The western sentinel. [volume] (Winston-Salem, N.C.) 1887-1926, 1895-08-01
Always Rejoicing.

fse] slce--fhiiippi rs, W., 4.
1t Is true that n man may be good
injured without being in the slight
est degree religious; but certain it is
that a Inaa cannot be truly religious
without taking IL bright and good
| natured view of life.
The habit OF fault finding, of look
| ing on the dark side, is just. az truly
opposed to the genuine religious
spirit as is iniidelity or atheism, and,
indeed, may be regarded as u species
of ibfidelity.
Ii you see the Lord in the right
light you must needs also see what
ever happens to you in The right
light, and the right light is always
the brightest light which the circum-
stances allow.
| We cannot be mistaken ia decIar-
ing that religion was intended to
produce happiness, to put the soul
| into the best possible relations with
| the events, both joyful and sorrow
| full, which must inevitably occur,
and if this result is not produced you
| may be sure either that what You
call religion is not genuine or that
which renders it Intellectual.
! A soul. like fresh milk, may beco me
! sour. There is difference, however.
and II serious one, for sour milk has
! It's uses, while a sour soni las not
! L! Il man is contented with nothing,
/ there is no place either on the earth
| or in heaven where he can fesl at
| home. We like lie sour of lemon,
/ I a
| what it is; but when n man becomes
n lemon we like him not ita il IN.
] palatable in his conversation. rasp-
ing in his continual criticism, and as
| disagreeable as it would be to cut
! into an orange and find therein II
lemon taste.
The disconnected soul is, first of
| oil, at odds with itself, and there is
nothing more demoraiizing spiritual
| ly than to cultivate the tendency to
| find the black spot on everything
| that happens. 1t is even possible to
make ones self chronicaliy miserable
by cherishing and thus developing
this tendency. and to spend ones
time in making japgling diseord OF
events which If rightly considered
would afford q modicum of happi-
ness. The man with q lemon soul is
sour in himself as we'll as to others.
He is a one sided creature, whose
| talk is as modifying as the tones of
a harp whose strings are broken or
out Of tune. There is no beauty in
the landscape because the wind is
east, 10 Joy in the sunshine because
it will be cloudy tomorrow, no
sublimihy in the heavens because the
full moon blots out the stars, no
| grandeur ia the ocean because the
tide is going down. There is
shadow on every thing, for he always
sees the seam of lead in the bar OF
silver, always sees the weed that
grows by the side of the flower, and
| the black feather i'll the white birds
| wing. Tell him of an honest man,
and he .shrugs his shoulders; tell him
| of a pure woman, and ho arches his
| eyebrows.
Not only is this all wrong, bat it is
| positively criminal. No man has 81
right 80 make the worst Of things,
but, on the other hand, it is his duty
| to make the best OF them. There is
q great deal Of truth and love and
| loyalty in the world, and you are
| guilty if you ignore that fact. While
it is also true that there is plenty of
evil, you are not oaly bound to
believe that the devil is waging u
losing warfare, but you must con
| tribute to his discontinue by your
/ personal efforts. If God will surely
win, then will the millennium come
| some time. Ii you skulk in this
fight, if you lift mp your voice in
encouragement, yon are on the
devils side, even though you pune
tually attend church and nod your
assent to ali ha or, eds in Christen
dom. What God wants is large
hearted. brave and hopeful soldiers,
| not men who go TO sleep in the rear
and di>parage the generaiship and
| the tactics ct the hour God has no
use for d man who thinks He will
/ lose the battle; for that man, how
ever devout and prayerful he may
be, is half traitor
What, then, is religion and what is
its object? What is the gist oil the
matter as Christ taught it and illus
trated it in His short public life?
Throw your theological speculations
into the background for q moment
and look att from q purely economic
standpoint. What can religion do
which it is desirable to have done?
| Well, it is full OF good cheer and
comfort and brightness and peace.
L. dots not deny that seine paths
are very hard to travel; that some
experiences require all the fortitude
you possess; that some trials wiring
the henrt to the point of rebellion
and bitterness. My yoke is easy"
but it is still a yoke; ''my burden is
| light" but it is still a burden
Yokes and burdens abound, and not
even religion can make you quit of
| them.
How shall you bear and endure?
In such way as to make the worst or
in such way as to make the best of
/ events? The lemon soul, which
thinks everything wrong, makes it's
burdens heavier, while the cheerful
soul makes them lighter. Your
religion tells you that there are stars
over Getbsemane; that God has not
abdicated; that though the battle
RACES the victory will be won by
shutdown. and that when the shades
of night fall on the earth you will
catch glimpse of heaven.
Break the chains of your i'll nature
and discomfort, therefore Destroy
the habit of fault finding. Look for
Joy in sorrow, and look until you
find it for Ii is there however CiepDly