San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1895-10-30
CONTRIBUTED SCRAPS.

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for the conversion of sinners.
The salvation Of the souls Of
men Is most praiseworthy work
but the salvation of human life
by feeding the body-which is the
casket OF the soul, is according to
Christ, highly meritorious.
New York swarms with men,
women, and children, who are on
the verge of starvation. Want and
hunger force human creatures in
to suicide, or crime. Suicide cuts
them Off from all chance for the
salvation of their souls, and the
plunglng into crime hardens their
hearts and sears their consciences
to such an extent as renders the
conversion of them we'll nigh i'm
possible.
Suppose a Christian comes across
a person, who is half famished and
destitute, Of both provisions and
money, shall he 'convert him
from the errors of his ways" and
leave him to starve to death, or
supply him with food and drink,
first and then address himself to
the task Of saving his soul?
Christ wrought a stupendous
miracle in "desert place." in or
der to feed a multitude of five thou
sand persons rather than to dis
miss them to go into the villages
to buy food. Modern Christianity
looks on the saving of souls as the
chief duty of Christians, and
foreign souls have the call.
In the XIV. chapter of Mathew
Christ said: "Then shall the
King say unto them on his right
hand, come, We blessed OF my
Father, inherit the Kingdom pre-
pared for you from the foundation
Of the world. For 1 was a hun
gered, and We gave me meat; 1
was thirsty and we gave drink
l was stranger and We took me
in, naked and We clothed me; 1
was sick, and We visited me, was
in prison, and we came unto me-"
Then shall the righteous say:
Lord, when saw we thee a hun
gered and fed thee, or thirsty and
gave thee drink; when saw we
thee stranger, and took thee in,
or naked and clothed thee, or sick
and in prison and come unto
thee?
And the King shall answer and
say unto them, verify say unto,you
inasmuch as we have done it unto
one of the least of these my breth-
rem We have done it unto me.
The subsequent verses show
what fate befell the uncharitable.
"Verily, 1 say unto you, inasmuch
as ye did it not to the least of
these, We did it not to me- "And
they departed away into everlast-
ing punishment"
Feeding the hungry-giving
drink to the thirsty-clothing the
naked-ministering to the sick
and visiting those in Jail was the
kind and measure of charity en-
joined and required by Christ. 1t
was daily, homely practical round
Of charity, and as such as a mat
ter Of course, it relieved the neces-
stiles and wants of the poor and
needy of both sexes ere hunger
and despair drove them to despera-
ton and plunged them into sui
eide, or crime.
We lavish millions of dollars
every year in the soul-saving bust
ness,i in remote lands, while our own
people, ''fesh of our flesh and bone
of our bone," are starving under our
noses. or plunging into suicide, or
crime, to avoid starvation. Christ
said, charity begins at home"
we have reversed that saying.
We send millions of dollars and
missionaries to remote foreign
countries, every year, to Chris
tianize them while thousands of
our own home people have re-
course either to suicide, or crime,
to avoid starvtion.
Here is ample food for prayer
full reflection and examination
"He that provides not for his own
household is worse than the
heathen," is the declaration of the
Scriptures, and this certainly APP
plies to our neglecting to save our
home poor and needy from the
dire consequence of want and de-
spair suicide, or crime.
There is an ample field right
here at home, for missionaries and
for charity, and this field should
be filed ere we carry our bene-
factions abroad to utter strangers.
1t is a meritorius deed to save
the poorest Of Gods creatures from
starvation, from suicide, or crime,