The Russellville Democrat., 1886-03-11
CORRESPONDENCE

CO-respondeHce ofehe Democrak Il
As ! have not seen anything from
Hardpush | will drop you few
iincs to let the readers OF the Dem
oCBAr know. how we are getting
along. Prospects fattering, health
goou, mortgage stock plenty on the
market, merchants sick, farmers
busted" preachers discouraged,
church members lost their influence,
but we are hoping for revival that
will make all hearts glad and rejoice
IN the end. Ii there is anything for
which honest business men have q
supreme contempt, 1t Is for church
member who can and will not pay
his just debts, or who contracts a
debt which he knows or ought 10
know he cannot pay. Every man
has standard by which he judges
tile moral character OF Others, ald
the standard q merchant OF trades
man sets is ability anc willingness
to pay debts. A man may have many
excellent qualities, but ii he fails to
be just anu honest the business men
properly discount his religion in the
same proL ortion that he discounts
his note or bill. A Christian is an
honest man who would just as soon
think of stealing or ileing as con
tracing debts without the Intention
OF pa, ing them. There are alto
gether too many non-debt paying
people in our churches. They lower
The standard OF religion and bring
Christianity into disrepuLe and cen
tempt. Among honest men such
men stand between God and immor
tai souls. Many OF them are high
in church courts and councils, and
are very active in time Of revivaIs in
exhorting sinners to repentance.
Frequently they are the noisiest peo.
pie in prayer meetings and temper
ance meetings and in all kinds of re-
forms, and rebuke their neighhors
tor not helping IN the good cause
with their money. Such men are
positively dead weights to the
church. They are stumbling block !;
it matters not what good cause they
engage in their presence Is hind
rance instead OF a help. 1t Is NO use
20 try TO convert the world with such
material. The merchant who listens
to the earnest exhorLations Of his
debtors is all the time thinking Of
his unpaid bills, and wishing the
speaker was just as honest as be
seems to be religious. The strongest
adverse influence to Christianity in
this county is the contradiction be
tween Christian doctrines and the
daily practlce Of those who profess
them. Christianity finds its worst
enemies in it's own followers. When
merchants look over their books and
6nd scores OF their bad debts charged
to prominent church members it Is
not strange that they stumble. II is
almost impossible to dislodge or re-
futc such objections however illogi-
cal they may be, and so long as they
remain progress will be slow and un.
certain. The faithful minister OF the
gospel contends against no greater
obstacles than dishonesty in his
members. They neutralize all his
preaching; they lay across his path
way and make his progress difficult
if not impossible. There is vast
preliminary work to be done in our
churches before we can hope TO see
genuine turning to God. What
paralyzes the ministerto day is his
inability to show the faith of his
people by their works. There is a
vast labor to be done inside of the
church, and this must begin before
we expect TO ito much at home OF
abroad.
When we think of this waste OF en-.
ergy. zeal, time, example and devo
tion because of the crookedness and
perversit, of church members we al
most grow discouraged. 1t otter
takes as much hard work to get til,