The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1880-10-14

loHer Vi 'ne. .nea.enly bounty. 1t is not
,for you alone. It is for mankind. It is
the most beautiful thing that God lie,
down to earth. a living specimen Of the
heavenly excellence. Gods witness in O
siniul. world. You must not put ali es.
toppal upon It's testimony. Christian
modesty is not injured by Christian zeal.
ihe sun does not destroy the stars. Nay
they are shining in other parts of. Gods
creation when that aun 10 shining in his
strength upon us. And when the sun
goess down below the horizon, all the
modest stars again il.umine our heavens.
day. but his superior light outshone t6eirs.
Modesty and zeal work harmoniously TO.
| gether. You may be both q jealous
Christian and modest one. But observe
that timidity is not modesty. A Christian
afraid to refuse, when invited to 20 to a
ball or to O game of cards 10 a timid
Christian. He is afraid to le. his Chris
tianity radiate it's light. He puts it un.
der bushel just when he should put IL
on candlestick. Why that is just your
opportunity, Christian, when the light of
a Christian example would be q beauti-
full obedience to the exhortation of
the Great Teacher, "Let your light so
shine"
But. it may be said do not see why
my. Christianity may not shine in the
ball room and ut the card table. pro.
pose to engage in no other than decent
dancing and decent card playing. Well,
but decent card playing is q very. dim
form of Christianity, ifany at all. Do you
propose to submit your Christianity to
an observation. fyou begin to dimiu-
ish your light, may you not extinguish it?
But Jesus exhorts, Let it shine. And
how are you going to shine your light if
you let it down into an atmosphere
which first obscures then extinguishes it.
The modern ball room and card table
just as certainly puts out the light of
Christianity, ae the choke damp in q
coal pit puts out lamp. You cannot
think of JeSus Christ being in e ball
room or seated at q card table. II
shocks your moral sensibilities. And
you cannot think of any one aiming to
be like Jesus Christ carrying his Christi.
anity safely into such atmospheres.
What then, il is asked, are we to forego
all earth,y pleasures and become O race
OF demure and miserable beings? Any
one can become demure and miserable
being? Any one can become demure
tpi will become demure who undertakes
to be Christian soldier but has not
courage to fight its battles. He will be
/ demure because he "condemeth himself
IN that thing which ne aiioweth.;: Those
arc the truly miserable people who are
constantly ut war with themselves en-
deavoring to reconcile their consciences
snd their conduct. Christianity propos.
es to us a higher order of plcasures-th
pleasures of selfvictory; of manly
courage in the moment OF temptation :;
of the noble independence which rises
superior to the pleasures of animal ex-
element. And it happens that the
room are just that class of pleasures
which you can refuse yourself without
any injury to your moral intellectual or
| oo.poEeal nature.
Let your light shine before men," my
brethren, whenever you are..solicited to
the horse race or drinking saloon. Show
yourself strong man, the light of whose
| Christianity is not blown out by q puff.
What rational sport can there be in wit.
Messing five minutes struggle between
horses and jockeys? "The very life aud
soul of the tnrf,a says the Canadian m
dependent, sis betting" Take that away
and there would be a total collapse.
Yet betting is livelihood. Thousands
of lazy men in this and other countries
make their bread and broadcloth by this
method of "preying upon society,"" The
philosophy of betting is that you may
get something for nothing, that you may
win money without working for it. 1t
is'attempting to get money in some other
way than by honest industry. The gam
bier and betting man in those places
where the institution of the horse race
and the ccck.fght have been set up reap
rich harvest at these periodical Satur.
MALTA, and they reap by trickery and
cunning, o harvesto of money which some
bndy's honest toll has made. AL Chris,
tians and good men ought to withhold
their countenancc and encouragement
from work of this kind. Let your light
SO shine, my brethren, as to expose by
your pure example, the moral ngliness
of betting. But it may be said there is no
wrong in betting, if we lay no wager
We answer no one is wronged but your.
self and God. Yourself, by jumping
into the deceitiul fascination of Lottery;
fascination which grew into such o
monstrous evil in our social economy
that Legislatures had 10 stamp it out by
force. Some years ago the Political
Lottery at Rome was drawn every Satur.
day morning. lido not know that it
| exists now. A great glass barrel with
a crank was turned rapidly for time to
shuttle the tickets together, and. then
dawn and announced TO O crowd of
| almost breathless spectators below the
balcony, until ninety tickets were sold
out. The profits to the government as
one time for each drawing was 60 900
scudi, nearly $50 600. and it has been
stated, as fact, that the greater the pub.
lie distress aud poverty, the greater the
yield of the Lottery to the public ex-
chequer.
Misery makeo. the people desperate and
they venture more recklessiy 5with the
little they possess. Think of poor widow
cd mother venturing her last weeks
earnings Dy putting it In the shape OF a
lottery ticket in the hope Of getting more
by chance and then turning away from
the acsursed affair in utter despair, having
lost nil. Yet betting is lottery, and .iot,
terry isrongs God by denying his Proyi-
dence and government, BY seeking to
escape his appointment Of lawful indus.
try for o living; by, abettipg the infs-
nous doctrine ofchance. Of hope my
fellow Christians will bo strong enough
70 refuse outright all approbation and
encouragement OF betting, card playing,
horse fReing and cobE lighting, aniis 90
Shine ont theis aGhcis.ianitY as to expose
these immoral practices. You might
put gloss of decency over these things
by surrounding them with the finery of
modern civilization and refinement