The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1884-12-13
True Honesty.

Some men pride themselves IN their
honesty. They do not cheat, nor lie,
nor steal, and they( pay all their debts.
Nobody can find any fault with them as
regards their business tranactions.
They adopt as their motto: can hon.
est man is the noblest work of God. !"
Honesty is all the religion that they
have, and they make the most of it.
But alas, it is poor defective religion,
and will not avail 10 save them. 1t is
defective religion, because it is re-
ligion only manward. They are not
honest toward God. They are daily
guilty of robbing him and have been SO
all their lives long.
First of all, and chief of all, they rob
him of their affections. His first great
commandment to them is: "Thou
shalt love the Lord God with all thy
heart, and with all thy soul, and with
all thy mind, and with all thy strength. I"
God is worthy of being thus loved, but
not thus have they loved him. Nor,
indeed, have they loved him at all.
"The canal mind is enmity against
Cod"
And they rob him in respect to tithes
and offerings. God requires of them
that they make liberal offerings for his
service. The heather make such offer
ings for their gods; and those that are
acquainted with the living God, ought
to be liberal towards him, and cheer
fully so. But they have failed also in
this particular. Many a man that
proudly boasts of his honesty, withholds
from God the gold and silver that are
his due.
And they rob God of the worship
that belongs to him. The heather
worship their idols of wood and stone;
and it is proper that the living God
should be exalted and adored by all
his moral creatures. He is great and
greatly to be praised, and all should re-
gard it both as duty and privilege,
statedly to enter into his gates with
thanksgiving and into his courts with
praise.
But many man that is boastful Of
his honesty, has no habit of worshipping
his Maker. He never darkens the
doors ofGod' shouse, nor paysunto them
acceptable worship. His worship at the
best is that of the boasting Pharisee,
which is an abomination in the sight
of God.
And they rob God of his time. All
time belongs to him, but he claims a
seventh portion of it as in special
manner his own. 1t is his command
ment: Remember the Sabbath day
to keep it holy" But this fancied hon.
est man does not thus remember this
sacred day. He turns not away his
foot from it, but defantly tramples
upon it, saying with proud Pharoah,
"Who is the Lord, that should obey
his voice." He spends the day in
seeking his own pleasure.
And they rob God of their talents.
Their Creator has endowed them with
faculties whereby they are capable of
serving and clarifying him. And this
he rightfully requires of them. Thus
do the holy angles employ all their no.
BILE powers. But these boastfully hon.
est men disregard Gods requirement,
and prevert their talents by employing
them for selfish purposes. Their grand
aim is to please and to glorify them
selves.
And thus in these and other ways they
are guilty of robbing their Maker.
They are infinite debtors to God. They
owe him ten thousand talents and have
nothing to pay. Their righteousness,
in which they so much pride themselves
is only as rags, and filthy rags at that.
They are in perishing need of another
and better righteousness even the
righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Without it they are poorly prepared for
the judgment of the great day. With
out it they must stand guilty before God,
and the sentence will go forth against
them: "Cast ye the Improbable serv-
ant into outer darkness.