The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1893-08-24
THEIDEALM MERCHANT
REV. THOMAS DIXON on CHRIS '>>
tr AND BUSINESS.
External rt~,y and the Pt"a- " h'"e
ia ,h. Ha.ln~.. worid-Lesittff'Se
.,.,-Th. Fad of Commerce. ''
For Tu.~iflshn~~--

n
Thomas Dixon. .Tr.. continued today 'he
series Of sermons ON Money an" N''
,iauitv.- The subject of the discourse
II the morning was The Ideal -N,'
chant Text. Luke xix. i3. Ana ho
called ten servants % his and gave ti'ei''
ten rounds and said unto theih' iF"A'
We herewith till come.
TIL. merchants business IL the most
ohvious and necessary relation OF NE ~
Is one of the primal powers. orislhaA'
necessary, universal
II is the talent of industry and enter
,r;sa a vast system for the relief OF man
kind and for the development OF the eal III
II is a w I system for the spirltuaAza-
ton Of ma: n. And yet II Is more hght-
IL estimate by the world than the sol |
,i.r's worl the teachers work, the phy-
sician's w,k. or the lawyers. IL Is
strange that il should be more lightly es-
timated than the soldier work at hrst
glance. Ruskin has mos: beautifully
said on this point that we estimate the
soldier highly not because 1t Is his husi-
ness to slav men, bEt because 1t Is his
business to be slain. So we estimate all
the professions because of the sacrlflce
involved in their pursuit.
So we have despised the merchant be-
cause. persumptively, on the principles
of modern political economy his business
has been to look ont for No. solely.
RELIGIOUS ENTERNAIS.
Yet il is true that the business of the
merchant is to provide for the nation, as
il is of the soldiers to defend it, the pas
tors to teach it. the physician to keep II
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 prlncl-
pies in so far as the application of Chris
tianitv to business is concerned. Men III
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 the storehouse at noon.
A man need not stop in the midst of
business transaction, as l once knew
man to do, look at his watch and say to
a customer, Il have got to go and pray"
1t is not necessary to introduce the ex-
ternals of religious life. But it is neces-
sary to make trade Christian in itself,
that it shall be in itself high and holy
service to humanity.
The work of the true merchant is no
BILE, sacred, and is of the divine plan for
the redemption of the world.
FAITH IN FELLOW MEN.
First-The true merchant must be
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 boom in faith.
A panic means a lost faith.
High prosperity in the business world
, means a large faith in man.
! A 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, COM
putting the transactions of this world by
, the sum total of our currency.
| We do not use money, as matter of
fact We trade in faith, and the money
that we use is promise to pay. We
have faith in the government. So your
, true man of commerce must have faith
in his fellow man.
, 1t is faith that is the basis of enter
] prise, of invention, of all progress. The
, western world is alive because it believes
I in humanity; believes in progress. 1t
D has hope. The eastern world is dead be-
a cause it has lost faith in man. 1t has no
' hope. You may teach the Chinaman
: and the Turk to run steam engine. He
t will do it mechanically. But to give him
= the power of progress you must breathe
Y into his soul the faiths and hopes of the
j western world. He must have an en-.
: thusiasm for humanity before he will
r truly work for it. No faith, no enthusi-
aSm.
!. The true merchant must be a man OF
Il faith in God. in whose hands rest the
a storms and the seasons.
v He will keep in perfect peace whose
a mind is fixed on His eternal truth. There
n will come to him puzzling hours IL
J. which vital problems of business will
t press upon his heart, and he will neet
J.. the illumination of all Gods spirit upor
Il his own to guide. He will need the hasf
{. of that deeper intuition of right that car
- only come from a vital communion will
4 God.
% For lack of faith in the business world
n nothing can atone. To the man wa
:, given one talent. He had no faith. HI
a was afraid. He laid it upon napkin
r He was condemned by the Judge upoi
- his return.
~ One of the most successful Italian frui
4 dealers l ever knew was a man of tn
"A broadest confidence in his customers
r. He gave freely of his fruits, and he indi
70 Gated in his methods that he had tina
" confidence in his customers which lie,
' them to have confidence in him. If hi
a fruit was not good, he would tell you SC
ar If his oranges were sour, he would tel
or you so unhesitatingly, but told you b
hoped to have some sweeter ones mex
Mt week. The people in all the communit
Va grew to know him and to believe in him
n They patronized him. His business grey
id apace, and ne is man of prosperity.
to A miser was afraid of banks, and too
an his money and wrapped it up in an oil
Az rag. opened the wall of his house an
er put it between the walls for safe keer
ct ing. A few years afterwa ard when b
IT, exhumed it he found that the rats ha
err but it into 10000 fragments and mad
"a nests OF 1t In various parts of the hous.
do There was not single scrap of all hi
st- banknotes left. He lacked faith in mar
er INTERESTS ARE IDENTICAL.
at Sec',nd-A true merchant is one VIII
nd helps himself only in helping others.
at We must help others if we enter til
re- world OF trade Loyalty. Otherwise W
play again the role of the man with IA
no one talent and the napkin Honest,
W truthfulness, justice. fairness-thes
must be our standards of measurement
10, In seeking to help self. The interest
oo OF his customer is Identical with his owr
us ~ he should be the friend of his custome,
he lie should create in one sense his want,
7n- ana supply them with promptness. wit
1althfulness-supply them even at a los