West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1889-01-17

known men into whose spirit the influence Of
tho Gospel OF Christ came, until their dis
position was entirely changed. So it was
with two merchants ia New York. They
were very antaRonistic. They had done all
they could To injure each other. They were
m the same line OF business. One OF the
merchants was converted 20 God. Having
been converted, he asked tho Lord 70
teach him how to bear himself toward
that business antagonist, and he
was impressed with the fact that it was his
auty when a customer asked for certain
kinds of goods which he hal not, but which
ne knew bis opponent had, to recommend
him TO go to that store. l suppose that Is
about the hardest thing a man could do; bus
being thoroughly converted TO God, he re-
solved TO do that very thing, and being asked
for a certain kind of goods which he had not
he said; You go to such and such a store,
and you will get IT," After awhile. merchant
number two found these customers coming
80 sent. and he found also that merchant
number one had been brought TO God, and
he sought tho Same religion. Now they are
good friends and good neighbors, the grace
OF God entirely changing their disposition.
Oh, says some one, II have a rough,
jagged, tmpetuous nature, and religion can't
do anything for me- Do you know that
Martin Luther aud Robert Newton and Rich
ard Baxter were impetuous, all-consuminQ
natures, yet the grace Of God turned them
into the mightiest usefulnessl A manufac-
furer cares but very Little for n stream that
slowly rams through the meadow, but n strong
torrent that leaps from rock to rock
and rushes with mad energy through thi
valley and out toward the sea. Along that
river you will find fluttering shuttles and
grinding mill and flashing water wheel. And
a nature, the ~swiftest, the most rugged and
the most tremendous, that Is the nature God
turns into greatest usefulness. Oh, how many
who have been pugnacious, and hard to
please, and irascible, and moro bothered
about the mote in their neighbours eye than
about the beam like ship timber in their owu
eye, who have been entirely changed by the
grace OF God. and have found out that "God-
Illness is profitable for the life that now is as
well as for the life which is to Gomez
Again l remark that religion is good for a
mans worldly business. know the general
theory Is, the more business the less religion,
the more religion the less business. Not so,
thought DR.. Hans. in his biography of a
Christian Merchant" when no says: she
grew IN grace the last six years OF HIS life
more than at any time in his life; during
those SIX years he had more business crowd
ing him than at any other time.n In other
words, the more worldly business a man has,
the more opportunity to serve God. Does
relgion exhllarate or retard worldly bust.
nessf is the the practical question for you to
discuss. Does it hang like n mortgage over
the farml Is it a bad debt on the ledgerl Is
~ a lien against the estatel Does It crowd
the door through which customers come for
broadcloths and silksl Now, religion will
hinder our business il it bs a bad business.
or If it be n good business w~rongfully con,
Quoted. III you tell lies behind the counter,
u you uso false weights and measures, il you
put sand in sugar, and beet-juice in vinegar,
and lard in butter. and sell for one thing that
which is another thing, then religion will i'm.
terfere with that business; but a lawful
business, lawfully conducted, will find the
religion of the Lord Jesus Christ its mightiest
auxiliary.
Religion viii give an equipoise OF spirit. it
VIII keep you from ebullitions of temper-and
you know a great many fine businesses have
been blown to atoms by bad temper-it will
keep You from worriment abou. frequent loss
IL VIII keep you industrious and prompt, it
Will keep you back from s1uandering and
dissipation, 1t will give you a kindness
OF spirit which will be easily distinguished
from that mere store courtesy which
shakes hands violently with you, ask
ing about the health of your family when
there IS no anxiety to know whether your
child Is we'll or sicki But the anxiety is TO
know how many dozen cambria pocket
handkerchiefs you will take and pay cash
down. lt Will prepare you for the practical
duties OF everyday life. / do not mean to
say that religion will make us financially
rich, but L do say that it will giveus, it
will assure Us, of a comfortable sustenance
at the start, a comfortable subsistence all the
way through, and it will help us to direct the
the bank, to manage the traffic, to conduct
oil our business matters, and to make the
most insignificant affair OF our life n matter
RNAASo poAAhO W ~
principle.
In New York city there was n merchant
hard in his dealings with his fellows, who had
written over his banking house, or his count
mg-house room; mo COMPROMISE" Then
when some merchant got in a crisis and vent
down-no fault of his, but a conjunction of
evil circumstances-and all tho other mer-
chants were willing to compromise they
would take seventy-ive cents on the dollar,
or fifty cents, or twenty cents-coming to
this man last OF all, he said: mo compro-
mise; I'll take one hundred cents on the dol
lar, and L can afford TO wait" Well, the
wheel turned, and after a while that man
was in n crisis or business, and he sent out
his agents to compromise. and the agents
said TO the merchants: evil you AXE fifty
take anythingf' "We'll take one hundred
cents on the dollar. No co~mpromise.n And
the man who wrote the inscription over his
eounting-house died in restitution. Oh,
the Gospel and tho spirit Of love in
our business enterprisesl How many young
men have found in the religion OF Jesus
Christ a practical heipf How many there
are in this house today who could testify out
OF their W experience that Goodness is
profitable for the life that now ia. There
were times in their business career when
they went here for helm. and there for neln
aud yonder Tor nelp, and got nc help until
they knelt before the Lord crying for His
deliverance, and the Lord rescued them.
In n bank not FAR from our great metropo-
lisa village bank-an officer could not bal
once his accounts. He had worked at them
day after day, night after night, aud he was
SICK nigh unto death as n result. He knew
he had not taken one farthing from that
bank, but somehow, for some reason inscru-
table then. the accounts wouldn't balance.
The time rolled on, and the morning OF
the day when the books should pass
under the inspection OF the other onicerg
arrived, and he felt himself in awful peril,
conscious Of bis own integrity but unable TO
prove that integrity. That morning he went
70 the bank early, and he knslt down before
God and told the whole story OF his mental
anguish, and he said: 20 Lord, / have done
right / have preserved my integrity. but
here am about TO DO ovcrthrown unless
Thou should CONS 10 my rescue. Lord, de-
liver me-" And for one hour ne continued
the prayer before God, and then lie rose aud
went 70 an old biottor that he had forgotten
all about He opened IL and there lay "a sheet
OF figures which he only needed TO add 90
another line OF h~gure8-sOme limo Of figures
he had forgotten, aud knew not whore he
bad laid thom-and the accounts were
balanced, and the Lord delivered MIN. You are
an lnhdei ~ you do not believe Sc. The Lord
delivered hWn. God answered his prayer az
lie rnl answer your prayer, o man of bust
ness, ia every crisis when YOU come 70 Him.
Now, IL this 30 50, then ! am persuaded. as
pOu are, of the fact that tho vast majority Of
Christians d. not fully test the vaino OF their
religion They nre Ike q farmer in Calf
fornia, with fifteen thousand acres Of good
WInnf land and cuIfrring ouIv n ovnrtlr ~