The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1881-02-02

WE HEAR a great deal about carrying
your religion into your business, and the
bulk of our money-seeking business men
go off and say, yes. that's it; will
carry my religion into my business. The
preacher and fiery spirits like st. Paul
may pass much of their time in medita-
ton and prayer, but 1 will carry my re-
ligion into my business" And so Mon
day morning he starts down the street,
and spends the day trying to sell some
thing for all that he can get for it, and
resumes his spiritual exercises next Sun
day morning at IL o'clock He has not
studied his Bible; he has not spent ten
minutes on any one occasion during the
week in prayer; he has not fractised any
determination; he has not associated
with any spiritually -minded people; he
has literally been immersed in money
getting all the week He fatters him
self that he has not put his hand in any
bodys pocket; he has not told any down
right falsehood;. he has kept sober; he
has not concealed the fact that he pro-
fesses to be Christian: and so, when the
preacher tells him on Sunday number
that there is no harm in making money,
only he must carry his religion into his
business, he says, Eyes, that's exactly
what [ did; 1 try to worship God by be-
ing diligent in business"
And then, what sort of a business is
it? That is another pertinent question
How do you make your money? Are
you a carpenter? Then we envy you,
for that is genuine work, useful work,
producing work. The carpenter who
puts up a good house, has earned his
money fairly and squarely, provided his
terms were just. But even here, there
are different ways of putting up house.
You may not use good timber You may
put on bad roof. You may in short do
your job well or you may do it badly,
relying in the latter case on the ignor-
ance of your employer. There is no wor-
ship in this, of course. There is damna-
ton in it,
Perhaps you keep store Verv well !;
saying nothing now at all about your de-
votional periods, or the amount of your
time which you give to spiritual exer-
cises and to church work, we will inquire
what is the character of the worship
that you practise in your business? If
an order comes to you for 10 pounds of
sugar, does it weigh only 9 in the scales
of the purchaser when it reaches his
house? If you sell bushel of potatoes,
do you deliver only three pecks? When
you sell piece of cloth, do you naught
extenuate or embellish to decide your
wagering customer? Do you sell mean
shoes for good shoes, and overwhelm some
bewildered young lady with Thousand
lies to induce her to purchase? This is
not worship, though you may merely be
initiating your neighbor, and even acting
almost without the consciousness of VIC
lating business rules.
And here is the trouble about much of
our business. The greed and selfshness
of men have legalised practices and hab-
its that are entirely indefensible in
morals, and habit and the way of the
world draw conscientious men into them
without reflection on their part. They
do as they see others do who stand we'll,
and that is all (they concludel that need
be expected
Oh, if one could get into the interior
of the multitudinous transactions of the
stock exchange and the grain exchange in
New York for one day. Transactions in
which thousands are lost and won, and