The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1895-05-11
Is SERMON. A
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PAYING THE PRICE.
BY REV. r. S. KELLERMAN.
(Orange Mass.)
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"And he called ten Servants VI HIS anu CAV
them ten pounds, and said unto them, Trade ye
here with till come" Luke xix, 10.
One business man said to me, not
long since, that "anyone can have
whatever he wishes or be whatever,
he desires, if ne will pay the price for
it. The price is the sole condition"
Another said, considering what
men and women are by nature, their
circumstances, environments and op.
portunities, they are all doing just
about as well as they can"
The author of "Ships that Pass in
the Night" is of the opinion that God
is not surprised that men and women
are as bad as they are, but surprised
that they are as good as they are.
Among my neighbors, one says
that we are entirely the creatures OF
circumstances; another that we are
entirely independent of circumstan-
ces; third takes a middle ground,
saying that some men make Roadway
against circumstances.
And along comes DIR. Gordon, OF
Boston, saying that ideals help to
make men. Ideals helped to make
such men as Peter the Great in Rus
STA, Frederick in Prussia, William the
Silent in Holland, Chatham in Eng
land, and Washington in America. 1t
is discipline, cultivation, training and
education that bring men up out OF
the humber, the lower, the ignorant
classes. into the foremost ranks of
power and influence. There were the
twelve apostles, including Paul in
stead of Judas, rare and notable men;
excluding Paul, they were fishermen,
taxgatherers, with limited opportuni-
ties, hedged in by provincial environ
ments; and yet they effected an un-
precedented revolution. Cromwell,
the small land owner, becomes Lord
Protector of England; Washington,
the surveyor, becomes the first Presi-
dent of the United States; Disraeli,
the Jew, becomes the prime minister
of Great Britain; and the railsplitter
of the West becomes one of the mas
ter statesmen of modern times. Ath-
anasius, running wild in the streets
and caught by the bishop of Alexan-
dria playing at church, is started on
his way to the highest intellectual
and ecclesiastical authority of his
times. Newton was the child of a
small Berkshire farmer; Shakes
peare's father was a petty merchant;
and Millions father was stationer.
These men had to pay the price of
their greatness and their station.
There is no doubt about that. The
apostles, excepting John only, all
suffered martyrdom. Washington,
when he was COMMUNICATIVE chief of
the federal armies, suffered not only
the hardships and the uncertain vicis-
STUDIES of war, but was stung almost
beyond endurance at the attitude of
the Continental Congress toward
himself and his generals. The veal
thy, learned and accomplished
Casimer-Perier has just resigned the
Presidency of the French republic,
because the price at which he held
his station, in addition to the great
burdens and duties of the office, were
hatred, bitterness, calumny and in
suit on the part of the people and
their representatives.
The price of lofty station, of endur-
ing reputation, and of true greatness
is excessively high. 1t is doubtful
if many can pay the price of it. The
price is talents, industry, opportuni-
ty, resentment, insult, torture and
death. "There is no excellence with
out great labor and great leisure"
Uneasy lies the head that wears the
CROWN" yet every head wants a
crown. The late Gar of Russia, who
ruled over one-sixth of the land area
of this globe, lived in constant fear
and dread of assassination. The
price increases as one ascends the
ladder of fame, or wealth, or power.
Three years of superior mental power,
moral insight, spiritual leadership
cost Jesus his life. Peter thought
that he could follow his Lord with
ersoever he led. But more than once
Peter finched at the price that it
cost him.
And then if it is true that men and
women are doing about as we'll as
they can, as well as they can today,
it is pretty certain that they must
continue to do better. They are not
without ideals that make them Look
up, that spur them on to greater ex-
cellence, and that demand heavier
price for their attainments. No man
can by any means stand still. The
law of nature, of evolution. of growth,