The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1891-04-30
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ABREAST OF THE TIMES.

Things OF Life. the salvation OF Men ana
Eternity.
1T is all and more than one can do to
keep abreast of the tines sighed a
busy toiler along life's highway. Thine
flies on wings of the wind, and the
pressure of constant cares crowds out
opportunity for keeping abreast of
many matters claiming constant atten-
ton"
The regret expressed was that OF a
person craving time for more reading,
study and chance to gain information
by travel and observation than the lot
in life seemed to permit. 1t is a worthy
ambition that causes a thirst for knowl-
edge and desire to keep up with the
on-rushing tide of human affairs
when self-improvement is the OBJ
iect prompting such desire; and
when the life is clogged with the
duties which prevent progress in such
directions it becomes as much part of
di ,cipline to meet with patience thwart-
ed aims and crippled opportunity as is
involved in any other kind of Providen-
tial restraint. But. after all, what is
generally meant by keeping abreast of
the times? If it is simply feeding the
mind on the chaff of passing events,
keeping informed as to the results of
political intrigue. knowing the petty
gossip Of the passing hour, keeping up
with the whirl of fashions clinging yet
exacting demands, being considered au-
thority as to the latest rules of manners
and courtesies, if this is meant, then is
it at all worth striving for formost
place in the exciting. wearisome race?
The question soon becomes: What does
it all amount to? The world is hard on
its votaries. and it is easy to be-
come votary OF the world
and its whims, almost with
out knowing it. Nothing is easier at
the present day than to be drawn into
the whirlpool of popular crazes, where
the adherents of different theories and
beliefs are clamoring each for prece-
dence in the popular mind. The more
zealously the race is entered the sooner
the soul tires of the hollow pursuit, and
feels ready to cry out. in the words of
Rutherford: Il find this world, now
that | have looked upon it on both
sides. is but the fools idol. o Lord, let
it not be the rest that my soul buildeth
in. This world in its gain and glory, is
but the great and noble deceiver, by
which the sons of men have been be-
guiled these five thousand years" The
pity of it is, that should the world con-
tinue so long it will be the same great
and noble deceiver in all probability,
which will beguile the sons of men for
five thousand years to come.
Turning from this view of the case,
however. another thought presents it
self worthy of consideration. There are
minds great and noble, continually
searching into the deep, important mys-
teries of life, cleaning knowledge from
all available sources, then scattering
the pearls of garnered wisdom TO" the
benefit of other seekers and students in
the same line of research. 1t is no
easy task, gaining the heights to which
such men attain.
The heights by great men reached and kept
Were not attained by sudden fight,
But they, while their companions slept,
Were toiing upwards i'm the night.
The best things in life are worth toll
ing for. They are worth all they cost;
patient study, persevering, vigilant eff
fort, that the soul may toll upwards in
to these high realms of thought and as
ISOLATION where it will find food and
discover high and lofty purposes in life,
making it worth the living, no matter
how humble the station or how simple
the employment by which bread is won.
He who strives merely for position
or power in the worlds crowded arena
is almost surely destined to disappoint-
ment at last But those who labor to
fill their lives with the outcome of no.
bic thoughts, their souls with pure and
elevating conceptions of the vital things
in life, the great religious questions of
the day concerning duty, eternity, and
the salvation of the race. striving to
keep abreast of the clearest. most adj
vanced interpretations of the purposes
and will of God, such men may walk
serene, in the midst of the clashing,
restless dissatisfied throng, who are
vainly toiling to keep abreast of the
mere froth and foam of life's scething
tide.
There are in this loud stunning tide
OF human care and crime,
With whom the melodies abide
Of the everlasting chime;
Who carry lnusic I'm their heart
Through dusky lane and wrangling mart,
Plying their daily task with buster feet,
Because their secret souls holy strain re.
peat