Litchfield enquirer. [volume] (Litchfield, Conn.) 1829-current, 1859-10-20

|
soul in the world that admires selfish nature
So far, the human mind is unperverted and
no healthy mind can conceive how God can
admire such nature. If /, with my low in
stincts and perverted tastes, demand that
man shall be, or become unselfish before love
him, how can perceive that God will love his
unchanged character? / know that He call
not, any more than can, and am prepared
to take His definition of the sum and SUBJ
stance of religion as the loving of God su-
premely, and the loving of our neighbor as
| ourselves. Wrapped within this word unset
.fshness, in it's full and glorions meaning, lies
! the central principle Of Christianity, and from
it always unfolds the true Christian life
When God sits supremacy Oh the throne of
human heart-I say snpremely-- selfish
ness is obliterated, and the individual becomes
small and insignificant in the presence of the
great brothe rhood.
suppose it may be stated as generally
admitted truth that mankind are not popular
In other words, the race is not held in very
high estimation by itself: If it were not SO,
Dav.d's declaration that all men are liars was
not SO very hasty after all for il there be a
habit everywhere and in all times prevalent, it
is the habit of dctraction Mankind are pref
ty universally UNPOPULAR, Or universally malig-
liant, for they have a very bad reputation
among themselves. l think there is some
cause for all this hard talk about men which
the most of US indulge in, and though many
uncharitable things may be said, the unjust
things are not so plenty. | think that this
selli>lness Of which we have been taking is
very commoD--in fact, that very few of us lay
claim to any great degree OF freedom from it.
| III,l. ft,,to H. matt
! love our ncighbors better, and why our neigh
bors do not love us BETTER is that they and
We are not altogether lovabIe. ! think that
the great bar to quicker and higher develop
lnent Of our social life is the contempt We feel
fol- one aEother's sclfshness If all my neigh
bors were frec-l.earted, generous, magnani-
nous, u'scltish men, l should love them all as
l may happen to love one of them w.lo mani
l were the possesSor of the qualities which
most admire in others, should lie sure that
all my neighbors who know me would love me-
Christianity starting in Gods fathcrhood,
bids us love our brotherhood. If We love
Him, we shall love His children, however
widely straying, and however unamiable, SIM
| ply because they are members of the same
| family with ourselves. We are nowhere COM
manded to love the devil and his angels, be-
cause they do not belong to our family. But
Christianity does not demand that we shall adj
| m,rc an uuloyely man, and choose him as q
companion, aid be happy in his society. Ii
does lot demand that give him good name,
while seek to do him good, or conspire to
hold him popular while l strive to make him
better. 1t does not bid ME smother my antip-
athies so far as to ignore his selfshness, or to
accept him as grateful obj ct of my aiftc
tons. l Can love him so far as to wish him
/ well, to labor for his welfare, aud to rejoice in
his improvement can love him in such man.
ner as to be grateful for all the good he re-
ceives and ach ewes but, so long as selfish
ness is dominant in his heart and life, am not
required to delight in him, and l could not if
| were. The heart leaps to receive worthy
love and will not be counseled.
The secret Of the worlds unlovelincss abides
in its selishness. This statement true in the
largest sense, is equally true in its most limit
cd application The reason why men are not
/ popular with their fellows, is, that tleir fellows
fail to find in them generous, uncalculating i'm
pulscs-open hearts, free hands, and demon
strative good will. have no doubt that this
statement will come to many minds either as Il
new and strange revelation of truth, or MS a
proposition which their overweening self-love
will compel them to quarrel with l know
there are men who are conscious Of not being
generally loved, and yet, who having strong
desires to be loved are 1T loss to account for
Their own appropriately. II they accept this
doctrine, they can find the way to win what
they desire. they reject it as a thing which
wounds their self-love and offeuds them they
can have the privilege of being despiscd, while
they life. God has made seIishness unloyea-
bic, and shaped the universal human heart to
despise it, aud He has made unselfshLess so
lovable that We cannot withhold from it our
admiration.
the transformer of character, and the agent of
those changes in the human heart and life
{ which make men not only lovely to each 9TH
ey, but to God himself. To my mind, there is
no stronger evidence Of the truth and divine
authenticity of Christianity than the direct
blow with which it hits the nail Of human sell
fshness on the head. There is no other sys-
TEN of religion which does this. There is no
curative scheme Of human philosophy which
even attempts this transformation. No out
. side plan OF reformation, even when it has re-
coguized selfshness as the root of human evil,
has been able to present motives OF sufficient
power to work the necessary regeneration
Under the influence of Christianity, l have
seen selfish men become large hearted and
generous, and have witnessed the outgoing OF
their lives into deeds of practical good will.
| have never seen this change wrought by any
other system of religion nor by any form OF hu-
. man philosophy All other systems and schemes
fail to supply the vital principle of true life
and an admirable character. They are sys-
TENS Of schemes Of policy, and plans Of re-
wards and punishments, built upon what is
5 good in humanity. They never contemplate