The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-05-11
BUsINEss AND RELIGION.
Rev. GeeREe a. Tewksbury on The
Relatfona One to Tia Othar

Rev. Geerxe a. Tewksbury on Their
Relations One to the Other.
An endeavor 70 suggest the relations between
business and religion, between the store the
market place and the counting room, and the
church or house Of God, was the aim Of Rev.
George A. Tewksbury's OBSCURE at the Ply.
mouth Congregational church, corner Third and
University streets, yesterday morning He
preached from John ii:1s-l4-"And the Jews
passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to
Jerusalem and found In the temple those that
sold oxen and sheep and doves. and the changers
OF money sitting" He said:
Our Savior found these people, these kinds Of
business In the temple, and He summarily ex-
PEELED them from 1t, but what If He had found,
so TO speak. the temple in the market place:
that is, the religion Of the temple in the mRket
place. the sublime principles and precepts OF
the moral law mirgiing with and giving charac-
ter and control of the business Of the people all
their buying and selling, their trade and traffic?
Would He then have used any process of expul.
sion? Suppose some one had said to Him, ssDo
you mean. by driving the traders out of the
temple, to have it understood that religion IL to
have nothing to do with business-that the two
are TO be kept utterly apart from each other?"
What would He have saidf
There 10 a temple" says q writer, ain one OF
the cities of Europe through which Is the very
passage to the market place, and those who pass
kneel al the altar of prayer" Also, we are told
that adjoining the market at Montreal Is q
little church into which the market men and
women come early In the morning on the way
to and from their stalls, and where they engage
In few moments Of devotion in the manner OF
their church The baskets were piled up in the
yestibuie, and the Canadian French men aud
women in their. pleasant costumes, on their
knees, were scattered throughout the building"
Do these facts illustrate a wrong idea7 Do they
show forbidden nearness of religion 70 bus
inessg
Led by this line Of inquiry come to state az
once the true idea of the relations Of business
and religion 10 each other That idea is this:
Business 10 not to be carried into religion, bu,
religion is TO be carried into business Every
thing depends upon the point of departure the
order Of movement OF this matter, or upon get
ting hold of it at the right end. Religion is
higher than business, az the heaven is high
above the earth heavenly things are higher
than earthly things The true idea is
that the higher is to give the law to
the lower-not the lower 10 the higher The
lower is TO be lifted up 10 the higher, but the
higher Is not to be degraded 10 the lower. Bush
ness is TO be toned up to religion, not religion to
be toned down to business Figurativeiy speak
ing, the way to every market place, 10 every
store. 70 every eountipgroom, to every work
shop 70 every place Of secular business should
their daily employments the sp;rits and atmos-
phere of the church; their very garments. how
ever plain or soiied, should be fragrant as with
the incense of the sanctuary.
Indeed. 10 being that a man IL Q Christian, that
he has put on the Lord Jesus Christ, be is not to
do with that garment as vith the sort of clothes
which he wears on Sunday~-he Is to wear 1t all
through the week: it Is never TO be changed
His religion IL 10 run into the life and WORK OF
every day. Think not that 1t is too good, too
sacred for this. One argument have heard adj
ysneei against the reading of the Bible in the
public schools Ia that it Is too holy book to
be used in such associations; as IL so to
use IL would involve. kind of sacrilsge. But
sacrflegs does not come that way. sacrilege
comes BY subordinafing the Bible to temporal
things: by casting il into cold neglect, by refus-
ing 70 give its holy and beautiful religion the
ruling, crowning place. Ii were indeed sacri-
ligous for the Jewish traders % carry their
business within the precincts of the temple
but il would have been no sacrilege for them to
carry the temple, 50 70 speak. into their bust
ness.
IL is no violation of the fitness of things
to carry the thoughts Of the sabbath
into the week, the principles and influences
OF religion into secular concerns, but
20 live a purely worldly life; 10 be wholly en-
creased in affairs and affairs, sud affairs: TO al
low business with defiant esfrontery TO obstruet
the righs OF religion so that IL shall practically
be ruled out altogether, is to do dangerous vio-
lenee 20 holy things
But let u be understood clearly what we
mean by the rule Of religion over businesA Let