The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1886-12-08
LIFE WORTH LIVING.

LIFE WOHV0 cIvINI.
stop Inqniring About / In the Aggregate.
and Ask Onr-eive, What We Can DO to
Make Our Lives Hetter.
1t Is not new thing for men to do
bate over the value of life; they have
been debat ng the question ever since
the dawn Of thought. But the quest on
is usually put in such way as to rem
der it unanswcrablc. except BY sturdy
faith in Gods government. Whether
human life in tire aggregate pays is a
question 9 ruivalrnt to the question
whether God is good and his govern
mcnt moral. Lot faith answer that
question. since total know edge IS not
within our reach. and we can not reason
about an aggregate Of facts which are
only partially known. Soma lives arc
worth living and some are not worth
living; but every men may make his
life worth living. or degrade it to the
point where all value has passed out of
it. To make life worth living g the
most arluous enterprise in the world.
The entire sign iticanc, of life lies in
statement OF that kind.
The people whose Ives are not worth
living are all about US They imposea an
immense task o. the nob'er port on of
the race; but there is gracious COM
pensation for tn in tho fact th 1t effort
to sSve hers directly c3ntr butes to saw
ing ourselves. st II the burdens VIII CHI
good men and wome bear OH account
OF the worthless wing of people about
a,em seems sonnet ines TO be almost un-
.ndu able. TO be 3 slave of duty is not
necessarily hard. But there are duties.
anil dut 'es; and thos, duties VIII CHI come
to us from TIC mean and base living Of
people ab )ut us-Ofton in our own
households are the hard st life requ res
OF men. St.ll, good man or good
wo man can live "a life OF service to
wicked or use 'ess human beings, and
count it all Joy 10 surrend r themselves,
rs their Master d d, to living and dying
tor mon who reflse to DO
saved. It has be,n often re-
marked that no life except that
of Jc us Was ever so full of Ia and
trouble as that Of St. Paul. and vet that
his life was constant re Ole ne and
triumph. Many man has in him n
nature VIII ch ca, be subjected TO
Chr SITS law only by that kind OF sacri-
flee which tho service of sinful
men involves. Tho head strong, self
sufficient Saul b'came Paul, who
coul say IL have finished my
course" only by and through the ex-
traord nary painfulncss and humilia-
ton Of his labors. He 50 lgh 1t no Ell ,ier.
He KIN w that to be "orucifie with
Chr st" was his road to eternal glory.
The lives which are not worth living
arc easily recognized. A dishonest life
is not worth liv ng. and the average OF
those Who Two II oud life empty-handed.
They Great others every day, and are
themselves cheat d out of the fruits OF
their rascal ty: but il dishonest life led
inyaria ly 10 full hands and the most
bountcous plenty, and all joys which
plenty by itself can give. dishonest
life would still bc failurc. for such 6
life must b. dosttu of all the mora
and sp ritua ingathorings an | accu nu-
lat iOns which. whether tn Y recognize
it or not. men arc always seeking. The
external wealth dishonesty gotten i'm
pcrfec ly BALANCES the inward povert,
which u hab of dish ,nest gett M ha,
created. The man has been all his life
growing poor in ev Ty thing which car
be co nteL rs worth in liv NC. A d ssh
pa,nd lilo is not wO th living. Dissipa
zion ha worse moral react on thar
hisl,on ,sty. 1t l. slow but dea H.,
go 70 to tho whole inner nature. 1t
effects may not obIruSiyely APPEAR
Ont in the end of such a lie i
will be found like tre
whoa substance has been burne,
.ou. leaving nothing but poor bark t.
hide tho ri ms with n. A cowardly liz
ts not worth living We refer t
moral coward CO. to those forms o
polsroonery in which men skulk ava.
II, m pls n ard imperative duties. ant
Ia do themselves b hind fa SO pretense
and vail III, faces with bland hypo
crisy. The special evil in | fe of tn
sort is that It killed self-respact. 1t i
An awful thing to know you are mean
arc bs G, Care ignob!e; that you hay
no honor or fidel ty or courage in you
Whatever gains come in external az
pcsrancos TO q cowardly soul ar
tremendously out-ba auced by the losse
Of such living. In the end of the ma
t4csp ses himself. and he who has reach
cd that state of feeling about h MISE
knows that his life is not worth Living
TIE great enterprise of the world
TO make our pcis NAL living worthy an
valuable t, ourselves. to or fellow
men, to Almighty Col. All brave eI
sSaavcr. all noble self-sa ,riiice, all p;
Il n q induit y and faithfulness lead u
u life worth living. Such Il fe isnt
touiit up in a nj ,ment. in day, or
a Gala 1t Is built slow V; but no bull,
ing in tho universe stand NOR, secur
1t will neve; fall; no earthquake ca
<a,a%e il, or crack it. or to,ple it owe
L, is Goods build ng." II is bu 1t fc
rtarnitv; and in the build NC of it n
sa,an can fa'l 10 lie happy. Divine prov
dnace a, 40 ordered in that pat ent col
sianan g in ~ell-do ng shall pour I'M
the .ou' splrpttus! ST. am OF satisfl
,s'cr. del glt IN | cy.
n. G.