The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1893-08-31
THE IDEAL MERCHANT.
REV THOs. DIXON ONCHRIS-
TIANITY AND BUSINESS.
External Piety and the Pious
Whine---Faith In the Business
World---Legitima Self Help
The End Of Commercial Plea
For Unselhshness.

"OTlu.--b AGAAAoOo 0OAA AA0AH
The End Of Commercial Plea
For Unself1shness.
The subject of the discourse OF Rev
Thomas Dixon's eighth sermon OF the
series on "Money and Christianity was
"The IDEAL Merchant" Text, Luke xix,
%. And he called ten servants OF his
and gave them ten pounds and said unto
them, Trade We herewith till come"
The merchants business is the most
obvious and necessary relation OF life.
1t is one OF the primal powers, original,
necessary, universal.
1t is the talent of industry and enter
prise, a vast system for the relief OF man
kind and for the development OF the
earth.
1t is a vast system for the spiritualiza-
ton of matter. And yet it is more lightly
estimated by the world than the soldiers
work, the teachers work, the phys clans
work, or the lawyers. 1t is strangethat
it should be more lightly estimated than
the soldiers work at first glance. Ruskin
has most beautifully said on this point
that we estimate the soldier highly not
because it is his business to Stay men,
but because it is his business to be slain.
So we estimate all the professions because
of the sacrifice involved in their pur-
suit.
So we have despised the merchant be-
cause, persumptively, on the principles
of modern political economy his business
| has been to look out for No. l solely.
RELIGIOUS EXTERNALs.
Yet it is true that the business of the
| merchant is to provide for the nation, as
L l. IL l<f1 hn
| pastors to teach it, the physician to
| keep it in health, the lawyer to enforce
| Justice and the business of each on due
occasion to die for it.
We have much to learn in first princi
| plies in so far as the application OF Chris
| tianity to business is concerned. Men in
| business transactions are afraid of the
| piOus whine Nor do we need to intro
duce external piety into the house of
| business. We do not need to have a
prayer meeting in thestorehouse at noon.
A man need not stop in the midst of a
| business transaction, as l once knew a
man to do, look at his watch and say
to a customer, 81 have got to go and
| pray 1t is not necessary to introduce
the externals of religious life But it
is necessary to make trade Christian in
itself, that it shall be in itself a high and
| holy service to humanity.
| The work of the true merchants noble,
sacred, and is of the divine plan for the
redemption of the world
FAITH IN FELLOW MEN.
| First-The true merchant must be a
man of large faith.
He must have faith in man and God
as the foundation of his commercial
| world. He could not run without it "a
hours.
A boom in trade means a boom in
faith
\ panic means lost faith.
High prosperity in the business world
means a large faith in man.
\ Black Friday means the collapse OF
confidence. Our commercial world is
not run by gold and silver. There is
but little gold and silver in the world
computing the transactions of this
world by the sum total our currency.
We do not use money, as q matter O
fact We trade in faith, and the money
that we use is promise to pay. W.
have faith in the government. SO YOU
true man OF commerce must have faitt
in bis fellow man.
1t is faith that is the basis of enter
prise, OF invention, of all progress. Thu
western world is alive because it believes
in humanity; believes in progress Il
has hope. The eastern world is dead be
cause it has lost faith in man. 1t has
no hope. You may teach the Chinama1
and the Turk to run q steam engine
He will do it mechanically But to give
him the power of progress you must
breathe into his soul the faiths and hope.
of the western world. He must have al
enthusiasm for humanity before he will
truly work it. No faith, no enthusiasm
The true merchant must be q man o
faith in God, in whose hands rest tn
storms and the seasons
!; He will keep in perfect peace who's
mind is fixed on His eternal truth Their
will come to him puzzling hours in whicl
vital problems of business will pres
upon his heart, and he will need the ilu
mination of all Gods spirit upon hi
own to guide. He will need the flash O
that deeper intuition of right that cal
only come from vital communion will
) God.
For lack of faith in the business worl,
nothing can atone. To the man wa
given one talent. He had no faith. H
was afraid. He hid it in a napkin
He was condemned by the Judge upon hi
, | return.
, One OF the most successful Italian frui
dealers l ever knew was a man of tn
broadcast confidence in his coustomers
He gave freely of his fruits, and he ind
| Gated in his methods that he had tina
confidence in his customers which lie,
them to have confidence in him. If hi
fruit was not good, he would tell you sc
If his oranges were sour, he would tel
you so unhesitatlngly, but told YOU h
fn
week. The people in all the cOmmunit
, grew to know him and to believe in him
, They patrOnized him. His business gre,
apace, and he is a man of prosperity.
\ miser was afraid of banks. and tool
his money and wrapped it up in an oil,
: rag, opened the wall of his house an
. put it between the walls for safe keeping
!, few years afterward when he exhume,
1t he found that the rats had cut it int
} 10000 fragments and made nests OF i
, IN various parts of the house. There wa
not single scrap OF all his banknote
| left. He lacked faith in man.
INTERESTS ARE IDENTICAL.
Second-A true merchant is one VIII
: helps himself only in helping others.
We must help Others if we enter tn
, | world of trade Loyalty. Otherwise w
| HiitN TIE Iole vi tie HAL WIFI I'll
one talent and the napkin. Honesty
truthfulness, justice, fairness-thes
must be our standards of measurement
in seeking to help self. The interests O
his customer is Identical with his own
He should be the friend of his customer
| He should create in one sense his wants
and supply them with promptness, witt
aithfulness-supply them even at q los
to himself to fulfill his obligations to hi
: friends.
| The true merchant who supplies m,
, wants is my friend. He brings to m
,, treasures of art from remote parts O
the world. He brings to my library tn
treasures OF books, the ripe fruit OF tn
, choicest minds, and he makes my life ricl
, in introducing ME to these books. H
lays before my eye carpets and rugs tha
please the taste. that makes home beau
tiful. He furnishes me with desk ant
: chair that give comfort and make lif
4 6 r