The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-12-29

very few, of the pages are white and fair,
and worthy of being offered to the King of
Kings. Take hand glass and look at your
self. You are like most other people, so you
think, neither better nor worse, and,
struggling your shoulders, you fatter
yourself that you haven't committed
murder, or been guilty of theft, or done
any of those dreadful things that all the
world calls sins. No, you are not MUIR
deress, nor a thief. Perhaps, though, you
are just as guilty. Perhaps that one who
killed his brother succumbed to a mo-
mentary temptation, and committed the
one awful act. But there are many ways
OF killing besides numbering the flesh.
Have you, by word of mouth, murdered
the faith in any human soul? killed in
any young soul its belief, either in God
or man? That is worse than material
murder.
Fancy having to live all ones life with
ont hope and without belief! Fancy
having to think that no one does a kind
act without hoping to gain something
from it-that must be awful. A living I'M
belief seems to me the worst state into
which human soul can get. No wicked
ness is comparable with it. Look in the
glass again, and watch es your eyes
fash, how they seem to say: 1--WE are
honest; we have stolen nothing Per-
haps not, but you never were hungry, you
never needed the money to buy food and
warmth for those you love; but you have
stolen just the same. Perhaps not in the
material way, but surely when you are
bitterly envious and malicious you are q
thousand times worse than the poor
wretch who steals to satisfy his hunger
because you know better, and he is igno-
rant of SO much. You go to church, pend
your pretty head in devout way, make
your prayer after each commandment,
and thank God that you are not like other
people; that your soul is clear, and you
haven't on your daybook the breaking of
any one OF these commandments. Ten of
them. None of them very long But all
you trouble yourself about is the exact
words of each, and though at other tiEles
you are clever enough, you willfully blind
yourself and refuse to read between the
lines.
You smile and feel perfectly certain that
you can live UP to it. In an old book
ind some little suggestions about the COM
mandments that may help you.
1t is queer little old book, with its cover
worn, with its fly leaves written upon,
though the ink is pale, and with bit of
blue ribbon, lock of blonde hair and one
or two religious pictures for book marks.
1t says you may sin against this first COM
iuohouicHG ny SisAS SOui Aioe ohAhS
thought to anybody but the good God who
created you, and giving your last thoughts
to any body but him, and forgetting to con-
fess your sins to him and to give thanks to
him because he has cared for you all the
day long through. The quaint old saint
who wrote the book says that you break
the first commandment when you are inn
patient of what hunibles you; when you
allow your mind to dwell on your troubles
rather than on our blessings. and when
your own ability for success instead of
realizing that it is as nothing un-
less the great Father of ali guides you.
When you went to church last Sunday
you committed, according to my saint,
many sins.
Sins against the second command
ment. You were more interested in the
flowers, in the preacher, in the con-
gregation, than in paying earnest and de-
vout attention to saying your prayers.
You were devoting more of your time.to
some human being. and thinking OF the
love and goodness in that person than OF
the great One from whom it all came.
And you broke the second commandment.
l am afraid you have broken the third one
very often. You never refrain from a jest
because it isn't quite refined; you never
dropped book because the ideas of the
author we're not quite respectful to God,
and to save yourself little trouble you did
not m axe it point to tell the truth. And
how much did you do simply thatlt might
be praised by men?
And about the next. Did you observe
that day as festival, as day when you