At the beginning of his reign, when King Solomon was entrusted with many responsibilities connected with the Lord’s work, his prayer was: “Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad.”
Here is a lesson for those occupying positions of responsibility in God’s cause to-day,—not only those in charge of large and varied interests, but those also who are entrusted with the lesser responsibilities. Officers of churches and Sabbath-schools, leaders of small companies, laborers engaged in evangelistic work,—these are as verily in need of divine discernment as are officers of large conferences and institutions.
God is no respecter of persons. He who gave to Solomon the spirit of wise discernment, is willing to-day to impart wisdom to his children. The apostle James writes: “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering.” And Paul refers to teachers of truth who have faithfully studied the Scriptures, as “those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”
Solomon realized that he lacked discernment. It was his great need that led him to seek God for wisdom. In his heart there was no selfish aspiration for a knowledge that would exalt him above his brethren. He desired to do faithfully the work that had been committed to him, and he chose the gift that would be the means of causing his reign to redound to God’s glory.
Receiving to Impart
The Lord provides men and women with all that they need. And his gifts are bestowed upon those only who can make a proper use of them. To some he can grant greater discernment than to others, because he sees that they will use this gift to his glory. When a laborer desires heavenly wisdom more than he desires wealth, power, or fame, God will not disappoint him. Such a worker will learn from the Great Teacher not only what to do, but how to do it in a way that will meet the divine approval.
The man upon whom the Lord has bestowed special wisdom, will be enabled, by God’s blessing, to train those with whom he is associated in labor to be quick of understanding, trustworthy, and true to principle. His consecrated zeal, his wise counsel, his piety, will be an inspiration to his fellow workers. They will be led, not to praise and exalt the human agent, nor to become dependent on him, but to go themselves to the Source of all true wisdom for the help they need. God has been greatly dishonored by those who lean upon human beings. He who has said to all who believe on him as a personal Saviour, “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world,” will guide and teach those who recognize him as their leader and instructor.
Guarding the Purity of the Church
As the work of God advances in our time, there is an increasing need of men of keen discernment,—men who know God and trust in him for their understanding,—men who are working for his name’s glory. In the days of Israel men were set apart as judges, to decide regarding what was right, and what was wrong. Surrounded by corrupting influences, they endeavored faithfully to warn the people against the things that were wrong, and to exalt righteous principles, and thus to keep the cause of God from contamination with evil. His cause is just as sacred now as it was in ancient times. To-day men in positions of trust, in every place, should be faithful guardians of the purity of the church and everything connected with it. We need, O so greatly! keen discernment and clear spiritual eyesight. In this day of sin and abounding iniquity, our eyes need to be anointed with the heavenly eye-salve, that we may see all things clearly. The great and solemn truths for this time, as outlined in the book of Revelation, are to be proclaimed to the world. Into the very designs and principles of the church these truths are to enter.
The interests of God’s cause are sometimes imperiled by the unadvised movements of those who, cherishing self-esteem and seeking for self-glorification, lose sight of the object for which our institutions are established. Failing to realize the importance of bringing men and women to a knowledge of the truth for this time, they allow to enter these institutions wrong influences, which tend to disparage present truth, and to retard greatly the spiritual growth of the workers. Institutions that were established for the specific purpose of extending the knowledge of the last message of mercy to be given in our world, should be kept free from every worldly, commercial influence. With sanctified judgment our brethren in responsibility must discern between good and evil, and be faithful to their God-given trust.
So long as he remains consecrated, a man whom God has endowed with wise discernment and unusual ability, will not manifest an eagerness to obtain high positions, to guide, to control, to rule. None upon whom have been placed sacred responsibilities, are to grasp at power as did Satan in the heavenly courts. Of necessity men must bear responsibilities; but instead of striving to gain the supremacy, every true laborer will pray for an understanding heart, that he may glorify God by discerning between good and evil.
The man at the head of any work in God’s cause is to be a man of intelligence, a man capable of managing large interests successfully, a man of even temper, Christlike forbearance, and perfect self-control. He only whose heart is transformed by the grace of Christ, can be a proper leader.
The path of men in positions of trust is not a path free from all obstruction. In the place of becoming faint-hearted and discouraged, those to whom God has entrusted responsibilities are to see in every difficulty a call to prayer. They are to consult, not unconsecrated men who are boastful and who show a masterly independence, but the great Source of all wisdom. They are to be faithful workers, always laboring in co-partnership with the Master Worker. Strengthened and enlightened by him, they will stand firm against every unholy influence, and will discern the right from the wrong, the good from the evil. They will approve that which God approves. With earnestness they will strive to guard against the introduction or the maintenance of wrong principles in households, churches, institutions, and conferences. By maintaining a vital connection with heaven, they will ever be wise to discern between good and evil.
The Secret
By James Buckham
Men wondered why, in August heat,
The little brook with music sweet
Could glide along the dusty way,
When all else parched and silent lay.
Few stopped to think how, every morn,
The sparkling stream anew was born
In some moss-circled mountain pool,
Forever sweet and clear and cool.
A life that, ever calm and glad,
One melody and message had—
“How keeps it so,” men asked, “when I
Must change with every changing sky?”
Ah! if men knew the secret power
That gladdens every day and hour,
Would they not change to song life's
care,
By drinking at the fount of prayer?
— James Buckham, in Wayside Altar.
Prayer
By W. A. SPICER
Our Strongholds—No. 2
Prayer
W. A. SPICER
Men of God in the Bible story prayed because communion with God was a necessity of spiritual existence. The view we get of their lives shows conflict and trial. Sin was a reality. They knew that only by God’s help could they keep the way of righteousness. “Then they cried unto the Lord.” The psalmist said, “My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God.” And of sinners in the depth, or of saints in trial and distress, it is written that “He heard them.”
Life is the same conflict with us, and we need to form the habit of prayer. It is easy to be busy doing things—to make8activity the sum of Christian living. Yet activity means nothing without the presence of the Holy Spirit. There is the power which vitalizes and makes effective human effort, and it comes only to those who daily “seek” and “ask.” Let every young convert study that chapter, “The Privilege of Prayer,” in “Steps to Christ.”
Learn the blessedness of praying aloud in private at the very beginning of the Christian walk. Some of us missed much for years by whispering our prayers or thinking them. The Lord can hear the faintest whisper, it is true, and read the thought of the heart; but there is very much in letting the ears hear one’s own voice pleading the soul’s needs and speaking the praise and devotion of the heart to the Lord Jesus.
Too often prayer is made to deal with far-off experiences, and is devoted to spiritual commonplaces. The Lord would have us spread before him the actual needs of the daily life. Take to him the trials and the lessons of the day. Go where one will, he will find that discouragement and backsliding are associated with neglect of prayer. Talk with God aloud concerning the experiences that tend to discourage, and deliverance will come.
We are to become acquainted with God. When we pray, we talk with him. When we read his Word, he talks to us. And prayer on earth means something in heaven. In the vision of the sanctuary, in Revelation 8, John saw the prayers of God’s children on earth ascending before the throne. They came up, not in their imperfection, but mingled with the incense, which represents the merits and the intercession of Jesus. He prays for us. Rom. 8:34. And the Spirit “maketh intercession for us.” Verse 26. There is praying for us in heaven. Surely, then, we ourselves, in the midst of the conflict on earth, may have all courage to pray.
We all know this, that the more we seek God in prayer, the greater the blessedness of prayer and the fresher and stronger the experience. As Jesus, our Model, found strength for his daily work only as he sought the Father for renewal of his soul, so we shall find in prayer the only means of keeping our souls in confidence, unwavering to the end. Impatience, irritability, hardness of heart, discouragement, and all that would destroy our peace of mind and spoil the life are vanquished by communion with God. Archbishop Trench wrote a true word beautifully when he said of prayer:—
“Lord, what a change within us one short hour
Spent in thy presence will prevail to make;
What heavy burdens from our bosom take,
What parched grounds refresh as with a shower!
We kneel, and all around us seems to lower;
We rise, and all the distant and the near Stands forth in sunny outline, brave and clear;
We kneel, how weak! We rise, how full of power!
Why, therefore, should we do ourselves this wrong,
Or others, that we are not always strong;
That we are ever overborne with care,
That we should ever weak or heartless be,
Anxious or troubled, when with us is prayer,
And joy and strength and courage are with thee?”
Washington, D. C.
“Present Truth”
By S. N. HASKELL
S. N. HASKELL
The term “present truth” is used by the apostle Peter when, after speaking of certain general duties, he said, “Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth.” God has ever had a present truth since he first announced that the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent’s head. Present truth is a further revelation of the gospel. Every succeeding generation has received fresh light on the truths already revealed, and this has become a test to the people of God.
Not one Israelitish family who did not have the blood of the pascal lamb sprinkled on the lintel of the door-post escaped when the destroying angel passed through the land of Egypt on the night of their deliverance. Not a single Israelite was saved who remained in Egypt when the great host passed out, led by the pillar of fire by night, and the cloud by day. When Sinai was sanctified for God to proclaim his holy law, he said, “Whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death: there shall not an hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whether it be beast or man, it shall not live.” So in the building of the sanctuary. Those who had no interest in it were heathen; but those who walked in the light, and built the sanctuary, and let that light shine out to the heathen, were saved. The building of Solomon’s temple was another illustration. The leaving of Babylon and the rebuilding of the temple by Zerubbabel is also illustrative of this truth. Their entire history was one of advancing light, and demonstrated the fulfilment of the words, “The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.” Prov. 4:18.
Each event pointed forward to the birth of Christ. This period was finally reached; the time was fulfilled; Christ was born in a stable and cradled in a manger, surrounded by the beasts of the stall. The Majesty of glory, who filled all heaven with admiration, is humiliated to a bed in a manger. In heaven, he was surrounded by holy angels; but now, his companions are the beasts of the stall. What humiliation is this! Wonder, O heavens! and be astonished, O earth! From the throne of the Highest the word went forth, “Let all the angels of God worship him.” A multitude praised God, saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good-will toward men.” Simeon and Anna discerned him to be the Son of God, and uttered remarkable prophecies when Christ was brought to the temple. This was present truth. From the day of his birth salvation depended upon believing this truth. The dividing line began to be drawn between believers and unbelievers.
We pass down to his death. Here is another unfolding of the plan of salvation, another present truth, another dividing line. It was the emptying of all heaven in giving him who was next to the Father to die for a lost race. His death was a triumph amid the darkness of this world. The thief on the cross cried out, “Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.” The Roman centurion glorified God by saying, “Certainly this was a righteous man.” Simon the Cyrenian bore for the first time the saving cross of Christ. Thus Europe, Asia, and Africa were represented at the cross of Christ. The inhabitants of heaven sang with great joy and triumph, “Thou hast vanquished Satan and the powers of darkness! Thou hast swallowed up death in victory!” “And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.” The casting down of Satan as an accuser of the brethren in heaven was accomplished when Christ died. Satan now knew that his doom was sealed. The kingdom he had usurped would one day be wrested from him, and returned to its lawful owner. When Christ cried, “It is finished,” the price was paid; salvation was purchased. There is none other name under heaven than that of our Lord Jesus Christ whereby man can be saved.
The third day from this event occurs another event more wonderful still, and not fully comprehended by the disciples at the time; but when it took place, the echo of praise and thanksgiving rang from world to world; for life and immortality was brought to light through the gospel. Christ arose from the dead as the first-fruits of those that slept. He was the antitype of the wave sheaf, and his resurrection took place on the very day when the wave sheaf was to be presented before the Lord. He brought forth from the grave a multitude of captives. They were a few chosen ones taken from every age from creation down to the days of Christ. It was a sample company. They varied in stature and form as disease and death had marred the human frame. Those who came from the generations of earlier times were more noble than those of later years. This company was taken to heaven with Christ, and presented to the Father as a sample of the general resurrection of the dead. All heaven9was awaiting their coming. Representatives from the other worlds waited with the angels. It was the event of events. It was a further unfolding of the plan of redemption. Each of these events confirmed what was in the past. This illustrates new light. It does not prove the past light darkness, but establishes the past light. From that day it was present truth; and all denominations agree that none can be saved without believing that Christ died and lived again. It is a cardinal point with all evangelical denominations.
But let us now pass down to one other event that is as clearly marked as any we have referred to. “The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly. And the seventh angel sounded, and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign forever and ever. . . . And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament.” These words need but little comment:—
1. The expression, “The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly,” shows that it is in the midst of a consecutive prophecy. 2. “In the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished,” shows it to be in the closing work of the gospel. 3. That closing work is the cleansing of the sanctuary, which began in 1844. Then, shall we say that these other events mentioned were essential to salvation, and that it is necessary for the people of God to have an experience in them, but that this is of no account? The seeing of the ark of his testament reveals the fact that a people will be gathered out who will keep the commandments of God. Without an experience of this nature we can no more enter the kingdom of God than if we deny the birth, death, or resurrection of Christ. Each step is an unfolding of the gospel of Jesus Christ. At each event from the birth of Christ to his resurrection, every angel in glory took part; so in this last event “there were voices in heaven,” not only of the angels, but the elders who sat around the throne of God, worshiped God, saying, “We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.” It is an announcement of the event Satan knew would come. The time of the judgment is reached, and now since this great event has begun, every angel in heaven is astir to co-operate with those who are consecrated to the accomplishment of God’s work in the earth. Every power of Satan is also aroused to stir opposition; for he has great wrath, knowing that he has but a short time. Especially is he wroth with the remnant because they keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. Here lies the foundation of the third angel’s message. It is as much present truth for this time as any other truth that unfolds the plan of salvation in its onward march.
South Lancaster, Mass.
How to Increase Our Tithes and Offerings
This topic, “How to increase our tithes and offerings,” strikes the believer in the tithing system and in regular offerings as somewhat peculiar. Let us take tithing first.
One would suppose that the way to increase a Christian’s tithe would be to increase his income. The word “tithe” means a tenth. A tenth means neither a fifth nor a twentieth; the fraction can not be changed, for it is a fixed part of the whole.
Now, should I ask any one, “How can I increase a tenth of one thousand,” he would say, “Impossible, one tenth of one thousand is one hundred, and can not be changed.” So, the tithe of one’s income is one tenth of that income. It is not a fifteenth, nor any other fractional part; it is simply one tenth. Less than one tenth is not a tithe, and more than one tenth is more than a tithe.
Therefore, to answer the query as propounded, one would say, The one way to increase one’s tithe is to increase one’s income, and if we are to increase the denominational tithe, if every man is honest and sincere, we must increase the denominational income. Thus, there can be but one possible answer, did every one pay a tithe of his income into the treasury of the Lord; but, as we look about us, we must confess that there certainly are a great many who are not paying a full tithe into the treasury.
Our present number of Sabbath-keepers, as reported in our last statistical report, was 81,721, while our annual tithe for the year 1904 was $691,819.33, making the average per capita tithe paid by our Sabbath-keepers, $8.47.
Now, if $8.47 is a tithe of the income of our people, then it is patent that our people have lived per capita during the year on an income of $84.70. Does it appeal to you as a fact that Seventh-day Adventists can live, paying their rent, clothing themselves, paying for all the necessities of life, for fuel, and all other necessary bills that occur continually, on an income of $84.70 for one year? Of course, you must deduct from this, $8.47 tithe, leaving $76.23, with which to pay for all the necessities of life. This can not possibly be a true state of affairs. Seventh-day Adventists do not come from the poorest class of the communities in which they reside. They do not represent the wealthy class nor those who are rich. They come from the middle class—the laborer, the mechanic, the farmer, the professional man in teaching, in medicine, and in other lines.
Now, it would seem almost impossible for us to conclude that our people can exist in the way they do, maintain their homes, meet all the bills for the necessities of life, etc., on an income not to exceed seventy-five dollars or seventy-six dollars per annum. This being true, somebody is robbing God. Some one is keeping back a part, as did Ananias and Sapphira, while pretending to pay a full tithe. This can be nothing but real deception on the part of those who are thus handling what the Lord claims to be his own.
But I am not to discuss the tithing question—only, “How can we increase our tithe?” Many of our leading men believe that not more than one third of our people endeavor to pay a full tithe; about one third pay more or less, but not a tithe; while the rest pay comparatively little, if anything, for the maintenance of the work.
If this be true, what a condition it reveals! Just how much this tithe could be increased might be a question. For my part, however, I firmly believe that if every Seventh-day Adventist would pay a full tithe into the treasury, there would be not less than an average of twenty dollars per capita. This would10mean an annual tithe of $1,634,420. Yet should this tithe be paid into the weekly treasury, it would be over two and one-half times the present amount received.
But the question for us to discuss to-day, is, How can we best increase this tithe?
1. I would say, Endeavor to bring a true, genuine Christian experience into every life. Tithe paying, when disconnected from the Lord, is a difficult task for many. When one’s heart is full of feelings of gratitude for the blessings received, and for the tender mercies bestowed upon him by his Heavenly Father, tithing is not a difficult task, but a pleasure. A cold, lifeless church will almost invariably be a church that pays but little tithe, while it is the spiritual, warm-hearted people who freely render to the Lord what he claims as his own.
2. I would say, agitate from a Bible standpoint the tithing question, and also the plan of systematic giving for the support of our foreign mission work. Most of the people who profess to believe the third angel’s message, profess to believe in tithe paying, and in making offerings to the Lord. I would say, agitate from a Bible standpoint. What is there in all this world more convincing than a “Thus saith the Lord”? If people profess to believe the Bible, they can not wilfully ignore the words of the Lord to them, without feeling conscious of the sin of robbing God, and heart-stricken that they are neglecting this opportunity in bringing their tithe into the Lord’s treasury.
Nor can I believe that many men and many women forget to pay their tithe. Their hearts are constantly smitten by the consciousness of guilt, yet they have not the courage and resolution to take hold and pay the tithes and offerings while the money is in their hands. Many of our people are poor, and many of them are in debt, and when a few dollars come into their hands, there are a thousand places where they can place the same, and supply their own material wants, or pay some obligation that is pressing them beyond measure. Such souls oftentimes undergo severe temptation, and use their tithe when they are conscious that they should have paid it promptly into the treasury.
If we are reminded from Sabbath to Sabbath in regard to this duty of divine ownership, and are taught that “the tithe is holy unto the Lord,” we shall be much less liable to use the tithe than if nothing is said regarding it month after month. Both the Sabbath and the tithe are based upon divine ownership. Both are rendered to the same Master by the same servant.
Should you see your brother in the faith working upon the Sabbath, you would go to him, and say, “My brother, this is sin. This course will prove your eternal ruin,” and you would persuade him to desist from working, and respect the Sabbath day. Will you do this to a brother regarding the Sabbath day, and yet close your eyes to the fact that weekly he is robbing God of the tithe which God says is “holy unto the Lord”?
Shall we silently, without reproof, without mention of the fact, see our brethren taking that which is holy, and which will rob them of spiritual blessings, and using it for their own personal needs? Surely, no conscientious Christian will desire to rob his God.
One would suppose that the only need any true, sincere heart would have to cause him to cease to do so wicked a crime as “robbing God,” would be to come to the knowledge that he is committing a heinous sin. To come to the knowledge of this fact it seems would be sufficient to remedy the evil. Were this true, only sins of ignorance would be recorded against the children of God. But there have always been Achans in the host of Israel, and there ever will be. Even amid the Pentecostal revival of the Holy Spirit, men have dared to “lie to the Holy Ghost.” Judas dared walk from the inner chamber’s last supper to the shadow of Gethsemane’s sorrow, and sell his Master and friend for a paltry sum, and it is equally true to-day that many dare pretend to be doing that to which their whole life is a living denial. How shall we reform? I answer, “Cry aloud, spare not, . . . show my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sin.” Let us agitate, agitate, agitate, and keep the matter of the tithe constantly before our people. No honest man will ever weary of hearing of his duty to his God.
3. Tithing is a sacred duty. Many a soul has intended well, has resolved to pay a faithful tithe, has resolved to be diligent and prompt in this matter, and yet has lacked method in the paying of tithe. A demand comes upon them before the tithe has been transferred into the treasury, and lo! they use the tithe which they had resolved they would not use.
To remedy this evil, the General Conference at its late session recommended that envelopes be provided wherein each might place his tithe and offerings during the week, this envelope to be brought to the Sabbath meeting, and passed in to the church treasurer.
On these envelopes will be the words: “Tithe,” “Mission Offerings,” “Church Expenses,” “Home Literature,” “Donations for the Poor,” etc. These envelopes will be gathered up each Sabbath, and during the following week the treasurer will make entries in his books in harmony with the instructions on each envelope, bringing monthly receipts for the amount each member has given, and passing the same to the respective contributors.
Already the General Conference has ordered one million envelopes to be distributed throughout this country for the use of our churches the coming year. We desire to get this plan operating everywhere at the earliest possible moment.
(To be concluded)
We Never Know
By Eliza H. Morton
ELIZA H. MORTON
We walk life's path, and daily meet
Associates who kindly greet
Us with a smile, and we believe
They'd nothing do our hearts to grieve,
And yet 'tis true, we never know,
We never know.
When round the wheel of time has rolled,
And gone the tinsel we call gold,
We see the power of sin below,
And how the seeds of discord grow,
And find 'tis so, we never know,
We never know.
And when the circle turns within,
Revealing our own special sin,
Then we are brought to valleys low,
To where the tears of sorrow flow;
And sigh and groan, “We never know,
know,
We never know.”
We do not know the awful power
Of unseen foes which every hour
Are seeking souls to crush and rend
While clouds of darkness downward bend;
We can not know, we can not know,
We never know.
But we do know of One of strength,
A conqueror who will at length
Lift up the humble with his arm
To heights where all is peaceful, calm,
How great his love we never know,
We never know.
But we shall know in that bright land
Where all the true and tried shall stand.
And we will thank the Lord while here
There are some things not made quite clear,
Some things concealed we never know,
We never know.
North Deering, Maine.
Two Falls
By T. E. BOWEN
T. E. BOWEN
We are in a land where it is not a very unlikely thing, nor anything very uncommon, to stumble and fall. Even a good man sometimes trips on some stumbling-stone that the enemy conceals in his path, and in consequence receives a serious fall. Everybody feels ashamed of himself when he falls. One needs usually at such a time not so much censure, as to be helped up with some such comforting word as “Never mind,” “hope you are not hurt.”
But these spiritual falls—they are also real experiences. All Christians have them. Some small, insignificant thing upsets them, and down they go. But instead of jumping up and going on, brushing the unfortunate experience aside, it often occurs that some get into the habit of considering it a virtue to sit and bemoan the sad fall, eliciting sympathy from passers-by, and hindering every one coming that way to inquire into their sad experience. This is folly, and the sympathy given those who thus make no effort to arise, is certainly misplaced.
But the fall. That good men fall in their heroic efforts to overcome is plainly revealed in the Scriptures, and the difference between their fall and that of a wicked man's is very marked indeed. “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand.” Ps. 37: 23, 24.
What a wonderful assurance! When a good man falls, he simply stumbles and falls into God’s hand underneath him. But when a wicked man goes down, his fall is great; for underneath are not the everlasting arms.
None of us can boast in that we fall not, but in this passage is revealed the secret as to how it comes that the fall of one does not prove his utter ruin, while, when another stumbles and falls, he riseth not again. One is walking in a path God has ordered for him, the other is in one of his own choosing; one has underneath the hand of the Infinite, the other trusts in no higher power than himself. One will gain the city of God, the other will not.
Rome, N. Y.
Rejoicing in Others’ Happiness
ONE of the widest and truest paths to happiness is the willingness to rejoice with and for others. Sympathy with another's joy, and pleasure in another's success, are pure and lasting forms of enjoyment. When we learn to say heartily, with Whittier:—
“What matter, I or they,
Mine or another day,
So the right word be said,
And life the sweeter made?”
we shall find no day without its own bit of happiness, and life will seem increasingly worth living.—Selected.
Be Patient
Be patient
When trials have clouded your day.
Be patient
When sorrows have saddened your way.
Be patient,
Though hopes have departed, though fortune has fled;
Though storms have extinguished the stars overhead;
Though life with its grief bids you long for the dead.
Be patient, He understands all.
Be patient,
Thy God hath a star for thy night.
Be patient,
The end of all darkness is light.
Be patient,
Thy griefs, though their purpose be hid from thine eyes,
Shall yet be revealed in the bliss of the skies
When thou in His likeness at length shall arise.
Be patient, He understands all.
— United Presbyterian.
The Home and the Youth
By G. B. THOMPSON
G. B. THOMPSON
THE work of saving the young from the evil influences of the world is no small task. It requires much study, hard, faithful work, and earnest prayer. But they are well worth the required effort, and everything possible should be done to save them from the paths of sin.
We believe that one of the strongest factors in the solution of this problem is to have the right influence in the home. Too little emphasis has been placed on this matter. Parents can not relegate their responsibility in the work of training their children to the church-school, the Sabbath-school teacher, or some Young People’s Society. The efforts of every agency God has established outside of the home for the salvation of our young people can be vitiated by the wrong influence and surroundings in the home. Much of the work in their behalf has been completely undone in this way in the past.
Home should be the sweetest and most desirable place on earth for the young, and if it is a proper home, it will be. Around the recollections of our childhood home cluster memories which passing years never efface. It may be a snow house in the frozen Klondike, or in the region of perpetual snow in Siberia. It may be some humble place hidden away among the foliage and perfume of perennial flowers in some sunny, southern clime. It may possibly be a tent on some arid waste, or a dugout on the plains. It may be a cabin in the woods, or a cottage where the music of the restless ocean waves is heard. It may be a princely mansion of a king, the palace of a millionaire, or some congested tenement located in the midst of outlawry and crime, yet there is “no place like home.”
Then here is a child, innocent and pure. Its surroundings in the home determine to a great extent its future destiny. If born in the home of a king, it is a member of a royal family. If born in squalor, amid the haunts of vice and immorality, its training and surroundings will likely produce a criminal. If reared in the atmosphere of a Christian home, the opportunities for a noble, useful life are greatly enhanced.
Parents should seek in the home not simply to teach the younger members of the family the principles of the message in abstract, but they should live before them the sincere life of a Christian. The home should be a place of culture, cheerfulness, and heavenly contentment,—a place where the sweet graces which come from communing with the Lord are manifest to win the youth to Christ. All criticism and faultfinding should be excluded.
Then, too, I believe we should study to make the home inviting, so that the children will love home better than any other place. Be happy yourself, and strive to make them happy. Let the home be for the children rather than strangers. Give them the freedom of the home. Let them have access to the best rooms. Nothing is too good for them. Open the windows and let in the fresh air of heaven. Have no damp, musty rooms which are rarely opened, except when strangers come, or when there is a funeral in the family. Open the blinds, and let in the light and sunshine though they fade the carpet. Better to have the carpets faded, than the children lost. Have you any of these dark, gloomy rooms in your home? If so, open them up, and let their walls echo with the laughter and merry voices of the children. Don’t forever be finding fault with them, causing them to feel as if they were in the way. This wicked thing has placed many a noble boy and girl beyond the reach of hope, and ruined their lives of usefulness forever. We should strive in every way possible to make our home attractive. Governor Warfield, of Maryland, in a recent speech, said:—
“The requisites of a perfect home are love, neatness, cheerfulness, contentment, mutual helpfulness, unselfishness, and the Christian virtues. No home can be attractive unless there is cleanliness within and without. No cheerfulness is possible unless harmony and affection prevail, leavened with the spirit that brings united action by the household in all domestic relations and duties. It is beautiful to see a husband and wife go hand in hand through life, enjoying its pleasures together, dividing its duties, and mingling their sympathy in the hour of trial and disappointment.
“Nothing makes a more favorable impression when you enter a home than cleanliness, and a neat and orderly condition of all the household effects. I have no patience with a slovenly man or untidy woman, and I believe that such personal carelessness produces more unrest, discontent, and unhappiness than anything else in domestic life.
“A man who is wearied and worn by his daily routine work upon the farm or in his place of business, returning at night to find his home in disorder, a wife with disheveled hair and soiled garments, the food placed upon the table in a helter-skelter way and served in a slovenly manner, has much to discourage and depress him. And a husband who won’t tidy himself up and show some appreciation of what his wife does to make his home attractive and refined is equally culpable. In every household order and neatness should prevail, the table should be neatly set, and the meals daintily served; and instead of pushing the dishes aside unwashed to attract flies, a tidy and neat housekeeper will, as soon as the meal is over, clear the table, polish the ware, and place it aside in the cupboards until it is needed again.”
We write these things in behalf of our youth. We believe that greater emphasis must be given to the place the home has in the special work now being undertaken in behalf of the youth. While we all can not be rich, we can all be neat, clean, and cheerful, and can have in our lives and homes the winning graces of Christian love and deportment.
Take time for prayer and the study of God’s Word. Take some time each day to interest yourself in the younger members of your household. Proper co-operation in the home, with the efforts being made outside of the home, will do much toward solving the problem which confronts us in the work of training our youth to become laborers in the cause of God.