The western sentinel. [volume] (Winston-Salem, N.C.) 1887-1926, 1895-08-29
A Man of the World.


it. Corinthians. vii, 81
You say you are man of the |
world. and you wish to give the i'm
preston that you go through lite |
with your eyes open and with suspi-
cion enough to keep you from falling |
into trap laid for the unwary.
A man of the worldl That is, you |
are wont to declare, a man well pro |
vIded with common sense. a thor /
oughly practical man, who accepts |
neither politics nor religion at |
second hand, but submits both to |
his own judgment.
A man of the worldl And, making |
no pretensions to being better than
your neighbor, you indulge in such
pleasures as suit your fancy, and |
rather expect that the fact that you
have never professed to be good will
be some sort of excuse for not being
SO. Having never accepted any
| moral obligations, or promised to
govern your life by them, you have a
vague notion that your accounta-
| bility is somewhat modified.
| Well, the matter is worth looking
at. Suppose we exercise this com
! mon sense which is very properly
your boast, and try to discover
| what is absolutely necessary to your
| growth as a man and to the develop
ment of your character, for then we
shall find out what you are under an
obligation to do, whether you have
promised TO do it or not.
! In our civil society weare governed
by certain laws. Some things ought
to be done because the general well
fare demands it, and society cannot
be held together unless they are
done. For instance, you have no
right to another mans property,
neither have you any right 30 invade
his family circle, nor have you any
right to revenge yourself upon him
by assault or assassination. When
you have made breach of the law
You cannot plead that you never
assumed any obligation to respect it,
and are therefore to be held guiltless.
You are part of the whole, and the
part has no right to do what will
jnjure the whole. You cannot be
allowed to do as you please on the
ground that 40 promise to obey has
ever passed your lips. 1t is very
reasonable that this should be so.
While it is well enough that you
should be man of the world, the
phrase does not include any indie
!. pendence of the world or any priv
Iege bestowed upon you to do as you
please, irrespective of the welfare of
others.
Now, in spiritual concerns the
same rule holds good. Here, how
ever, the moral obligation is two
fold. First, you are bound not only
to refrain from doing what will injure
others, but, furthermore, bound to
do what will be helpful to them. If
you were on a ship wrecked on lee
rocks you would be an odd sort of
man if you simply tried to get your
self ashore and refused sympathy or
assistance to your fellow passengers.
1t would not be an act of generosity
to haul some sinking creature on to
your raft; it would be a plain duty,
and to omit such IL duty would be
equivalent to d crime. This is the
common sense of the situation, and
unless it were SO there would be
; neither maniiness nor honor in the
| world.
In the second place, you have not
merely the appetites and pleasures
of the body to provide for, but also,
and most of all, the well being of the
soul. You may never have protested
religion, possibly you may have
Systematically ignored it, but that
makes no difference whatever. The
: obligation to look after yourself
with due economy and to pursue
such a course that in your old age
you will be a healthy, clean hearted
and honest man rests on you just as
, securely as though you had Joined a
dozen churches. You can't get rid
OF your soul, and therefore you can t
!, get rid of the duty of taking proper
care of it When you reach heaven
: the Lord will !: not ask how many
prayers you have said or examine
: into the regularity of your attend
3 ance at church, for these things are
only spiritual Incidents. But He
will ask what you have been doing
: with your spiritual nature and what
has been the result of your doing.
You may go to all the churches OF
the land, but il you are not an
: honest soul you will be condemned.
You may never have gone to any
church at all, but ifyou have led a
pure life and humbly worshipped the
Giver of life, no matter in what way,
whether it be by form and ceremony
! Or without either of them, you will
! be welcomed, for, after all, heaven is
for those who have done good, and
] there is no other place where they
can possibly go.
What we insist upon, then, can be
, summed up in a few words. You are
i, a man and your destiny includes
Immortality. You are to live some.
\ where else when the scroll of the
e present has been entirely unwound.
1 Some things will render you fit to
!. enjoy that other life-will prepare
, | you for it-and 9th 4 things will so
! twist you that you Will step out oil
i the boat that carries you across the
dark river dwarfed soul. We sub
nit, therefore, that whether you
have or have not made any profess
sions of faith, or personally assumed
any mor-sl obligations, you are
bound to do what will serve you
best, and bound not to do what will
! wound or render you defective. To
do the one and not to do the other is
the very essence of religion. Your
church, your creed, are only friendly
hands held ont to assist you. Ii you
accept neither the one nor the other
that is a matter between your soul
and your God. But the dear Lord
has a right to demand, and He
asSIrealv will demand that vou