parents stand in the place of God to their children. Their will, when in harmony with the divine will, is to be respected, honored, and obeyed. Let not children feel at liberty to disregard the wishes of their parents. God has spoken decidedly on this point: “Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.” “Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.” There can be no safe departure from this injunction. The parent's will, when it is in harmony with the will of God, is to be law.
If parents work as they should for their children, they can not study nor imitate the fashions of the world. They can not take time for gossiping or aimless visiting. The mother who lives to please herself places herself in bondage to the enemy of truth and righteousness.
God says, Take this child and train it for me. Form its character in accordance with the divine model. Parents should realize that by God's appointment they are the guardians of their children, whom they are to bring up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. They should look their responsibilities fairly and squarely in the face. Remember that association with those of lax morals and coarse characters will have a detrimental influence upon your children. Do not leave them to the evil plottings of the enemy. Guard them carefully.
The mother who has children to train and prepare for the heavenly mansions should not place her responsibilities upon some one else in order that she may be a missionary. In her own home she can do the very highest kind of missionary work. Let her enter the school of Christ, that she may learn the lessons every mother needs to learn. Let her study Christ's way of dealing with minds. Let her seek to be a true mother, a queen in the household, guiding, controlling, counseling, putting all her tact and skill into her work. Let her study how to train her children so that they will develop into well-balanced, symmetrical men and women, useful to their fellow men, and prepared to shine in the courts of the Lord. If she does her work well, she will have the privilege of seeing her children serving God through the ceaseless ages of eternity.
There are some children who need more patient discipline and kindly training than others. Their unyielding traits of character were given them as a legacy, and they need much sympathy and love. But by persevering labor these wayward ones may be prepared for the work of the Master. They may possess undeveloped powers which, when aroused, will enable them to fill places far in advance of those from whom more has been expected.
Parents, if you have children with peculiar temperaments, do not, because of this, let the blight of discouragement rest upon their lives. Help them by your love and sympathy. Strengthen them by loving words and kindly deeds to overcome their defects of character.
This principle should be carried out in the Church as well as in the family. The day of Judgment will show that those who have been faithful in helping the unpromising ones, so generally neglected, have many stars in their crown. Those who seem so defective may have valuable qualities, which need developing by patient love and untiring effort. Such ones often make the most successful missionaries; for they know how to help those who need help. Are the efforts made in behalf of these apparently one-sided ones of no avail? — No; no. When the right chord is touched, the response comes. Only eternity can make known the good accomplished by such efforts. When we see as we are seen, and know as we are known, we shall realize how God regards this work.
When parents become depressed and discouraged, let them not go to human beings for solace and sympathy. Let them rather take all their cares and perplexities to Jesus. By the wrong advice given by human beings, Satan leads men and women to bind upon themselves burdens grievous to be borne. Parents who listen to the advice of those that are not on the side of Christ will make a terrible failure of their work. They will fall an easy prey to the enemy's temptations.
Human help is as a broken reed; but Christ knew that human beings would be inclined to depend on this help. Therefore He lifted up His voice and cried, “Come unto me, . . . and I will give you rest.” He understands every phase of character, and to those who seek His counsel He will give that wisdom which comes down from above.

The Heaviest Troubles

By Lettie S. Bigelow

Of the hard and weary loads ’Neath, which we bend and fall, The troubles that do not come Are the heaviest ones of all.
For grief that cuts like a knife There’s oil of comfort and cure, And the Hand which binds the weight Brings strength and grace to endure.
But to phantoms of pain and woe The lips of pity are dumb, And there’s never oil or wine For troubles that do not come.
There’s a song to lighten the toil, And a staff for climbing the height, But never an alpenstock For the hills that are out of sight.
There are bitter herbs enough In the brimming cup of to-day Without the sprig of rue, From to-morrow’s unknown way.
Then take the meal that is spread, And go with a song on thy way, And let not the morrow shade The sunshine and joy of to-day.
— Lettie S. Bigelow, in Zion’s Herald.

SECRETS THAT ARE VALUABLE

New York Press
EVERY girl who uses extract of violet on her handkerchief is contributing to the well-earned fortune of a man who has for years kept to himself the secret of a curious chemical discovery. Once violet extract was made from violets. Now it is compounded of ionone, the secret in question, which is the most precious thing of its kind in the world. A single drop of it will perfume a big room for months. It sells in quart bottles at six hundred and forty-five dollars each; and, beyond the fact that it is an oil of lemon, and lemon-grass, the secret of its manufacture is still an absolute mystery to the world at large.
Pins are used throughout the world at the rate of billions a day.* This is entirely owing to the cleverness and perseverance of one man,—Samuel Slocum,—who was the inventor of the solid-headed pin. About seventy years ago Slocum made, in the Isle of Wight, the first nail-making machine. At that time pins were made by a most tedious process; the head of each was formed by winding a fine wire onto the post of the pin. It occurred to Mr. Slocum that his nail-making principle might be applied to pin manufacture. To perfect the idea he shut himself up in his workshop for eight days, having his meals passed in to him, and refusing to see anybody. At last he was completely successful. This and a subsequent machine for setting pins in paper, Slocum preserved as his own secrets for years, till they were at last bought from him by the American Pin Company.
Much excitement has been caused among French artists by the appearance on the market of a color called “ceruline.” It gives a blue surpassing any in use in beauty and softness, and that, too, without the use of either oil or varnish. It was invented by an Italian, Signor Ceruli, who has so far been clever enough to keep his preparation an absolute secret.
The difficulty of keeping secrets of this kind is immense. If workmen are employed, it is certain that envious competitors will tempt them with heavy bribes. The Clarendon Press of Oxford, England, has managed to preserve a secret process intact for twenty-five years. This is its wonderful India paper, on which, besides Bibles, one hundred and sixty other works are printed. It is so tough that a strip three inches wide will support a weight of twenty-three pounds. The manner of its manufacture came into possession of the Clarendon Press in August, 1875, and it has been made ever since at Wolvercote mill. Only three persons possess knowledge of the whole process. Not one of those employed in making the thin, tough paper is familiar with more than one stage of its manufacture.
In the earlier days of the century much mystery attended the inventions of the day, and many persons made comfortable little fortunes out of processes which to-day are described in every text-book. The proprietor of a drug store near Temple Bar, London, about eighty years ago, invented a method of making citric acid. Fortunately for him, it was so simple a process that he required no assistance. For a long time, behind locked doors and blind-covered windows, he turned out citric acid by the gallon, and rapidly accumulated the beginnings of a fortune. One day, to his horror, the firm to which he usually sold his goods refused to pay the usual price. Their offer was fifty per cent lower than the usual terms. Soon it fell lower still. There were quantities of citric acid on the market, and the secret was his no longer. It was long before he discovered how his process had leaked out. One day, during his absence, a boy, disguised as a chimney sweep, had got on the roof of his laboratory, dropped down the flue, and discovering his notes and retorts, returned with full particulars to his employers. Heartbroken, the unlucky man died a year later.
One-man secrets are such troublesome property to keep that most inventors are glad enough to sell them for a reasonable price. An English dye manufacturer a year or two ago heard of a Frenchman who had discovered a new carmine, which gave wonderful results. He went to see the inventor at Lyons, and was charmed with the brilliancy of the coloring. He agreed to pay five thousand dollars down for the secret. With full particulars, he returned to England, and set to work. But his carmine was most disappointing. It had none of the exquisite brilliance of the French product. He paid another visit to Lyons, and saw the process all over again. “My method was perfect in every particular,” he said. “It must be the air of England which makes it impossible to produce good carmine.” “Stay,” said the Frenchman. “You are wrong. What kind of weather is it to-day?” “Bright and sunny,” replied the other, in surprise. “There, you have the real secret,” returned the Frenchman. “It took me many months to discover it, and I could not bring myself at first to tell you.”

A WINTER SONG

By Chas. T. Brooks; Ludwig Holty

TRANSLATED from the German by Chas. T. Brooks
Summer joys are o’er; Flowers bloom no more, Wintry winds are sweeping; Through the snowdrifts peeping, Cheerful evergreen Rarely now is seen.
Now no plumed throng Charms the wood with song; Ice-bound trees are glittering, Merry snowbirds twittering, Fondly strive to cheer Scenes so cold and drear.
Winter, still I see Many charms in thee,— Love thy chilly greeting, Snowstorms fiercely beating, And the dear delights Of the long, long nights.
— Ludwig Holty.

ANOTHER

The King’s Messenger
ONE Person thus speaks of “Another.” The One had been a comforter, a blessing, a healer, a Saviour. It became necessary for Him to go away. His duties required Him in a different sphere. His absence was to be deplored; for His presence was requisite to the safety and well-being of those He loved. He said to them: “It is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you.” “I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter.”
He went, and sent, and the Comforter came, not as an influence or emanation, but as another Person, to take the place of the Person that left.
He has come. We are to receive, and to receive Him in His personality. This is the only way to receive a person. We are not to receive Him as a thing, a blessing, or an experience, but as another Person.
He is God in man. He dwells in human hearts. His throne is in earthly temples. He takes the place of Jesus, the Man of Sorrows, and He is the Comforter divine. He can comfort in no other way only as a Comforter, a personal, abiding lover, comforter, and guide.
He is the Head of the Church militant, and if acknowledged and not overlooked or ignored, will lead on to victory. Another has come to mingle His personality with mine, and make it one—His.

SPIRITUAL DISCERNMENT

By A. L. Hollenbeck

A. L. HOLLENBECK
THE will is the power that governs the nature of man, and brings all his other faculties under its sway. It is the deciding power, which works in man unto obedience to God, or unto obedience to Satan.
It is of the utmost importance that we who profess to know and obey the truth know of a certainty whether God is controlling our will, or whether it is being controlled by the enemy of all righteousness. Unless we surrender our will wholly to the Lord to be controlled by Him, we can never receive the Holy Spirit. When the Lord controls our will, it will be in perfect harmony with His will; and the Holy Spirit will have an uninterrupted passage from the throne to the temple, through the channel of living faith. Then, and not till then, can divine power work in us mightily to the salvation of souls around us.
The Lord reveals His will to us, to guide us, and to fit us to help others. We may know the voice of the Lord, and always distinguish it from the voice of a false shepherd. The Lord reveals His will to us in His word, in His providential workings, and through the appeals of His Holy Spirit. In these three ways we may distinguish the voice of God. Any one may profess to have the Spirit of Christ, but the real possession of that Spirit is obtained only through a complete and unconditional surrender of the will to the Lord, to be controlled by the Holy Spirit unto implicit obedience to the requirements of God.
The Bible is just as really a communication from God to us as if its words came from Him to us in an audible voice. Really to hear the voice of God speaking to us through His written word, is faith. If our faith is genuine, and not merely nominal, it will work in us implicit obedience to God's will. The actual hearing of living words will convey to us real, living faith. And as the spirit and the power in living faith are the same spirit and power that are in the living word of God, just as soon as we really surrender our will wholly to God, there will be an immediate and blessed union, and a daily and active co-operation with God in the work of saving souls.
We shall recognize the voice of God in His providential workings among the nations, in the Church, and in individuals, if we do not separate ourselves from Him by following the promptings of an unsanctified heart. Because we profess to be Christ's followers, we may think we hear aright; but unless we actually know the voice of God, we shall certainly be deceived; for Satan can so disguise his voice that it is often accepted as the voice of God. Our work is to connect our souls with God by walking in His ways, by doing according to His will, and by having our hearts wholly consecrated to Him. Then we shall be able to shun confusion and every evil work, and engage earnestly in the united and rapidly advancing work of God.
When we hear God's voice through the appeals of His Holy Spirit, impressions will be made upon the heart, which will be wrought out in the character, and we shall grow more and more like the divine Pattern. The Lord intends to prove those who profess to follow Him. When we surrender our will unreservedly to Him, He has promised to give us His Holy Spirit. This is indeed a precious promise, and we should make haste to obtain it, that His Spirit may work in us "to will and to do of His good pleasure."

Trials Advance Character Building

“He permits us to encounter obstacles, persecution, and hardship, not as a curse, but as the greatest blessing of our lives. Every temptation resisted, every trial bravely borne, gives us a new experience, and advances us in the work of character building.”

THE LABOR QUESTION

The Present Truth
Having had some personal experience in labor unions, workingmen’s associations, and of course in strikes, the question has come to me (because I have invariably found that these unions bring about the majority of strikes, with the distress and hunger which always follow, if the strike is prolonged), What should be my attitude as a Christian toward these organizations?
If I do not become a member, I am boycotted, and have to suffer in that way.
Again: Why should Christians yield up all things to men of the world? Why should they not have a share in the blessings and good things of the world? Why should the devil have all his own way? Should we not fight him for some of the good things he seems to have appropriated for his followers?
I think that your question answers itself, even if we take no thought of the moral aspect of the case. Even allowing that it is proper for a Christian to “fight for his rights,” what is the use of fighting a losing battle? You say that a prolonged strike is always accompanied with hunger and distress, and every account that I have ever read has convinced me that this is true; what good things, then, are gained by fighting?
I have before me a Welsh newspaper’s estimate of the cost of the Taff Vale strike. It is put at £400,000, of which sum the men had to sustain upward of three-fourths. I have not exact statistics at hand, but I am sure that no one who has given thought to the matter will deny that there are very few strikes, even where the strikers gain their point, where the small increase in pay equals the loss sustained in fighting for it. There is the loss of wages for weeks, and sometimes for months, to which is to be added the wastefulness and demoralization that always attend idleness. Often the strike is not for increased pay, but for fewer hours of labor, so that, at best, the actual gain to the workman is nothing; but if the strike for increased pay is “successful,” many months must elapse before the sum gained can make up for the cost of the struggle to gain it, and often the loss is never made good.
But the majority of strikes do not result in securing the end sought, and the strikers, after being out of employment for weeks or months, go back to work on the same terms as before. Where, then, does the gain and blessing come in? No; on a purely selfish, mercenary basis, a strike is one of the most foolish things in the world. It is much like a man cutting his own throat, to demonstrate his right to live independently.
You rightly say that “trades unions” and so-called “labor leaders” are responsible for strikes and the attendant suffering. If these “labor leaders,” who are such not because they lead in labor, or ever engage in honest toil, but because they lead labor and laborers into captivity, were themselves affected by the strikes which they encourage or impose, there would be fewer of these suicidal struggles. As with wars, so with strikes, — they are rarely begun by the people, but by men who serve their own ends at the expense of others who are foolish enough to be controlled by them.
But you are questioning me concerning your duty as a Christian, and therefore we must take our answer from the Christian’s Guidebook, without any regard to the matter of possible pecuniary gain to ourselves. Let us therefore take a brief, comprehensive view of the labor question as set forth in the Scriptures.
It is a popular error, fostered by many thoughtless Christians, that labor is a part of the curse that has come because of sin. This is a grave error. Man was set to work by the Creator as soon as he was created. The command was: “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish [fill] the earth, and subdue it.” Gen. 1: 28. “And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.” Gen. 2: 15. Labor is a blessing, a privilege which makes man an associate with God, and which will be continued throughout eternity. Jesus said, “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.” John 5: 17. The curse came upon the earth, making it less fruitful, and less responsive to man’s efforts, and so more labor had to be expended for much smaller returns than before; but when the earth is made new again, and men are restored to the first dominion, “they shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth for trouble;” for God’s people “shall long enjoy the work of their hands.” “They shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.” Isa. 65: 21–23.
The earth is yet under the curse, but true Christians are not; for “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse,” and “if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature,” or “there is a new creation;” therefore Christians are to live in this earth the same as if it were already made new, or as if there had never been any curse. With them “old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God.” 2 Cor. 5: 17, 18. God is sole ruler, and His word is our sole rule of life.
Contrary to the lazy man’s motto, “The world owes me a living,” the fact is that we owe our lives to the world. The apostle Paul’s words are true for all: “I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise.” Rom. 1: 14. If the world did owe us a living, and we were obliged to depend on it, we should surely die; for it could never pay the debt: it can not give life. “The world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.” 1 John 2: 17. “He giveth to all life, and breath, and all things” (Acts 17: 25); and since the life of the Lord has been given for the world, it is evident that that portion which is in us belongs to the world also.
In order that the instruction from Scripture may be more impressive, and its practical necessity may be more apparent, I will quote for you a bit of an article by John T. Day, editor of the Shoe and Leather Record, in the Daily Mail of November 15. Writing on the greater cost of producing boots and shoes in England than in America, he says:—
For this lamentable state of things the National Union of Boot and Shoe Operatives is chiefly to blame. Its members are not allowed to do more than a certain quantity of work. Only a few months ago we had a lurid light thrown upon union methods in Leicester, where an operative named Shelton cut his throat rather than face the union committee, and at the inquest it came out that the charge to which he was invited to reply was merely that he had done too much work.
A penciled scrawl addressed to his wife, and found upon his body, ran thus:—
“DEAR EMMA: Forgive me for doing this, for I should be spotted all the remainder of my life. God bless you all.”
It is a well-known fact that the average laborer’s chief ambition seems to be to do as little work as possible in a given time, and not as much as possible, and that the trades unions are largely responsible for it. An active man is not allowed to do his best. Now this is in direct opposition to the Scriptural injunction, “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.” Eccl. 9: 10.
This is not an arbitrary commandment, but one which, like everything right, grows out of the very nature of things. “In all labor there is profit.” Prov. 14: 23. This has no reference to pecuniary remuneration; the profit is in the labor itself. Labor elevates. Every man degenerates physically, mentally, and morally by idleness. A man who idles his time away, or who slights his work, or who purposely does less work in a given time than he is able to do, is sure to lose his manhood. Even though he get full pay, and more than pay, for his time, he suffers a loss which nothing can make good. So far at least as any man’s own personal profit is concerned, it would certainly be far better for him to labor hard for no wages, than to live a life of idleness with a regular income.
It must be remembered that we are not to “work for a living.” “Labor not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life.” John 6: 27. The Lord tells us not to be anxious about what we shall eat, or what we shall drink, or with what we shall be clothed; “for your Heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Matt. 6: 31–33. We are not to labor in order to get a living, but to labor because God has given it to us, and has said, “Six days shalt thou labor.”
People talk about “receiving an equivalent” for labor; but there is no such thing as an equivalent for honest toil, whether physical or mental. No money can be reckoned in comparison with a man’s best thoughts or muscular energy. Labor is life, and money is not to be mentioned as an equivalent for life. If this be remembered, there will be an end of heartburnings and jealousies because some one with no more ability than we, and who does even less work, receives greater pay. That is not our business. We serve the Lord Christ, and to Him we look for our reward.
“But we should be so oppressed that life would be a burden, if we lived according to this principle,” you say. “Employers would take advantage of it, and would not give us anything.”
Well, it all depends upon whether or not the principle is correct. If it is, and it surely is, because it comes from God’s word, then we may be sure that God will honor it in us if we live by it. “I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and the right of the poor.” Ps. 140: 12.
Now a word as to the ethics of strikes, beyond that which is settled by the labor principle already set forth. Suppose we are oppressed: the Lord tells us to expect tribulation in this world. “Do not rich men oppress you?” James 2: 6. But “the just” do not resist, even when condemned and killed. James 5: 6. Jesus said: “Resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. . . . And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.” Matt. 5: 39, 41. You may say that that is out of date or impractical; but it is the rule for Christians, and we are considering the matter from the Christian’s point of view.
Love “seeketh not her own,” and “love is the fulfilling of the law;” therefore he who strikes for higher pay, even though it be justly due him, is violating the law of God.
Again: you ask why we should yield up all things to men of the world, and why the devil should have it all his own way. The devil never does have it his own way, except when we depart from the principles of Christ, to gain some of the“good things of this world.” Satan once offered all the world to Christ, on condition that Christ would worship him. Christ would not do it, but chose rather to die, and thus He won the world. We may be sure that no man can get this world unless he does homage to Satan.
“The wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.” Every evil thing, every deed of violence that a man does, comes back upon himself. “He made a pit, and digged it, and is fallen into the ditch which he made. His mischief shall return upon his own head, and his violent dealing shall come down upon his own pate.” Ps. 7: 15, 16. Striving and fighting for that which we desire to have will never obtain for us anything that is real and lasting.
While it is true that we are not to work merely for a living, it is nevertheless a divine commandment that if a man will not work, he shall not eat. 2 Thess. 3: 10. If a man, therefore, for any reason whatever, refuses to work when he is able to work, and there is work to do, he deserves to starve; and whoever assists or encourages him in his idleness is encouraging disobedience to God.
I know the plea that is often made by laborers: “We should like to work; we have no personal grievance, and we have opposed the proposition to strike; but the strike has been declared, and we are obliged to stop work.” This shows the wickedness of the whole thing, more than anything else. If trades unions were for the purpose of encouraging laborers, of instructing them in their trades, of assisting them to secure work, and helping them when they are ill, they would be useful; but the fact that they tyrannize over laborers, and enslave them, and terrorize them, shows that they are wholly bad. We are not now making any plea for capitalists, as against laborers. They can take care of themselves, and need no help from us, although I must bear testimony that all attacks upon them, whether by word or deed, are wicked, no matter how oppressive they may be; but the great objection to modern trades unions, aside from the moral aspect of the case, is that they are the greatest enemies of the working man. Laboring men have suffered more from them than from oppressive employers. A labor monopoly is worse than a money monopoly.
The man who says that he is compelled to stop work against his will is as much a slave as the one who, against his will, is driven to his work by the lash of the overseer. Only in the latter case the man has been captured and sold, and so is not responsible for his condition, while in the former the man has voluntarily placed himself in a state of servitude. Such slavery is utterly incompatible with Christianity; for “he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord’s freeman.” 1 Cor. 7: 22.
We need not spend time to do more than refer to the wickedness of those who not only will not work themselves, but who, even with violence, hinder others from working. And what shall be said of professed Christian journalists who give countenance to such practices by stigmatizing as “blacklegs” the honest men who wish to obey God’s commandment to work whenever they can find work? The term is a disgrace only to the man who uses it.
Finally, remember that it is not this world, but the one to come, that we as Christians are to seek. Let those have this world who will. “What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” And it is certain that he who gains this world does so at the expense of his soul. Gain is not godliness: “but godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.”
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