The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1896-01-08
A MORAL VIEW OF 1T.

Winona, Mimi. Dec 30.
A MORAL VIEW OF 1T.
YE CANNOT SERVE GOD AND NAM
= MON.
Editor Representative:
The one great lesson taught by scrip
lures. and exemplified in the history of the
Jews, is that wickedness destroys nations.
and enslaves people. The one wickedness.
which included all other wickedness, is the
worship Of idols or false gods, to the exclu-
sion of the true and living God.
We worship an idol or false god when
we fix our affections and center our ener-
gies on bad thing. or on a good thing in
an inordinate or disproportionate way.
And this worship includes under it all the
sins of omission and commission in the ac>
complishment of the purpose.
We worship the true and living God the
God of all good, when our affections and
efforts are directed to the Accomplish
OF good purpose. In the ACCOMPLISHMENT
of good purpose there is and can be no
sin; for if there is sin the purpose Is not
good.
In working in a good cause a mans
emotional and intellectual, his spirit, ma
ture grows better; he becomes more like
or. approaches God, who is perfect in all
things, and thus is prepared to dwell with
Him In heaven. But the worship of an idol
or false god, working for a bad end, bad
in itself or bad in the way of it's accom-
plshment neceSsitateS sin. Thus the
mans spirit nature deteriorates, he be-
comes more like the devil, and thus he is
prepared to sOjourn with that old gentle
man in the next life as the reward of hav-
ing served him faithfully in this life
1t is said we cannot serve God and Mann
mon. MammOn is riches, and a rich man
can scarcely enter the kingdom of heaven.
There is nothing in riches to drag a man
down to the pit; it is the sins committed
in the acquisition and engendered by the
possession that does the work for him.
There can be no harm in availing our
selves OF the good things which the Lord
has provided for us in this life. They are
necessity of our physical existence, and
the physical existence is necessary to the
spirit existence in this life. And they
were designed to meet that necessity And
there can be no harm in a man making
| reasonable provision for his family, and
for himself in his old age. Every man
should provide for his own household 1t
is even quite possible for a man to become
rich without being a worshiper of Mann
mon. The worshiper of Mammon is he who
fixes his affections and efforts on riches to
the neglect Of God and spiritual things
And the man who does this is not unlike
on physical things He may be worse
than the hog, for the hog does his own
roofing, while the average Mammon Wor-
shipper sacrifices on the altar Of his god
not only the interests Of other men as far
as he may, but also every cOmmendable
feature Of his own humanity. He is
covetous, lacking in brotherly love and
sympathy and generally deviod Of patriot
ism. He worships neither God, country
nor humanity. Only Mammon, and in
that worship he is a sort of spiritual hy-
ena. And when that spirit puts off the
physical nature at death and appears in
the spirit life where the secrets of all
hearts are made known, and where the
| spirit man stands out as vivid in the clear
! light of that life as does the physical man
in this life about the first thing he does
| is to baWl out for the mountains to fall
on him and hide him away from the sight
OF God and of better spirits. The glamour
of his wealth. and impenetrab ility Of his
physical nature, which served his purpose
so we'll here will avail him nothing there
His spirit there must show up on it's own
merits, and what sort of exhibit will it
make judged by the criterion of that life?
AS the mountain will not come to him he
must go to the mountain; he will welcome
the mandate: depart in another country
| where you and your kind can indulge in
! the Economical yells of the gain pit and the
exchange without offending the ears OF
more respectable people, and where you
may lie, and cheat and robe each other ad
libitum. No doubt in that place there will
be weeping and gnashing of teeth, not
! that each pot calls the other blackleg, but
because it is only phantom grain pit in
which they can only remember those
whom they have sent down to poverty
and distress. Like the old Jew he will
pine for dot city where he used to lie and
sheat all dose years" Like as not he will
want Abraham to send word to Wall and
,OY a r6 Ct hot fhnr 40
and stocks in the country where he has per-
manently located, and that he has no more
power over legislation than any ordinary
| voter; indeed, that he is altogether be-
reaved Tehere is no God there because
| there is no good there; no light but utter
| darkness.
| We are nation of -worshipers.
| Our ancestors came here WOrShiping Mann
| mon, and we have inherited the habit
| True, some may have come across the big
waters to escape religious persecution and
enjoy the larger freedom than was fash
iona BILE in the old country. But even
these were scarcely away from the perse-
cutions and free. before they took up the
persecution business themselves, and tum>
bled to the racket of the Mamman WOr-
shippers. And it used to be said by these
who had not the fear of the Hub" before
their eyes, that the Pilgrim Fathers had
| not long landed, before in Connecticut
began the mandatory Of wooden nut
megs, since which time New England has
persiStently demanded protection for home
industries.
AS a nation Of Mammon-worshipers we
have adopted very loose, if not vicious
code Of morals In money getting. Not only
may we cOvet our neighbours ass, but the
whole decalogue has fallen into bad repute
1t matters not how man gets his money,
it hurts not his standing in church or
state, and society makes no inquiry. He
gets his riches under the form of law, but
makes the law to suit himself. Justice, re-
ligion, Goodness are not in the whole bus
mess. Brotherly love and sympathy have
vanished into thin air. We are determined
to be wealthy in this life, if we are ever
lastingly busted" in the life to come. We
worship Mammon at all hazards, and
sometimes worship old hazards himself.
Thinking perhaps that God can be put off
with sanctuary observances and a dona>
ton to the church or college along toward
the end. Or perchance we don't believe
in God and the future life.
But if we credit the scriptures as we
must do when interpreted in the light of
this age and in the interests of the peo-
pie, instead of in the light of the middle
ages and in the interests of the priest
hood. All this is desperately wicked and
will end in the destruction of the ma
ton and the bondage of the peo-
pie. And why not? In this unre-
strained, heartless and goddess scra M BILE
for riches certain sections. classes
and individuals sharper, more
INSCRIPTIONS and favored by fortuneat e
circumstances, get ahead and by using
the power of wealth and the government
soon own the wealth Of the country; and
the government in self defense. Thus,
n1IniShp6 bo