Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1889-01-17
PROFITABLE GOODNESS.
DR.. Talmage on the Value Of Godli-
ness in Business.
It Is Sure to Bring Worldly
Business Benefited by Correct and Up
right Methods-The Lord Always
E.E Ready to Help.


Witt Talmage, d. D., preached discourse
on the subject: "Does Religion Pay?"
The text was: "Godliness is profitable
unto all things, having promise of the life
that now is and of that which is to come"
Timothy iv.S s. DIR. Talmage said:
A happy New Year to one and all! There
b gloomy and passive way of waiting
for the evils of the opening year to
come upon US, and there is a heroic way
of going out to meet them, strong in God
and fearing nothing. When the body of
Catiline was found on the battlefield it
was found far in advance of all his troops
and among the enemy; and the best way
is not for us to lie down and let the events
of life trample over US, but to go forth in
a Christian spirit, determined to conquer.
The papers were made out and some of
you have just entered into business part
nerships, and others of you take higher
positions in the commercial establishments
where you were engaged, and others have
entered upon new enterprises, and there
were last week in these cities 10000 bus
mess changes.
You are expecting prosperity, and L am
determined, so far as I have any thing to
do with it, that yol shall not be disap-
pointed. and therefore l propose as God
may help me this morning, to project upon
your attention a new element of success.
You will have in the business firm, fru-
gality, patience, industry, perseverance,
economy very strong business firm. but
there needs TO be one member added,
mightier than them all, and not a silent
partner either-the one introduced by my
text: Goodness which is profitable unto
all things. having the promise of the life
that now is as well as of that which is TO
come"
suppose you are all willing to admit
that godliness is important in its eternal
relations; but perhaps some of you say:
"All l want is an opportunity to say
prayer before die, and all will be welL"
There are great many people who sup
pose that il they can finally get safely out
of this world into better world, they will
have exhausted the entire advantage OF
Our holy religion. They talk as though re-
Iigion were a mere nod of recognition
which we are to give to the Lord Jesus on
our way up to a heavenly mansion; as
though it were an admission ticket, of no
use except to give in at the door of Heaven.
And there are thousands of people who
have great admiration for religion of the
shroud, and a religion of the coffin, and
religion of the hearse, and a religion Of
the cemetery, who have no appreciation
for a religion for the bank for the farm,
for the factory, for the warehouse. for the
jewelers. shop. for the brokers' office.
Now, while would not throw any slur
on a post-mortem religion, want this
morning, and on the first Sabbath of the
new year, to eulogize an ante-mortem
religion. A religion that is of no use to you
while you live will be of no use to you
when you die. Goodness is profitable
unto ell things having the promise of the
life that now is as well as that which is to
sonze." And l have always noticed that
when the grace is very low in a mans
heart he talks a great deal in prayer
meetings about deaths, and about collins,
and about graves, and about church-yards.
l have noticed that the healthy Christian,
the man who is living near to God, and is
on the straight road to Heaven, is full of
jubilant satisfaction, and talks about the
duties of this life, understanding well that
if God helps him to live right He will help
him to die right.
Now, in the first place, 1 remark that
godliness is good for a mans physical
health. / do not mean to say that it will
restore broken down constitution. or
drive rheumatism from the limbs, or neu-
ralgia from the temples, or pleurisy from
the side; but l do mean to say that it gives
one such habits and puts one in such con-
dition as is most favorable for physical
health. That l believe, and that l avow.
Everybody knows that buoyancy of spirit
is good physical advantage. Gloom, I'M
rest, detection are at war with every pull
sation of the heart, and with every respira-
ton of the lungs. 1t lowers the vitality, it
slackens the circulation, while exhilaration
of spirit pours the very balm of Heaven
through all the currents of life. The sense
: of insecurity which sometimes hovers over
an unregenerated man, or pounces upon
him with the blast of ten thousand trum-
pets of terror is most depicting and most
exhausting, while the feeling that all
things are working together for my good
now, and for my everlasting welfare, is
conducive to physical health.
You will observe that goodness induces
industry, which is the foundation of good
health. There is no law OF hygiene that
will keep lazy man we'll. Pleurisy will
stab him, erysipelas will burn him, jaun-
dice will discolor him, govt will cripple
him, and the intelligent physician will not
prescribe antiseptic, or febrifuge, or ano-
sticks and crowbars, and pick axes. There
is no such a thing as good physical con-
dition without positive work of some kind,
although you should sleep on down of swan,
or ride in carriage of softest upholstery, or
have on your table all the Injuries that
were poured from the wine watts of Ispahan
and Shiraz Our religion says: away to
the bankl away to the field! away to the
shopi away to the factory! do something
that will enlist all the energies of your
body, mind and soul" ''Diligent in BUSH
ness fervent In spirit, serving the
Lord" while upon the bareback of the idler
and the drone comes down the sharp lash
of the apostle as he says: 'If any man
will not work, neither shall he eat"
O, how important in this day, when so
much Is said about anatomy and physiolo-
gy and therapeutics and some new style
of medicine is ever and anon springing
upon the world, that you should UNDER
stand that the highest school of medicine
is the school of Christ, which declares
that Goodness is profitable unto all
things, having the promise of the life that
now is as well as Of that which is to come"
So IL you start out two men in the world
with equal physical health, and then one
OF them shall get the religion Of the Lord
Jesus Christ in his heart, and the other
shall not get 1t, the one who becomes a SON
of the Lord Almighty will live the longer.
with long life Will satisfy thee, and
show thee my salvation"
Again remark that goodness is good
for the intellect. know some have sup
posed that just as soon as a man enters
into the Christian life his intellect goes
into a bedwarfing process. So far from
that religion will give new brilliancy to
the intellect, new strength to the imagina-
ton, new force to the will and wider
swing to all the intellectual fac,ltias