Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-04-26

pie think we are, And we will do we'll il
we go on from that conclusion to another
and confess that we are not always really
faithful when we are deemed so by ourselves.
We are still following St Paul. s.. Paul
was not content to accept his own verdict
upon his own faIthfulness. az know Moth
ing by myself" he says. or as we would put
it in present-day English, against myself. "
ST know nothing against myself yet am I
not hereby justified" st. Paul doubted his
own Judgment. No man ever knew himself
better. And yet he doubted the suficiency
and the accuracy Of his own selEknowledge.
We, who really. know 30 little about our
selves, with what emphasis may we echo his
Hordsi We are to distrust our own estimats
Of our own faithfulness,
The truth is we habitually deceive our
selves. We are unconscious Of some Of our
most conspicuous isults. To see ourselves
as others see us would be a revelation Of
new, and probably unfattering. truth.
There is many man whose neighbors know
him better than he knows himself Self
ignorance and self-love are forever persuad.
ing us to tell ourselves lies about ourselves
You remember how indignant David was
against the man whom Nathan reported 70
him as having stolen his poor neighbor's
one lamb; and how amazed be was when the
prophet said, 'Thou art the mani You
know what estimate the Pharisees set upon
themselves. They thanked God that they
were a thousand times better than the pub.
licans. And all the people in the street
agreed with them. They had not thought
but that their valuation was the true one,
But you remember how there came one day
man who looked at the Pharisees out Of
the searching eyes of absolute truth. And
Oh, what miserable, mistaken, poverty
stricken, mean hypocrites they really Werel
David and Caiaphas are not exceptions.
On the contrary, they are but illustrations
of a great, universal rule, that everybody
thinks OF himself more highly than he
ought to think, that no saint, even, can be
trusted to tell himself, even in his most
secret meditations, the real truth about
himself. 81 know nothing against myself"
says the wise apostle, "yet am not hereby
justified"
Better Not Judge at An.
The moral which the Apostle gathers out
OF these two immense obstacles of ignorance
which lie in the way of the accurate judg-
ment of any man by his neighbors is that
the best plan is not to judge at all, ''there-
lore judge nothing before the time, until
the Lord come, who will both bring to light
the hidden things of darkness, and will
make manifest the counsels Of the hearts,
and then shall every man have praise Of
God" 1t Is plain enough where Paul
learned that. He learned it from Him who
said Judge not" He learned it from Him
who came here, with perfect knowledge Of
human nature, to bring the spirit of brother.
hood into human life. Christ knew, and
We know ourselves, that nothing hinders
brotherhood more seriously than un-
brotherly speech. Nothing keeps men far
ther apart than unkind judgment. There
Is nothing more unchristian than unchar-
liable comment
There are lew better resolutions that
Christian can make than to say, To-day
and tomorrow, and the day after, anyhow,
will not say hard word about anybody.
/ will not Join in any conversation which 10
occupied In throwing stones at anybody's
back. Indeed, will show my disapproval.
No smile shall come upon my lips at any
jest which il made at the expense of nv
neighbor's character. On Monday and
Tuesday and Wednesday of this week will
make 1t my business to say whatever good
thing can about everybody who is evil
spoken of within my hearing.
Don't you know that if we were all to
follow that resolution from this day to the
middle Of this week there, would be sun
shine in plenty in many, many hearts, and
all sorts of pleasant words and kind deeds
growing in it? And when Wednesday
came and We could say: Since Sunday
noon I haven't said a mean thing about
even the meanest person 1 know, nor let
anybody else say mean things with my ap-
probation-don't you think that we would
carry on that Christian living into Thurs
day, and then into Friday, aud then into
next month, and then into heaven7 Be
cause then. heaven would not be some haEy
and unimaginable place on the other side
of death, but would be discovered right
down here beneath the smoke OF Pittsburg.
o, what discovery-to discover heavsnt
There Il bat One Judge.
There IL only One who can judge men
Justly and make no mistake about 1t,
and distribute praise and blame in
absolutely impartial portions And that
One, as st. Paul says, is the Lord. Some
people at Corinth h1ttered Paul. They said,
I'VE are of Paul, and they cared more to
be on PauPs side than to be on Christ's side.
Other people at Corinth ceHsured him. They
said that be could write very good letters
when he was absent from them, but that his
bodily presence was weak and his speech
He had neither good looks
nor eloquence. But He that judgeth me,
said the Apostle. "He for whose Judgment
care anything, is the Lord"
~ II reQulEeu IN 3teWaIOs Lnkt = man Do
found faithful, and he that judgeth is the
Lord. Nobody else can.
What blessed thing 1t 10 that the Lords
lest is our laithiulness. Because that puts
as all on the same level. Some of US have
more money. some OF us more wisdom, some
of Us more health and strength, some of Us
more chance than others. But you remem-
Der the definition of faIthfulness-that it is
; perfect balance between what q man does
md what he can do. He who can do little
and yet does that little has praise OF God.
He who does hundred times as much, and
vet could do two hundred times as much,
yets just 80 much less praise of God. The
Door man can do God just as valuable service
Is the rich man. For Gods test of mans
worth is faithfulness. Thou hast been
Iaithful in few thlngs"-you know what .
blessing came to him who received that
from his master. HE that
8 faithful in that which is lea st is faithful
Ilso in much" GEORGE b oDGES.