The Portland daily press., 1886-04-05
PULPIT AND PLATFORM.
THE cHR1sr1AN1zAr1oN OF BUSINESS

THE CHRISTIANIZATI0N OF BUSINESS.
Chestnut street church was crowded to re-
pletion yesterday by congregation desirous
of hearing DR.. Bashford's sermon on the
Knights of Labor. Mr.. Bashford took as
his text the Golden Rule, Matt. 1872, and
opened with brief review of the last SER
mon upon this subject. He quoted Hon.
Carroll d. Wright's statement that without
machinery it would take 227, 900, 600 persons
to produce the goods which we now produce
with machinery, and so our present products
would have to be divided with 227, 100000 in
stead of 50,000,OOO. He quoted the opinion
of the head of our national labor bureau
that the wage earners do not receive an
equitable share of modern products. He
thought the agitation of the modern world
upon the subject of capital and labor showed
the need of the Christianization of business,
and quoted Benjamin Franklin's saying
HE who shall introduce into public affairs
the principles of primitive Christianity will
revolutionize the world"
Ho1u to ChriStianize Modern Business
He thought every man and every great in
terest becomes Christian through two-fold
process, that of the law and the gospel, or
of justice and love. l. Business corpora
tions and the Knights of Labor must observe
the law of justice. So far as corporations
overreach justice in their greed for gain, they
are preparing for their own overthrow as
certainly as did the ancientregime in France
The Knights of Labor can no more
prevent the law of individual merit operating
and bring all men together without regard
to qualifications than they can prevent the
law of gravitation. The old political economy
is right in aiming at justice, in trying to pay
each man according to what he does for
society. So far from the gospel abolishing
this principle of justice it declares that II
a man will not work neither shall he eat,
and that we. shall be judged according to the
deeds done in the body. Under this head
let the Knights of Labor demand the re-
moval of all artificial business and an equal
chance for all, Then let it insist among its
own followers that when mans poverty Is
due to his idleness or worthlessness or vice
the law of justice shall hold. 1t is no kind
ness to a sinner to cover up the penalties of
his vice here until he plunges into ruin here
after A large share of the suffering of to-
day is due to the fault of the sufferers. The
grace of the workingmen should as far as
possible give their fallen companion new
chance. But they must insist upon new
birth before he can reap the fruits of new
life. First then if the outward failures and
suffering of the Knight is due to his own
fault, let not the others in a spirit of false
brOtherlineSS insist that restoration shall
precede reformation.
2. But justice for each is only the first step
toward the chrlstianiZation of business. The
old law of pay in accordance with external
service, does not satisfy justice itself. There
are differences in opportunities offered young
people, based upon family, sex, wealth, etc. !;
there are inherited differences of body, mind
and will; and when political economy re-
wards each person slngly, according to his
outward achievements, without any refer
ence to his motives or his character, it fails
business on Christian basis so long as you
deal with your brothers as mere machines,
with no reference to their motives or their
character. 1t will immensely complicate
business and revolutioniZe business methods
to deal with laborerS with reference to their
character and motives. But the whole move
ment of modern society is toward complexi-
ty, and as the kingdom of heaven approaches
men must be judged by the heavenly stand
ard of motives and character. We must even
go beyond the attempt to deal with men ac-
cordlng to their motives, and try to produce
good motives in them by acts of grace on
our part. We must recognize that all talents,
money and positions which fall to us are
committed to us as stewards. Gods aim in
committing them to us is that we should use
them to help others, not for personal aggran-
dizement. Each man must introduce grace
into his business, and constantly act for the
sake OF others. He Will be aStonlShed IN do
ing this to find how firmly his business has
anchored itself in the hearts and consciences
of those with whom he deals.
There is a defence in business better
than the police and solidity in its entirety
independent of the dollars and cents upon
which it rests. Thousands of churches in
our land have from the material standpoint
no capital with which to carry on their
work. They have only the shell in which
their services are held. But no other form
of property in the land surpasses the
churches in security simply because they
are anchored in the hearts and consciences
of those they secure. Only as the business
man aims to help others as well as to sun
port himself, only as he becomes a proyiden-
tial agent for the redemption of the world
will he find God aud His infinite power in
his daily life.
All our labor troubles come from the fact
that the rich renounce this principle of
grace in business, and the poor are rightly
dlssatlshed with mere external rewards for
toll, and SO Socialists would abolish the law
OF justice In regard to property. Grasp these
TWO principles thoroughly and apply them
with common sense and you cannot make
shipwreck of the labor question. DR.. Bash
ford then proceeded to make the application.