Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1880-09-12
a cHAprER ON roofs.

greatest benefit.
A CHAPTER ON FOOLS
| Though thou shouldst bray fool in mortar
among wheat with pestle. yet will not his
| foolishuess depart from him.-PROvERBs,
XVII: 20.
Some diseases are incurable, and it would
appear that the wosrt of them sll is folly.
The term is not used in the sense of frivol-
ity, for that is disease that cures itself. It
| runs its course like the measles or the
mumps, and then passes off, leaving the pa
| tient in better condition than ever before,
But the folly that is most predominant, es
pecially in the churches, is positively incur
able. 1t couldlmost appropriately be de-
nominated pigheadedness, and when a per-
son has severe attack of this complaint, he
is beyond hope of redemption.
Every church congregation contains few
or many confirmed fools who cause no end
of trouble to the pastor and bring more OF
less reproach upon the cause of religion.
They are pulled up with their
own conceit, have formed their
own opinions as to matters and
things in general, and insist. that these ideas
shall be carried out, no matter how many
| others may differ from them. They have
established their own standard of s,godli-
ness and gauges the whole world by that
standard. They are continually critioising
the conduct of others, and by their meddle-
someness provoke bitterness and strife that
often lead to ruptures of church relation
ships or engender animosities that continue
for years and keep entire communities in
| hot water constantly.
| There is no fool who isssso great fool as
| he who thinks himself the wisest of man
kind. Every community is afflicted with
such creatures, and the churches are espso-
| tally full Of them. The lot of the preacher.
| not always happy one, is often rendered
! unendurabie by these fools. They always
seem to manage to get Into a con-
spicuous place, for invariably they are en-
dowed with the cheek gof lightning-rod
agent combined with that iof a government
mule. If they are not deacons or elders
! they assume to give these functionaries in
structions as to how the affairs of the con-
gregation should be managed. They also
give what they regard as good counsel to the
preacher. He is informed that his sermons
are either too doctrinal or not doctrlnal
enough; that he should preach upon this
topic or on that; that he cannot expect to be
popular unless he pays more attention to
this or that subject, and makes a nui
sance of himself generally. He believes
all the wisdom of the congregation to be
conferred in himself, and cannot be con-
WINGED that anybody else possesses brains or
intelligence enough to properly appreciate
the duties and obligations of q Christian.
| 1t is to be presumed that minister of
the gospel, trained MYTHOLOGY and enlisted
heart and soul in his work, will know his
duty far better than one who is not so
rained And it muss be as aggravating fer
| one of these to have some ignoramus or
novice dictate his course as it is to skilled
mechanic to be instructed in his work by q
1 fellow who never saw lathe or steam en-
CINE. 1t is not to be wondered at that oc-
oa.ionally the man of God loses his patience
and retorts upon his tormentors. But though
you may bray such fools in mortar their
foolishness will not depart from them, and
instead Of accepting the rebukes they receive
| in proper spirit they regard them as in
dications of the unftness of their pastor for
his position. They SOW the seeds of dis
| sension in the congregation, and too often
succeed in raising such storm about the
| ears of the spiritual shepherd that he is
compelled to resign. Many worthy, earnest
and devoted preachers are .by these means
driven from fields in which they could be
potent for good and work great moral and
spiritual reforms.
The fools in the churches are of diverse
| sorts, and they are all sources of continual
disturbance. There is the doctrinal fool.
| who lays more store by dogma than by genu-
inc Christianity. There. is also the fool who
seeks to make the church popular. He in
clines to the sensational, and regards relig-
| ion as secondary consideration, and seeks
to make the pastor preach popular sermons
that will tickle the fancy Of the multitude,
even though they may .inculcate no truth of
lasting benefit. There are fashionable fools,
| and musical fools, and fools of all descrip-
tions, who keep the churches in ferment
continually. They all, have their hobbie q
and insist that everybody else shall agree
with them in all things. Failing to produce
the accord they desire they proceed to create
discord, and generally succeed. What the
churches most need as guard against the
| mischief that these fools create is strong
hand at the helm-a man in the pulpit who
! possesses strength of character enough not
only to assert his views on all questions but
to enforce them and to put down the entire
tribe of fools who may endeavor to interfere
With his usefulness.
| Mississippi Steamboats,.
The Libbie Oonger, of the Diamond Jo
line, is expected to arrive from below in
time to leave for st. Louis at noon to-