South Branch intelligencer. [volume] (Romney, Va. [W. Va.]) 1830-1896, 1853-04-29
LIVING BEYOND OUR MEANS.

LIVING BEYOND OUR MEANS.
For the sake OF appearance, TO keep up a,
display and make a figure in the world.
,n"ithndes ADOPT the vicious habit Of spe nd
M. more than they earn. Pride and
fashion exercise merciless despotisru o.
yer their purses. The rich in their ,bun-
darce DO not feel The burden; but when
the same thing is attempted BY those 10 mo-
de.ase and humble circumstances. then
"comrs the lug of war" Tn order to spr
the attitudes Of wealth, they exhaust sll
their resources, and even strsin their cr-d-
1t I'LL it is perfectly threadbare.
There is much in habits and customs Of
society furnishing s.reng temptation 10
this course-Jet 1t is serious evil h il
not right a. between man AMI man il is
an extravigauce that carries in its traia ,
Pecuniary injustice. He who lives be-
yond his means must supply the de6cien-
; cy from the pockets Of his neighbors, very
often upon the strength of deceptive
credit. His very display gives him an
appearance Of affluence that misguides the
{: judgment Of others. He knowingly pas
ses himself off for more than he is worth,
and what is this but species Of fraud!
| There 10 Of course an end to- this habit
! somewhere; the commercial feptrtstion
OF the individual must finally Be swampek
by the number Of his unpsi6 indebt sdnsss:
yet The whole proces, IL ope Of dishonesty
even befo this catastrophe reveals il.
No Christian ought to be guilty oft. Ha
not only di.graces himself thereby, but all
so jeoPardise The reputation Of religion a
mong men.
1t 10 moreover 4 very uncomfortable
habit. He who lives above his mean.-
generally owes more than he car psy
and the farther he goes,the worse he makes
MS condition. He becomes stereotyped
borrower; pays one debt by contracting
another; has great many debts to payS
little, petty, annoying bills scattered in ali
directions, which he does not know how
10 meet. They are constantly haunting
lin with their unpleasant clamors; thew
sacrifice his reputation, and give ire COM
munity the just impression fiat he IL
poor pay-master. All this must be 4
source Of great Inconvenience and per-
plexity, far too great to find an adequate
compensation in little meaningless pa
rade. II would be far wiser, involve
much less friction of the nerves, to shine
less and enjoy more.
The temptations Of the habit are both
numerous and dangerous. 1t tempts man
to sacrifice his sense Of honor, to place q
light estimate upon his word, 10 be easy
IN promising and very slow in fulfilling.
His moral principles become loose, and
pass into The state of decay. His want.
bribe him; and he is likely, under the plea
! OF necessity, to do what under other cir
cnmstanees he would not think of doing.
Sometimes he is led TO contract debts, and
then move away leaving them unsettled
and unpaid. Perhaps he runs his credit
in one place till he runs ii out; and then
does the same thing id aholher,' till He
finally runs himself out.
| He is tempted to acts of meanness. not
10 say dishonesty, such az dodsine his
creditors, and making promises which be
does not seriously expect to fulfil. His
virtue is always taxed and strained BY his
pride on The one hand, and the inconve.
niences Of his exlrSvsgance on the other:
and between the Two the path of plain
and simple honesty is made very difficult.
Sins SELDOM go alone +; one form ofwrong
generally leads to another and hence he
whose proud heart requires what his lax
conscience Permits,is is on the highway Of
temptation. What he may be led TO do in
. certain crisis made by his f0lly,he cannot
tell. IIe may be 80 severely chafed ant,
Pinched, as even 10 be guilty of the csime
Of murder.
And then again, he who consumes ali
and more than all, for the purpose of dig
play, of course has not penny for the
Offices OF charity; he can give nothing to
aid The poor, 10 promote the public good,
or disseminate The knowledge Of the gos-
pei. He would be glad TO do something,
but he cannot-he is so poor. Very true;'
bu. let him inquire into the reason Of his
poverty. He lives too fast he spends
too much OH himself and family: he keeps
up rrore parade ihah'he can support; and
this is the chief reason why he is unable
10 contribute TO the interests Of CHARITY
and benevolence.
How much, more commendable in the
sight OF earth and Heaven is that man
who, is economical and frugal thai he nav
b: liberal; who restrains his own passion,
from excessive indulgence, that he NAV
devote at leas. portion Of his substance
20 the cause Of God pnd the interest Of
phi!anthrophy. His is a rare and valua-
bic virtue, and when it shall be more
common ia The church OF Christ, il will
BIZ lrss difficult 10 find The means for sus-
laning and enlarging all her Institutions
Of love. -Erangsiis'.