Earlier text: The Council at Gland, SwitzerlandThe Great Apostasy
By Wm. Covert
The Lord told our parents in Eden that their life depended on faithful obedience to wholesome laws. Seeking an early opportunity, the adversary disputed God’s word in this matter, and said, “Ye shall not surely die: . . . ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” Gen. 3: 4, 5. So man braved the consequences, disobeyed God, and died. Then after men had actually died, the deceiver stoutly affirmed that they were yet living. His words in substance ran thus, “Their bodies have returned to dust, but these were only fleshly houses in which they lived for a little while. The Creator has provided all persons with invisible, immortal souls that can never die, therefore do not be alarmed about death. Since their bodies have decayed, the persons dwell in another sphere. That which seems so much like death is not in reality, it is only transition.” Well had it been for man if from the beginning he had utterly refused to entertain these wily propositions. For Satan was only setting a snare for man when he opened conversation with Eve. His plan was to draw out a statement from her that he might contradict it, and by sophistry instil unbelief into her mind. His wicked scheme succeeded, and the Bible tells the sad result. Every later proposition declaring the consciousness of man in death can be traced to the original one made to Eve. That first denial of God’s word had wrapped in it the seed thought which led to man’s transgression. Every evil system under the sun has come from a belief in the same false proposition relative to man’s nature. Before the death of righteous Noah, many of his posterity had departed from the way of truth. Among them was Nimrod, the grandson of Ham, and founder of Babylon. This monarchy of Babylon was created in rebellion against God. The first king of this first human kingdom was a leader in the mysteries of iniquity. After his death, his wife and his political followers are reputed to have deified him as a god. They claimed that through spirit communication he could still render efficient service to the cause he had espoused and promoted during his life upon earth. Here was, in reality, the formal beginning of idolatry. It sprang from the belief that there is in every man a conscious spirit, or soul, which lives somewhere after the body is dead. The pagan priests of those ancient times claimed that this mysterious entity knew what was taking place among men, and was able to help or hurt the inhabitants of earth according to the way its mind was inclined. Believing thus, deluded men were led to worship the sun, the moon, and the stars, because they were taught that their heroes after death dwelt in these celestial orbs, and their favor should be secured in this life in order to receive the blessings of the gods, and escape the calamities which those deities might be disposed to send. Following those superstitious notions, the Babylonian priests, in their false teaching, peopled most of the stellar regions with heroes and deified men so as to have any kind of god at command that best suited their vile traffic. Later, in the celebration of the mysteries, the supposed gods of the elements were adopted; also, images and temples were made and dedicated to the worship of the supposed spirits of the honorable and mighty dead. Thus as time went on, paganism and idolatry in all their forms spread over the earth. And the teaching that man, instead of dying, becomes a god, was believed more and more as the mysteries were celebrated more, and man departed further from the knowledge of God. Believing in the conscious state of the dead, man would of course think it possible and proper to go to the dead for counsel; and thus was opened up to Satan and fallen angels an avenue of communication with man. Every communication which men have supposed they were receiving from the spirits of the dead has come through the deceptions of Satan. The Lord, therefore, forbids his people to seek unto the dead for light, and says that those who do so are an abomination to him. “There shall not be found with thee any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, one that useth divination, one that practiseth augury, or an enchanter, or a sorcerer, or a charmer, or a consulter with a familiar spirit, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For whosoever doeth these things is an abomination unto Jehovah: and because of these abominations Jehovah thy God doth drive them out from before thee. Thou shalt be perfect with Jehovah thy God. For these nations, that thou shalt dispossess, hearken unto them that practise augury, and unto diviners; but as for thee, Jehovah thy God hath not suffered thee so to do.” Deut. 18: 10-14, A. R. V. “When they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits and unto the wizards, that chirp and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? on behalf of the living should they seek unto the dead?” Isa. 8: 19. When seeking word from the dead, it is true that one may receive a communication, but it comes from an evil spirit which personates the dead, and never from the dead; for God says, “The dead know not anything.” Eccl. 9: 5. Therefore they can not communicate. A person who pretends to act as a medium between the living and the dead is in the Scriptures called a wizard, a witch, or a necromancer. Anciently such persons were not to be suffered to live among the people of God. The homage offered by the Gentiles to heathen divinities, and that in which the children of Israel sometimes united, was the embodiment of devil, or demon, worship. “But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils.” 1 Cor. 10: 20. The indescribable abominations and sins of heathenism and savagery, all embody in some form the unscriptural teaching that man’s immortality comes through his possession of a deathless spirit. This doctrine is responsible for all the senseless traditions and terrible suffering which now reign in lands of darkness. In these lands their irrational and wicked theories regarding woman’s inferiority to man have been purposely invented by Satan in the immediate interest of his cause. When wives and mothers, daughters and sisters, are denied an equality in love and respect with husbands and fathers, sons and brothers, the safety and the sanctity of the home are broken down, and depravity and misery are sure to follow. And all these evils the great deceiver has brought upon countless tribes of earth by leading them to believe that man has a conscious spirit which survives the death of his body. Reporting missionary work in India, Miss Anstice says of the condition of the widows (of whom there are twenty-seven millions in that country): “She was some one or something in a former birth that committed a great sin, and is now a widow suffering the penalty for it. According to Hinduism, every woman may be one of an endless round of reincarnations of a widow who did not burn herself on her husband’s pyre, or she may have been, in some former state, a wife who gave an ugly answer to her husband.” The Hindu religion is based mainly upon belief in the immortality of the soul. It teaches that the soul must pass through 8,400,000 incarnations in order to be absorbed into the existence of the divine One. There is an interval between death and each reincarnation in which the soul may be deified and worshiped as a god. Thus one soul may, in a vast period extending over billions of years, be worshiped as a god in 8,400,000 forms. The Hindu deities number hundreds of millions, for any individual may worship any object or as many objects as he chooses. The character of the worshipers corresponds with the character attributed to the gods and goddesses which they worship. Many of these are reputed to be frightfully impure, and therefore the worshipers must be vile in order to serve their impure gods acceptably. These follow the example of Israel when “they joined themselves also unto Baal-peor, and ate the sacrifices of the dead.” See Num. 25: 1-10 and Ps. 106: 28.11 Even plants of the vegetable kingdom are worshiped by some because they believe that souls may transmigrate into them, and thus the field and garden plants can in this manner become conscious of pleasure or pain. Water, because of its health-giving properties, is esteemed to be sacred by some, and is therefore worshiped. They even believe it can remove sins, and because of such wonderful service it should be greatly venerated. Tools, nets, boats, baskets, books, cooking utensils, also roads and all frequented places, may be adored because of the excellent service they render to those who use them. Some animals are worshiped because they are depraved and vicious; others because they are good and useful; but all mainly with reference to belief in a soul kinship. So intensified is this doctrine of transmigration that with some even an insect, such as a flea, may be held to enclose the soul of a philosopher or a statesman. Ancestor worship in India is almost universal. It constitutes a large part of the Hindu religion. They have a kind of purgatory through which they fancy the divinities of their ancestors must pass. To make the journey through this terrible place requires, according to their weird tradition, a period of about three generations. During this time, custom demands that they be nourished by surviving relatives. It is well known that much of the poverty of India is due to the cost of the senseless ceremonies and extravagant fees growing out of ancestor worship in its various forms. If the cost in money is great, how much greater is the cost in morals and in manhood! The physical, the mental, and the moral influence of this mystical teaching has been such as to make it difficult for the people who have been affected by it to comprehend the higher ideals of Christianity. In describing the awful depravity of the heathen and pagan world, the apostle says they are without excuse. Rom. 1: 20-25. Ancestor worship is the leading factor in the religion of China. In India, ancestors receive care for three generations after they are dead, while in China, ancestors have a trinity of souls which must be nourished during a period of one generation after their decease. One of these souls is believed to reside in the tomb with the dust of the dead; another one in Hades as they understand the place to be; and the other with the ancestral tablets. These souls have needs to supply after the body is dead, much the same as during life. Generally the oldest son of the deceased, if there be such a surviving relative, furnishes necessary clothing, food, money, and household articles to make these souls comfortable. The money is of paper, and is transmitted to the spiritual world through fire. It thus becomes invisible, to suit the facilities of invisible spirits. No doubt the priests have a way of sending other supplies at small cost for transportation. It is claimed that the government of Hades, traditionally regarded, is a counterpart of the government in China. That is to say, the officials of the nether world are as ready to receive bribes as are the officials and priests of China; and this disposition on their part, being encouraged by the priestcraft, calls for much money and a large number of priests to officiate in behalf of the surviving relatives. Thus the revenue derived by the priests from their services to the dead, certainly makes the priests strong defenders of ancestor worship. These disembodied souls are supposed by the devotees of this Chinese religion to have greater power for good or evil than men in the flesh, and if their wants are neglected, the claim is made that great calamities may come upon the living relatives. This consideration tends to encourage piety toward deceased ancestors, but brings great hardship on the living. A careful analysis of the religions of Africa shows that about one hundred million of its people at this time are living in the most debased heathenism. These are largely ruled by sorcerers, and tormented with superstitious fears, coming from a belief in the spirits of the departed being possessed of superhuman powers. With them, as with the people of India and China, the hoary tradition that man’s soul becomes a god after his body dies, is believed. In Zululand, certain kinds of serpents are regarded as the incarnation of deceased ancestors. In some localities of “the dark continent,” when kings die, their wives and their slaves are slain and buried with them, because of the supposed service they can render their husbands and rulers in the disembodied state. In Korea the worship of the dead is maintained as strictly as in China—probably more so—during the first three years following the ancestor’s departure. Food and tobacco are offered night and morning in the room where the dead once lived, and numerous offerings are made at the grave where the body lies. The person who would neglect this service for the dead would be looked upon by his neighbors as an outlaw. Thus custom and public opinion continue to maintain this hoary-headed practise among a deluded people. But space will not allow more details. To sum up, it can be truly said that ancestor worship in any form is a terrible curse to every pagan and heathen land under the sun. It also has a large following in the enlightened lands. The invocation of saints, prayers for the dead, intercessions for those passing through purgatory, and prayers to and through Mary, the mother of Jesus, are only other features of the same great apostasy. All these things serve to keep the worshiper from going directly to God through Christ—the only name under heaven given to men through which they can be saved. And all these burdensome rites are founded upon the belief in the false doctrine of the natural immortality of the soul and the conscious state of the dead. That manifestations purporting to come from the dead are sometimes seen, indicating design and a kind of power apart from man, is not to be denied. But that the life or agency doing these things is either human or divine, is denied. The Scriptures abundantly teach that the adversary, the devil, works against God and righteousness, and that he works in a deceptive way to oppose the truth. The mysterious spirits that work in this way are, as the Bible plainly states, the spirits of devils, and they did not originate with, nor do they belong to, the human family. The life they have is perverted, and all its manifestations are wicked, and must have an end. Pantheism, demonism, spiritism, Maryolatry, saint worship, sorcery, witchcraft, incarnations, purgatory, and fetishism are associate mysteries of the one great apostasy. In the more enlightened lands the spirit of this mystery has taken the form of modern Spiritualism; but this is only a more cultured member of the great apostate family of Babylon. The real nature of the last phase of this mysterious working is described in Rev. 16: 13, 14, 16. “And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits, as it were frogs: for they are spirits of demons, working signs; which go forth unto the kings of the whole world, to gather them together unto the war of the great day of God, the Almighty. . . . And they gathered them together into the place which is called in Hebrew Har-Magedon.” The revelator has named this power, “Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth.” Rev. 17: 5. Of this phase of the great deception, the Word says, “With thy sorcery were all the nations deceived. And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all that have been slain upon the earth.” Rev. 18: 23, 24. As already indicated, this great city of Babylon is divided into three parts. Rev. 16: 19. The spirits of devils, or fallen angels, work mainly through three principal sources,—the “dragon” (paganism and heathendom), the “beast” (Romanism), and the “false prophet” (apostate Protestantism). It will gather through this fallen trinity all the antichristian forces of earth to the great battle of Armageddon. But all this combination of power will not avail to maintain the cause of Babylon. The destruction of the city must come. Therefore it is written: “Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye12saints, and ye apostles, and ye prophets; for God hath judged your judgment on her. And a strong angel took up a stone as it were a great millstone and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with a mighty fall shall Babylon, the great city, be cast down, and shall be found no more at all. And the voice of harpers and minstrels and flute-players and trumpeters shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft, shall be found any more at all in thee; and the voice of a mill shall be heard no more at all in thee; and the light of a lamp shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the princes of the earth; for with thy sorcery were all the nations deceived.” Rev. 18: 20-23. “Are all the children in? The night is falling,
The night of death is hastening on
apace;
The Lord is calling, ‘Enter thou thy
chamber,
And tarry there a space.’
And when he comes, the King in all his
glory,
Who died the shameful death our
hearts to win,
O, may the gates of heaven shut about
us,
With all the children in!” The writer would greatly appreciate knowing the experience of any who have tried this plan. Short Sermons on the Ten Commandments
By W. A. MC CUTCHEN
“Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his man servant, nor his maid servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor’s.” Ex. 20: 17. Webster defines covet: “1. To wish for with eagerness; to desire possession of;—used in a good sense. 2. To wish for inordinately or unlawfully; to lust after.” This is undoubtedly the bad sense of its use, since the first definition was in its good sense; and this is confirmed by the second definition of covetousness—“A strong or inordinate desire of obtaining and possessing some supposed good;—usually in a bad sense.” From the above we see that the term is used in both its good and its bad senses. There is a sense, then, in which it is all right to covet—provided it is a right thing, and coveted in a right way. “Covet earnestly the best gifts.” 1 Cor. 12: 31. “Covet to prophesy.” 1 Cor. 14: 39. It is plain that to simply desire a thing that is proper for us to have is not coveting in the bad sense; to desire even that which some one else may have is not coveting in the bad sense when we are willing to give value received for it, or to be content without it if not procurable legitimately, or within our means to purchase. If so, we could never want nor supply the common necessities of life without breaking this commandment. The laws of supply and demand, of exchange of commodities among individuals and nations, and all commercial relations would have to cease in order to conform to this idea of the commandment. No, it is the wishing for inordinately or unlawfully that constitutes coveting in the bad sense. It is the inordinate (irregular, not regular or ordinary) desire that just sets the heart upon a thing and makes it determined to have it; or if impossible to obtain it, continues to desire it inordinately, and will not be happy or contented without it, this desire being so great, in fact, that it often leads the possessor of it to resort to almost any means of obtaining the object of his desire, even to unlawful methods. It is not strange that the wishing for “unlawfully” leads to acting unlawfully in carrying out the wish. Instances of the practical workings of this covetousness are not wanting in the Bible. Micah 2: 2 gives one: “And they covet fields, and take them by violence; and houses, and take them away: so they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage.” Covetousness is one of the most blighting, corroding influences upon the human heart conceivable; and it grows rapidly upon one, with little cultivation. A grasping, covetous disposition will so pervert men’s ideas of justice and close their eyes to the interests of their fellow men, that the man upon whom it fastens its poisonous fangs will soon override his neighbor’s rights roughshod with seeming complacency, and the suggestions of friends or foes will have little weight in causing him to see his wrong or to change his course. For this reason the Pharisees could listen to the most scathing denunciations of their wicked course, and the most deserving rebuke of the money changers, and yet defend their course and condemn Christ. “And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him.” Luke 16: 14. Worst of all, covetousness causes its victim to lose sight of spiritual things, and become sordid and self-centered. The claims of God’s cause appeal to him lightly; calls for means for its furtherance are responded to, if at all, meagerly; his thoughts are of the material and not the spiritual; and the springs of the soul are dried up in money getting or the attempt at it. The Bible points out that the last days, upon which we have entered, are to be characterized by selfishness (2 Tim. 3: 1, 2), and this is a sin to be especially guarded against in these days. Notwithstanding all this, I do not believe it is a sin to have earthly possessions if acquired properly and used aright. There is certainly neither virtue nor convenience in poverty. Neither does it increase one’s opportunities to do good. I have no sympathy with the idea that abject poverty is a mark of piety. That same passage of scripture which tells us to be “fervent in spirit; serving the Lord,” also says, “not slothful in business.” Rom. 12: 11. It is not the possession of property that is sinful; it is the manner of amassing it, and the use it is put to. Rightly acquired and properly used, wealth can be made a great blessing in helping the less fortunate, relieving distress, blessing mankind in general, and furthering God’s cause in the earth in spreading the gospel. And there are men to whom God has given the talent to acquire means in a perfectly proper way, by good business judgment and diligence in business; who are stewards of God, and serve him in making returns in this way, just as truly as the man who preaches the gospel in person, sustained by means paid in by another. To him this business sagacity may be the “one talent” that God has given him, and he can honor God with it. True, the man of wealth meets greater temptation and danger, possibly, of going into excesses and wrong, and for that reason on the one hand, and the great discomforts and restrictions of opportunities of poverty on the other, the most of us would better be in about the condition that Solomon prayed for when he said, “Give me neither poverty nor riches.” Prov. 30: 8. Let it be between the two unless it be God’s will for it to be otherwise, and then if it be, he will give us grace to stand it. We are not to despise riches nor their possessors, but “if riches increase, set not your heart upon them.” Ps. 62: 10. That is the attitude to occupy. Many of God’s most eminent servants of old were rich in herds and flocks. It is the “love of money” that is the “root of all evil,” not that the money itself is the root of the evil. As already indicated, money can be made a great blessing. “But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.” 1 Tim. 6: 9. This expresses the covetous idea. “They that will be rich”—that are determined on it, and have their minds made up to this end at all hazards—will of course fall into temptations. “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” 1 Tim. 6: 10. And covetousness is idolatry, because it is worshiping at the shrine of gold. “Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry.” Col. 3: 5. “For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.” Eph. 5: 5. From these scriptures we see not only that a covetous person is an idolater, but, as would inevitably follow, he has no part in the kingdom, and will be shut out of it. He is classed along with the fornicator, the unclean and vile—about which the same company as a liar is associated with. Covetousness is no light thing. Let it be burned into the consciences of all that though not frowned down upon by the world, it is sufficiently sinful to shut one out of the kingdom; for it is a violation of one of God’s commands. And if this consideration of it and the commandment relating to it shall cause the awakening in us that it did in Paul when he said, “I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet,” then this effort will not have been in vain. A Neighbor’s Helping Hand
BLESSED is the man who can feel the warm hand-clasp of a neighbor in the day of adversity. The Song of a Robin
By Kathleen Weatherhead
I HEARD a robin singing,
When the world lay white and drear,
And ne'er a ray of sunshine fell
His little heart to cheer,
I listened to the gladness
That was mingled in his song,
And from my heart the shadows fell
Of weary years and long. I heard a robin singing,
When the skies were dark above,
And from the song a lesson learned
Of hope, and trust, and love.
It spoke to me of patience,
Of a spring our hearts shall know,
Where snow of winter falleth not,
And cold winds never blow. Temperance in the Home
By Augusta C. Bainbridge
“Wine is a mocker,” says the Word of God. “No, indeed,” says the would-be scientist, “wine is a stimulant, a tonic, a food.” Which is true? May we know? A mocker is one who pretends to be what he is not, even though it be only for an hour, or an instant. Wine, or any fermented liquor, is a mocker, because it pretends to be a tonic, a food, when it is not. Any one who is deceived by the pretense surely is not wise. A wise, sensible person should detect the deception. Any one who is wise will see that wine is not what it pretends to be. How does wine accomplish this deceit, and mock a tonic so closely that seemingly wise men are deceived? They are not wise, for the Good Book says, “Whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.” A wagon needs a brake, to make it move slowly, or stop. A wagon also needs a whip, to make it move faster, or hurry. The human body is much like a wagon; for we have brake-nerves (inhibitors) and whip-nerves (accelerators). When our brake-nerves are in good order, we can move slowly, more slowly, yes, we can stop at any time. When our whip-nerves are in good order, we can move fast, faster, yes, we can hurry, at any time. Here is the father's precious opportunity. As he takes his boy with him to harness the horses, to grease the wagon, to load or unload, or to drive, he can unmask the “mocker,” and show how foolish is the man who does not agree with the Word of God. When a person takes a drink of wine or anything that has alcohol in it, he thinks faster, talks faster, can work faster for a time. “Surely he is better for the wine,” says the deceived man. “Yes,” says the father to his boy, “he is just as much better as this wagon is better when it has a weak or broken brake; for the wine has weakened the power of the brake-nerves, and the poor man can not help thinking fast, talking fast, or working fast. He is like our wagon when it ran so fast down-hill, the other day. It could not help going fast. It had to go fast. It could not go slowly, and if I had not turned the horses up the hill, we might all have been killed before I could stop to fix it. Is our wagon any better for having a broken brake? Would that be in its favor if I wanted to sell it?” “Why, no, father, but why does alcohol affect the brake-nerves first?” “Because they are the most sensitive nerves of the body. Their substance is largely water, and alcohol has a great affinity for water.” Then this wise father who knows that “wine is a mocker,” and who is not “deceived thereby,” takes opportunity that very evening while the impression is still on the boy’s mind to show him by two simple experiments this great fact. Pour a little water in a saucer; color the water a little, if you wish to; pour a little alcohol over or around it, and then watch it. Wet a cloth with water,—a piece of muslin about six inches square,—then take a match and try to light the cloth and make it burn. Then dip it into alcohol, or pour alcohol over it. Now try your match, and see the difference. Dolls or Clothes-pins?
By Bertha E. Bush
THE owner of fourteen dolls sat disconsolately in the midst of them. “I don’t know anything to do,” she sighed, piteously. “Why don’t you play with your dolls?” “Dolls aren’t interesting.” “What! Not your beautiful French doll that can talk and walk? Why don’t you dress her up and take her walking?” “Her clothes are all sewed on, and I hate walking.” “Then get your dishes and that nice little table and have a dolls’ tea party.” “I don’t want to. Mother will make me wash the dishes after it.” “Dear me! Have a dolls’ wedding then.” “Well, play anything you want to with your dolls.” “I can’t think of anything I want to play,” came the disconsolate answer. The truth was that the little girl was half sick and decidedly fretful. The suggester felt obliged to have recourse to guile. “Well, if there really is nothing you want to play, I had better have you sew a sheet.” “O no! I know something to play. I’ll begin right away.” The owner of the fourteen dolls—otherwise known as Marjorie—hates to sew sheets, and the suggestion of one will immediately cause her to discover another important and necessary occupation. The suggester looked on, much interested to see what that occupation might be. Marjorie is one of those unfortunate fortunate little girls whose adoring relatives shower gifts upon her on every possible occasion. She had a beautiful doll’s piano, upon whose tinkling keys real tunes could be played, but she hardly ever touched it. She had paints and crayons galore, a work-box elaborately furnished, and a whole shelf of games. Which of them all do you think she took to amuse herself that morning? Not one. It was the family clothes-pin bag. She took bits of cloth from the rag-bag, and spent the whole time very happily in dressing up a family of clothes-pin dolls. The suggester looked on, amused and a little provoked. “What is the use of our spending all the money we do to provide this child with these expensive toys?” she cried. “She likes better the homeliest of things that she makes for herself, and I believe every child does.”—Bertha E. Bush, in the Congregationalist. When Returns Are Greatest
CHILDREN are born in God’s image; the likeness fades only as sin, voluntarily chosen, gets in its work. But the likeness need not fade, if children can be held to the standard which God intends. This is why work for children is the greatest work in the world; why, as Phillips Brooks said, “He who helps a child helps humanity with a distinctness, with an immediateness, which no other help given to human creatures “in any other stage of their human life can possibly give again.” Are we thinking of this, day by day, as the opportunities for serving his little ones crowd upon us? Are we careful to show, and to be, only our best selves before them? The gain of helping such a one into character is hinted at in Christ’s description of the millstone penalty which is preferable to causing one such to offend.—Selected. Rise from the Table Hungry
ALWAYS rise from the table with an appetite, and you will never sit down without one.—William Penn.