The Opelousas courier., 1883-01-13
DILIGENCE IN BUSINESS.
A Lay Sermon.

IJGaElt DClOFGAts you b1Al Tvs
| any Scripture in other pulpits this morn
ing that carries more truth to the square
inch than this. And the especial atten-
ton OF the young men in the congrega-
ton is called to the text:
The reason why, II atleast one reason
why, the Psalmist, after he had been
young, and was old, could not remem-
| Der ever to have seen the righteous for
saken or his seed. begging bread, was
because a lazy oar can't be very right
eous. Not righteous enough to hurt
him. The spectacle OF a lazy Christian
would be as great q rarity as a fat skel-
eton.
If your Bible teaches you anything it
teaches you that there is no room in
this hive for a drone. 1.-The hand of the
diligent shall bear rule; but the slothful
shall be under tribute" 1.-The way
of the slothful man is as a hedge of
thorns; but the way of the righteous is
made plain 'sThe desire of the sloth-
full killeth him, for his hands refuse to
labor" 1.-The sluggard will not plow
by reason of the cold, therefore shall he
beg in harvest and have nothing"
"The soul of the sluggard desireth, and
hath nothing; but the soul of the dill
gent shall be made fat" Not slothful
In business; fervent in spirit serving the
Lord.,' Gan idle soul shall suffer hun
GER" Alazy Christian, brethren, would
ind but cold comfort if he should exert
himself to read his Bible.
The diligent soul always possessed
the land. Not the man OF woman who
steps into a dead man shoes and a fort
une, but the boy and girl who learn in
their teens what a dollar is worth,
and how to gain and use a power that
none cannot buy, are the people VINO
move the world. Clifford, the first edi-
tor Of the quarterly ReyieW was only q
common sailor; Ben. johnson was q
bricklaFer; John Bunyan was a tinker;
Hugh Miller was a quarryman; Shakes
eesye 5 faLher was 50 Wterate he didn't
. know how to spell his sons name;
, neither did his son, and no more do
: you. for that matter; De Foe, the au-
thor of Robinson Crusoe, was almost
wholly s~elf-taught; Edgar A. Poe was
! the son of strolling players; Ben.
Franklin, the printer, was the son of a
{ tallow chandler; Sir Richard Arkwright,
inventor of the cotton spinning ma
+ chine, was a barber; Tom Moore was
. . the son of q grocer; Gerald Massey be"
gan life as an errand boy; and CaEtop,
5 Who set up the first printing press in
England, was a weaver's apprentices
John Adams was the son Of o farmeTl
President Lincoln was a farm hand and
fiat boatman; Andrew johnson was 9
. tailor; Grant was a tanner; Garfield
was a canal boy-none OF these men
were renowned for their great wealth,
s perhaps, but they were diligent In their
q business, and.they stood before Kings
. long, long ways before most Kings.
. There is no particular merit in being q
: King. Any man who happens to be
2 born at the right time into the right
: family, can't help being a King. But
all the kingcraft in the world couldn't
make a De Foe, a Hugh Miller, a Burns,
: or q Bunyan, if the boy didn't make
! himself.
Dearly beloved, it may be that this
. congregation is not made up exclusive
" OF future Presidents, and of people
r whose names shall be written the fore
most of all in their time. But there is
little doubt that it is largely made up Of
, men and women who are not doing all
the world has a right to expect Of them.
Ask yourselves how many Of you de-
serve to stand before Kings for your
diligence? Possibly, my young brother
may not wish to stand before Kings.
Very well, then he doesn't have to.
: But il he does, there is only n way for
him to get there; he must be dilgent in
: business, whatever his business Is; con-
t stantly active; persistent and devoted'in
his application. He wants to keep his
elbows, not his feet, on mis- desk. He
must work harder in the morning OF his
life, Just when he wants to play, than
! he will in the afternoon.
It won't be at all easy for you, dearly
. beloved, to be ssdiligent in business.
Alnan is often very busy who isn't at
. all diligent in business. The most act
i've man I ever saw was a man who did
! less than you would suppose ten men
could do. He lived on the street. He
talked politics ten, hours a day. He was
always going to run for some office, but
> nobody e rnominated him. He would
! drag you away from your desk Of book,
L to talk to you by the hour about some
: thing you didn't care a cent for; he
q knew a little about every living mans
business save his own; ne spent the
2 most of his time in auc and the rest
0 of it in convention and procession, and
vet, when you went into that mans
office, there was a great legend staring
at you from the wall, right over his
desk-.Time is money"
o Be diligent in your business, dearly
beloved. and you will have no time to
manage your neighbours affairs, and
= this viii keep You out OF trouble AND
9 mischief. And just as soon as YOU
& neighbor finds that your time is too val
liable to be wasted upon him for moth.
ing. he viii want it, and pay for it. Men
!, always want what is hard for them tt
: get. Be diligent, and your Thoughts
e will tend to plenty Be diligent, anc
tout of Asher your bread shall be fat
Be diligent, aud s.God shall give thee
OF the dew of heaven, and the fatnes,
of the earth, and plenty of corn anc
q Wine,' and q whole chapter of amend
j ments can't keep it from you. Be dill
gent, and your fullest manhood will be
developed; the world win be glad thai
I. Won have lived in it, and society vii
]. miss you when you are called up higher
Be diligent in your business, and the
thousand and temptations that be
set the lazy man cannot be heard BY
/. you, absorbed in your WI homes
affairs. Be diligent and rejoice il
your labor; this Is the gift of God.o an6
! sit Is good and comely for one to enjoy
.. the good of all his labor that he taketl
under the sun oil the days of his life
for it Is his portion Be diligent, ane
rest and refreshing will followyour toll
= for .the sleep Of q laboring man i:
q sweet, whether he eat little or much
IL -. -. &EZH VEAR