Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1886-09-23
PLEASURE VS.. DUTY.


PLEASURE VS.. DUTY.
False Theories as to the True Aim of Life
-Idleness, and Even Happiness, Not to
BE Sought After an End.
No scheme of reform is worth con-
sidering for a moment which repeats
the Divine order that we shall lead in
dustrious lives on earth. Occupation
is necessary to the development of our
powers. Some severity in toll is re-
quired to perfect us IN strength; nay,
some strain. even to suffering, is re-
quired for the perfecting of the saints.
That we endure hardness as good SOL
diers Is asked of us as requisite for
character as well as for victory. All
theories of life which dispense with ex-
ercise and strain are vicious theories
The difficulty of thinking beyond such
simple positives and negatives as the
foregoing is that it is impossible to de-
fine exactly what is enough and what
too much labor, care, pain, sorrow.
What we know is that to the making
of a man on earth there 60 toll. strain
and sorrow. Now, there are some
people who are always finding their
ideal of life, of progress, of the millen-
mum in an idle world-a world with
nothing to do but to shave good
time" Nay, we are all infected with
this false notion.
The laxity of home discipline, and
the great multiplication of boys who
are useless if not vicious, are result
of their parents belief that the best
good is idleness and exemption from
disappointment. So the children get
what they ask for, and are excused
from what they do not like. The par
ent says: Il had hard time when 1
was young; my boy shall have an easy
time The dcluded father does not
know that his hard time made Il man
of him. and that the easy time of the
son will make fop, fool, or a Grim
inal of him. This truth is old, but IL
Illustrations of it are springing up in
every street. The end sought is not
good ole. 1dlcneSs, and even happi-
ness, are not ends to be striyen for. 1t
is a paradox to say that the desire of
happiness is not a desire for
happiness, but the paradox is true.
What all men want is a feeding of the
higher nature unto the symmetrical
perfection of it-..a perfect man. is
the ideal of the human soul as well as
that of Christianity. Because salts
factions and pleasures grow on the
stalk of manlincsS we too hastily
reason that the tree is for its flowers;
but in fact the real end of the stalk as
such and in itself is to be as perfect as
possible. What man is, what he can
do. how he is useful. how as a man he
displays the glory of his Maker-thcse
are the large questions in the case.
Whether he enjoys himself or not, in
any sense of enjoyment which men
habitualiy try to attain, is of the very
least importance in comparison with
the perfecting manliness which may be
ripening under the discipline of life.
All this is more practical than we
think; it goes to the bottom of our
daily business in this world. The
larger half of mankind is making no
proper progress, because it is pursuing
the wrong trail-going precisely the
wrong way; not goiag after the per-
feet manhood which is in Christ. but
after what it calls "a good time" or
satisfaction, or pleasure. or happiness.
Hence comes the endless conflict be-
tween pleasure and duty. They not only
seem to be opposed, they are opposed,
one to the other. The taste for
pleasure is depraved one. begotten
in the Eden which it ruined. The
taste is in all mouths, because We are
all children of Adam; the false ideal
.eludes us all, because we are all
caught in the delusion of Mother Eve.
To the end it will torture and ruin the
men who trust it. Our business is not
to be happy, but to do our duty; and
by our duty to grow into the perfect
stature of q man. Very likely happi-
ness of an undreamed of sort may
come to us when we take the fight
road, but it is not the happiness which
makes the right road.
There is. however. no safety in any
trust in earthly happiness. Pain as
well as happiness is 10 be found in the
way of duty. Please stop trying 20
balance the two against each other, to
prove on the one hand that this life is
n failure, or on the other that it is a
good of inestilnabie value. Pleasure
and pain are not weights and
measures with which to settle and de-
termine the wisdom of our God. He is
making men. To prosper the work,
His Son becamca man. To grow into
His likeness by toll, strain, WEAKNESS.
affection. bereavement is our high |
privilege. Nothing else in the range |
0f our vision is high enough to be
worthy of our efforts. If laughter
serves some end, then let us lsugI; but
If the laugh be for itsxlf-the end only
q laugh.-who viii take the trouble to