The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1895-08-15
Always Rejoicing.
From the New York Herald.

soy, AseJ -''
1t is true that a man may be good
natured without being in the slight
est degree religious; but certain it
is that man can not be truly reli-
gious without taking a bright and
good natured view of life.
The habit of fault finding, of look
ing on the dark side, is just as truly
opposed to the genuine religious
spirit as is infdelity or atheism, and.
indeed, may be regarded as species
of infdelity.
If 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 can not be mistaken in declar-
ing that religion was intended to
produce happiness, to put the soul
into the best possible realizations
with the events, both joyful and sor-
rowful, 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 there
is some radical fault in you which
renders it Intellectual.
Asoul, like fresh milk, may become
sour. There is difference, however,
and serious one, for sour milk has
it's uses, while sour soul has not. If
man is contented with nothing,
there is no place either on the earth
or in heaven where he can feel at
home. We like the sour of lemon,
because the Lord made it to be just
what it is; but when a man becomes
q lemon we like him not. He is un-
palatable in his conversation, rasping
in his continual criticism, and as dis
agreeable as it would be to cut into
an orange and find therein a lemon
taste.
The disconnected soul is, first of
all, at odds with itself, and there is
nothing more demoralizing spiritual
ly than 10 cultivate the tendency to
find the black spot on everything
that happens. It is even possible to
make ones self cbronically miserable
by cherishing and thus developing
this tendency, and to spend ones
time in making a jaugling discord Of
events which if rightly considered
would afford modicum of happiness
The man with lemon soul is soul
in himself as we'll as to others. He
r is a one sided creature, whose talk il
as modifying as the tones of a harp
whose strings are broken or out o.
tune. There is no beauty in the
landscape because the wind is east
no Joy in the sunshine because it viii
be cloudy tomorrow, no sublimity
in the heavens because the full moor
blots out the stars, no grandeur il
the ocean because the tide is going
down. There is shadow on every
thing, for he always sees the seam O
lead in the bar of silver, always see
the weed that grows by the side o
the flower, and the black feather il
the white birds wing. Tell him o
an honest man, and he shrugs hi
shoulders; tell him of a pure woman
and he arches his eyebrows.
> Not only is this all wrong, but
: is positively criminal. No man ha
! right to make the worst of things
!, but, on the other hand, it is his dut
D to make the best of them. There
great deal of truth and love an
D loyalty in the world, and you ar
. guilty if you ignore that fact. Will
' it is also true that there is plenty Q
Q evil, you are not only bound t
8 believe that the devil is waging
= losing warfnre, but you must cor
D tribute to his discontinue by you
t personal efforts. If God will surel
~ xv:v, %hor ill &Lo ,o:11.o~:.,n .-~,