The weekly Oskaloosa herald. [volume] (Oskaloosa, Iowa) 1855-1885, 1873-07-17
PROFESSIONAL CRUMBLERs.

There is a certain Glars of people in the world
who seem to live only to make themselves, ana
all with whom they come in contact, miserable
They profess to be christians and yet their own
acts condemn them. They can't understand
why their children are not converted, and why
lnfdelity finds q foOthold IN their hearts If re-
igion consists in striving to pluck the mote from
brothers eye. ignoring the beam that lie in his
own, and in evil speaking, and misconstruing
the motives of others, and in cultivating evil
principles in the heart, that man is christian
otherwise, he is hypocrite. Christianity has
lived through dark sieges OF persecution, and
had there been no Divine power at the helm, it
would have sunk beneath the load of trash that
has been piled upon it. L do not blame parents
with the sins OF their children, only wherein
their influence has led them astray But the
children of our pro fessional grumblers know
that their acts are inconsistent with their pro
fession, hence they lose faith in cbristianity.-
Wherever they go, and wherever you hear their
hiss, you will find a chill creeping over you.-
Then elk the society of your great warm.
hearted christian, and in the warmth of lis sur
ny nature enjoy the effects of genuine religion.
These ult-flnders don't believe in evil speak-
ing either, and yet the gnats trouble them so
much, while they can swallow a camel with
perfect ease. Our minister thinks there is more
religion in a smile, than there is in whine, but
snail never accuse of these illnatured,
snarling, cynics OF having the first principles of
religion III he says he enjoys religion, no sane
man will believe him, because his every day life
bellies his words God has a. marvellous way OF
taking care of His children, and while He often
times permits evil minded people to carry out
their designs, He Overrules it for good to those
IN hn nj. aiaha
and ruin Of those who brave His power. Does
a man with an average amount of common sense
expect to find Heaven at the end Of such a Iifeg-
LAS the tree faleth, so it lieth" and he has cul
uyated the evil habit OF grumbling, it has be-
come part OF his nature, and death has not the
power to separate it from him. He can't under
stand why the church docs not prosper more
rapidly, when ne opposes every move in tina d.
rection. He can't see why men don't fulfil the
vows they made at Gods holy altar, and
ARTIST. according to their ability, in the mainte-
nance OF the Gospei, when he il, perhaps,
deficient than they are. He can't understand
why We can't have good, spiritual prayer meet
ings, like they did in olden times, when in his
ignorance, and evil mindedness he does all he
can To kill the meeting l wonder if he knows
why he does not wear IAN old gray coat al but
toned down BEFORE" like old Grimes used to
wear? Ii you a close observer you can
distinguish this class of people, as their relig-
ion is only skin deep, hence it rubs off very
easily. The ministers, in their earnest endeav-
ors to guide our souls in paths Of right, 90 not
escape their venom, and, if they dare to sneeze
on Sunday, o, how it troubles their sanctimo-
NOUS hearts. Or it, after the hours of mental
labor, he takes little recreation on the croquet
grounds, you will hear the hue and cry raised, in
q religious whisper, az they wrap their robes of
self-righteousness around them. Then shoe the
gnat away and search for the camel, and you
will be sure to find it. 1t il impossible for
child to love mother who is constantly scold-
ing and finding fault, because there ia nothing
loveable about her. Neither can the church love
these professional scolds, and they do untold
harm in retarding the progress of Christianity.
Religion is love, and if the heart is full of love-
there will be no room in it for evil designs
against our friends. The whole soul will be at
war with evil, and We would throw the rms of
love around our friends and whisper words of
encouragement in their ears. Young christians
who are struggling through temptations toward
their God, need kind words and social inter-
course with good christian people, until
they gain strength of character to resist the
counter influence of the world. II the church
~~SS
put forth an effort in their behalf Satan will !;
and, alas !! how fatally. If the rumseller could
be converted and imbued with the spirit of Him
who said brothers love one another" he
could not place the poisoned bowl to his broth
er's lips. But the serpent creeps into our homes
and lures our loved ones into haunts of vice ;
lures to destroy; fascinates to ruin. Satan
loves shining mark and he twines his coils
around the heart, and gently down the stream Of
Time, they float out with the tide. The world
comes in on every side with its pleasures; hence
1t is necessary to present religion to them in all
its beauty and grandeur. There is q depth OF
power in sacred music, found nowhere else q
power that will arouse emotions OF awe and rev.
erence, and yet there lie class OF people who
have not soul enough to appreciate good music,
and they will oppose every means of improving
the mode of singing the songs of Zion, to the en-
tire disgust of all sensible people. believe with
Wesley, that we should not let the devil have all
the best music. II there is q power in music, why
not use it TO win souls to Heavens II You can
drive evil thoughts from mans mind with mu-
sic, and create in his heart longing for purer,
noblsr life, sing songs OF Heaven and IL you can
throw more power In 1t with the aid of an organ,
Cor machine as our grumblers call it, put forth
your best efforts To enable him to see the beauty
OF holiness. PAULINE.