The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1896-01-01

orld'Y they kill epides]

God sdnds the annoyanoes OF our
us to Hill the spiders Of the so1t 20 dleal
| the atmosphere Of our skies
These annoyances are sent on usII think,
to w&ke US up from our lethsrgy There Is
nothing that makes man so lively as nes,
or "kellow jackets and I think that these
ann5yances are intended to persuade Us o1
the fact that this Is not world for us to
storA in. If we had a bed Of everything that
we want of heaYen2 We think that the hol-
low tree sends the hornet. or we may think
that the devil sends the hornet !. want to
correct your opinion. "The Lord sent the
hornet" 5.s
Then Think these annoyances come on Us
to- culture our patience. In the gymnasium
you find upright, parallel bars-upright
bars, with holes over each other for pegs to
he put in. Then the gymnast takes peg IN
1t time, or two inches, and getting his
strength cultured reaches after awhile the
ceiling. And 1t seems to me that these an
lnoyances In life are moral gymnasium,
each worriment peg with which we are to
climb higher and higher IN Christian attain
ment. We al love to see patience, but 1t
cannot be cult lred In fair weather. Patience
Is child of the storm. If you had every
thing desirable, and there was nothing more
to get, what would you want with patience?
The only time to culture It Is when you are
lied about and sick and halt, dead.
"Oh," you say, "it I only had the circum-
patient, too" You might as we'll say, "If It
were not for this water, would swim, or.
II could shoot this gun IL It were not for the
charge" When you stand chin deep In an
noyances Is the time for you to swim out
toward the great headlands Of Christian at
tainment, 80 as to know Christ and the
power OF His resurrection and to have fell
lowship with His sufferlngs. y... ..
How many touches did ME-. Church give
Of the Andes2" 7 suppose about 900
touches. I hear the canvas saying: ttWhy
do You keep me trembling with that pencil
so lone2 Why don't you put 1t on In one
dash?" "No." says Mr.. Church. II know
how to make a painting. It will take $4,000
of these touches" And / want you, my
friends, TO understand that It Is these 10,0W
annoyances which under God are making
up the picture Of your life to be hung at last
In the galleries Of heaven, fit for angels to
look at. God knows how to make a pict-
ure. 4
I go into sculptor's studio and see him
shaping q statue. He has g chisel In one
hand and mallet in the other, and he gives
very gentle stroke-olick, click, click. ]
say, "Why don't you strike harder?" "Oh, !"
he replies, ''that would shatter the statuel
I can't do It that way. must do It this
way" So he works on, and after awhile the
features come out, and everybody that
enters the studio Is charmed and fascinated.
Well, God has your soul under process OF
development, and 1t Is the little annoyances
and vexations OF life that are ohiseling out
Your immortal nature. It Is click, click,
la. y.ao&y, rn1yfH Honn
does not come and with one stroke prepare
you for heaven. All, no! God says that Is
not the way. And so He keeps on by
strokes OF little vexations until at last you
shall be glad spectacle for angels and for
men. Ei'5 E-a y .S''
You know that a large fortune may be
spent in small change, and q vast amount OF
moral character may go away in small de-
pletions. It is the little troubles OF life that
are having more effect upon you than great
ones. A swarm Of locusts will kill "a grain
field sooner than the ineurslon Of three or
four cattle. You say, "Since I lost my child,
since I lost my property, j have been diff
ferent man" But you do not recognize the
architecture Of little annoyances that are
hewtng. digging, cutting, shaping, splitting
and interjoining your moral qualities. Rats
may sink ship. One lueifer match may
send destruction through block OF store
houses. Catherine de- Medicis got her death
from smelling poisonous rose. Columbus,
by stopping and asking for q piece OF bread
and q drink of water at Franciscan con-
world. And there Is an intimate connection
between trifes and immensities, between
nothings and everythings. ~
Now, be careful to let none OF those an
noyances go through your soul unarrafgned
Compel them to administer to your spiritual
wealth. The scratch Of q sixpennyl nail
sometimes produces lockiaw, and the clip Of
q most infnitesmal annoyance may damage
you forever. Do not let any annoyance or
perplexity come across your soul without its
making you better.
Our Government does not think 1t beltt-
tling to put tax on small articles. The in
diyidual taxes do not amount to much, but
In the aggreg8feto millions and millions OF
dollars. And would have you, o Christian
man. put high tariff on every annoyance
and vexation that comes through your soul.
This might not amount to much In single
cases, but in the aggregate 1t would be q
great revenue Of spiritual strength and satis-
faction. A bee can suck honey even out OF
a nettle, and II you have the grace OF God In
your heart you can get sweetness out OF that
which would otherwise irritate and annoy.
A returned missionary told me that a COM
were stung to death by flies that infest that
region at certain seasons. / have seen the
earth strewn with the carcasses OF men slain
by insect annoyances. The only way to get
prepared for the great troubles Of life Is to
conquer these small troubles. What would
you saw Of q soldier who refused to load his
gun or to 60 into the conflict because 1t was
only skirmish, saying: "I am not going
to expend my ammunition on a skirmtsh.
Wait until there comes a general engage
ment, and then you will see how courageous
I am and what battling will do. The
general would say to such man, "If you
are not faithful in a skirmish, you would be
nothing in general engagement" And
have to tell you, o Christian men, II you
cannot apply the principles OF ChriH's re-
ligion on small scale, you will never be
able to spply them on large scale.
I'LL had my way with you, Iwould have you
possesssall possible worldly prosperity. I
would have you each one garden-a river
flowing through 1t, geraniums and shrubs on
the sides and the grass and flowers as beau
tiful as though the rainbow had fallen. I
would have you house, a splendid mau-
sion. and the bed should be covered with up
holstery dipped in the setting sun. EWould
have every hall In your house set with statues
and statuettes, and then would have the,
four quarters OF the globe pour in all their
luxurles on your table. and you should have
forks Of silver and knives Of gold, inlaid with
diamonds and ametbysts. Then you should
each one Of you hare the finest horses and
your pick Of the squipages of the world.
Then would have you live $50 years, and
you should not have pain or ache until the
last breath. ~
'Not each one Of us2" you say. Yes.
Each one of you, '"Not, to your enemies2"
Yes. The only difference would make with
them would be that would put a little ex-
ira gilt on their walls and a little extra en-
broidery on their slippers. But, you say,