The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1874-10-10
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The readers OF the epIstle OF james are tempted
10 think that he exaggerates the Nervousness OF
sins Of the tongue, when he says, The tongue is
a fire, 4 world Of Inlquity so Is the tongue among
our members, that it dehleth the whole body, and
setteth on fire the course Of nature, and it Is set
on fire Of hell. 1t is an unruly evil,
full of deadly poison - But one comes more
and more to take the apostles side in the argu-
ment, as he has experience Of the world, and,
alas! Of the church also. The wounded feelings,
the sundered friendships, the lifelong quarrels,
the unjust and cruel suspicious, the blasted repu-
tations, the ruined usefulness which are the re-
suit Of hasty words, g~ossiping words, boastful
words, ambitious words, jealous words, and
slanderous words, the judgment-day alone viii re-
veal. 1t might be thought a selEevident rule Of
judgment, TO impute no base motive, at least as
long as another is possible, and until we have,
not suspicious appearance, which is often mislead-
ing, but positive evidence OF wrong. Ought not
our experience to teach US caution in this respect?
Have We not sometimes ascertained that We Judged
a brother too hastily, and thus with great injus-
tice? Have we not been thus Judged by others,
also, to cur sore grief, and cruel injury?
Shall we affirm tina; Christians peculiarly sin
in this direction? The accusation might seem
severe, yet it would hardly be baseless. There
certainly is special temptation for them to commit
such sins. They are little drawn towards overt
crimes which demand cool p-redetermination, and
are obviously inconsistent with all right princi-
pie. They are usually on their guard, also,
against the gross sins which spring upon one a
powerful temptation by appear 10 Il eIIODR NATURAL
passion. They are not 90 watchful against what
is less rare, and, in ordinary opinion, less flag
rant, the misuse Of the tongue. Ii is easy to
talk, in fact, one must talk with ones friends;
and when the conversation is well under way, and
the character and deeds Of others come into dis
cussiOn, the temptation to say a - smart" thing,
though 1t be unjust, or 10 suggest an interesting
suspicion, though it be baseless, or to make a
downright charge, though it be false, is more than
many can Withstand.
The evil does not most commonly arise from
conscious malice, but from a blameworthy care
lessness. 1t is one of the cases in which
Evil is wrought
b. w wsRI 4. Of b iaS %s5s Of bea,,p
If we were thoughtful of the feelings and in
terests of others, even as we desire them 10 be of
our feelings and interests, we should more care
fully avoid those words of needless and unjust
criticism and depreciation, which slip so easily
from the tongue in the glow of conversation.
Perhaps the best corrective of this class of tongue
sins is, to take pains to think and speak of the
good qualities of the absent, if we have occasion
to refer to them; and to cultivate the habit of
turning conversation into a more profitable chan
mel than a discussion of the merits of individuals.
The practice often INDUCED becomes a fatal
habit, and there are men and women, professedly
Christians, who are Enthusiastically sanderous,
and whose tongues are, as described by James,
full of deadly poison" The sin is none the
less, that they try to imagine that they are doing
God service, in pointing out faults which deserve
rebuke. They point them out (f they are real,
which commonly they arc not), in no way nor
spirit sustained by the gospel. They are simply
those whom the Bible calls " whisperers, - "back-
biters, - q slanderers, - and the pure minded dread
even to meet them, and to encounter the sewer
like stream of their conversation, which imputes
evil, often wholly imaginary, to high and low, to
cleTgymen and laymeD, to men and women, with
equal freedom. The very sight of them reminds
one of carrion crows, %Vultures, ghouls, and other
unclean beings which live on corruption. If
church discipline means anything it should take
hold of such cases.
Perhaps this wickedness besets Christians as
often in connection with controversy as elsewhere.
That a brother Christian has espoused a different
side of a controverted question is supposed to
render it proper to put him under suspicion of
evil in all that he does Thenceforth these malig-
nant controversialists, who all the time claim to
be contending for God, for purity, and for Bible
truth do their best to pervert his language, to
malign his motives, and to blacken his character.
How could he differ in judgment from them, who
excel in wisdom and in righteousness, except for
some base reason! He is a timeserver, he is
bribed, he is unsound in the faith, he aims to cor
rupt the church, he is loose In his life, he knows
nothing of religion, Thus it comes about that
even religious controversy, which of all kinds
should be most charitable and candid, is COM
monty the most bitter, the most disingenuous, and
the most Astounding in personalities. The same
is true of the discussions attendant upon pro-
fessed reforms, which often degenerate into
methods of vituperation, and the publication of
SANDERS upon all who refuse to come into their
councils, or to unite with their organization. The
maxims seem openly to be acted upon; let US
do evil, that good come go Anything to help
the cause - The man who is not of our party
must be corrupt 1t is but a few days since we
heard that a minister of the gospel, universally
known and loved, a total abstinence man from his
and a Jealous prohibitionist, but op-
posed to a third political party, was reported by
he advocates Of the latter as an imbiber Of lager
beer The evidence was, the suspicion Of those
who were on the opposite Of the debate in a tenn
,erance convention! The uttering of such SLAM
is what ruins the influence of many who
be powerful champions of the right. They
make enemies to the cause which they advocate,
md pile obstacles in the way Of its success. Nay,
hat is not all; they bring piety itself into sus-
,icion as they link holy phraseology and loud pro-
esslons OF zeal for purity to reckless speech con-
erning others, and the most uncharitable judg-
nents of their brethren. Would that the sturdy,
,lain-spoken James, who left Paul to preach
rthodox doctrine, while he looked after orthodox
practice, might return to warn the churches
fresh against sins of the tongue, especially in
hese days of post-ofices and newspapers. when
words rua into private correspondence and public
communications. ,
1t Is owing to want of conscience in this respect,
hat prolessedly religious papers, which are
lways carping at the short comings Of others and
ealing In gross personalities, come to have the
haracter which F. W. Robertson attributed to
The Record, in a letter to a friend {
The Record has done me the honor to abuse
ne for some time past, for which thank them
gratefully. God forbid they should ever praise
ne. One number alone contained four unscrupu- !
Ous lies about me, on no better evidence than !
hat somebody had told them, who had been !
old by somebody else. They shall have no dis
from me. If The Record can put a man !
own, the sooner he is put down the better. :
he evangelicalism $50 called) of The Record is an I
Cn ted PnT SnaT1n0 ar all that IG haffor
han itself, cowardly, lying, and slanderous. 1t $
not worth while to stop your horse and casti- 4
ate it for it will be off yelping, and come back /
D snarl. An evangelical clergyman admitted l
ome proofs l had given him Of The Records t
owardice and dishonesty, but said, Well, in c
of that I Like II hecanse II nnhnlds the 9