The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1896-09-04

IN ~ 0A II L mad time. L
rs 10y e would show you
E4SEa A E&kindneSs as a means
100. AHjAg6of defense, as a
Ns-v@sSS& b@G6H means of useful
T. DEWITT rAI-NAGE ness, kindness as a
means of domestic harmony, kindness
g. b"s4 employed ty governments for
the tanning and curing of criminal IS. and
kindness as best adopted for the set
Ting and adju>ting of international
quarrel; but | shall call your attention
eulv to two of these thoughts
And Grst, l speak to you of kindness
as a means of defense Almost every
man. in the course of hi life, is set
upon and assaulted Your motives are
N sinterpreted or your religious or
political principles are bombarde i.
What to do under such circumstances
is the question The first impulse of
the natural heart says: "Strike back
Give US mach as he sent Trip him
into the ditch which he dug for your
| feet. Cash him with as severe a wound
as that which he inflicted on your soul
Shot for shot Sarcasm for sarcasm
An eve for an eye. A tooth for
tooth" but the better spirit 10 the
mans soul rises up and says: You
ought to consider that matter"
You look up into the face of Christ
and saw: MY Master. how ought to
act under these difficult circum-
stauces?' And Christ instantly
answers: BLESS them that curse you.
and pray for them which deSpitefully
use YOU" Then the old nature rises
up aIain and says; You had better
not forgive him until first you have
chastised him. You will never get him
in so tight a corner again. You will
never have such an opportunity of in
f1icting the right kind of punishment
upon him again First chastise
him and then let him 60"
NE" saws the better nature"
''hush, thou foul heart Try the soft
tongue that brealIeth the bone" Have
you ever in ali your life known aeerb-
ity and acrimonious dispute to settle
quarrel? Did they not always make
matters worse and worse and worse?
About 50 years ago there was a great
quarrel in the Presbyter. an ia ,nilv.
Ministers of Christ were thought ortho-
dOx in proportion as they had meas
ured lances with other clergymen of
the same denomination. The most out
rageous personalities were abroad.
As, Sn autumn. hunter comes home
with string of game, cartridges and
wild ducks, slung over his shoulder, so
there were many ministers who came
TnaI -
with long strings of doctors of divinity
whom they had shot with their own
rife. The division became wider, the
luminosity greater, until after awhile
some good men resolved upon another
tack. They began to explain away the
difficulties; they began to forgive each
sther's faults; and 10! the great church
suarrel was settled, and the new school
| PRESBYTERIAN church and the old school
Presbyterian church became one. The
different parts of the Presbyterian or
der, welded by a hammer, little ham,
ner, a Christian hammer that the
Scripture calls "a soft tongue"
Yon have a dispute with your neigh
Dor. You say to him, II despise you"
He replies, II can't bear the sight of
you." You say to him, Never enter
NV house again. He says IF you
come on nv door sill I'll kick you off
You say to him, iii put you down"
He says to you. You are mistaken;
I'll put you down" And so the contest
RACES; and year after year you act the
unchristian part. and he acts the I'M
chr stan part After awhile the tetter
spirit seizes you, and one day you go
over to the neighbor and say: Give
me your hand. We have fought long
enough. Time is so short, and eternity
is so near. that we cannot afford any
longer to quarrel l feel you have
wronged me very much; but let US
settle all now in one great hand-shak-
ing. and be good friends for all the
rest of our lives" You have risen TO
a higher platform than that on which
before you stood You win his admi-
ration, and you get his apology. But
if you have not conquered him in that
way, at any rate you have won the ap-
plause OF your own conscience, the
high estimation of good men, and the
honor of your Lori, who died for his
armed enemies
But" you say. what are we to do
when ISLANDERS assault US, and there
come acrimonious sayings all around
about us. and we are abused and spit
upon?" Ny reply is: Do not go and
attempt to chase down the ISLANDERS.
Lies are prolific, and while you are.
killing one. so are born. All yonr
demonstrations of indignation only ex-
haust yourself. You might as well on
some summer night when the swarms
of insects are coming up from the
meadows and disturbing you and dis
turbing your family, bring up some
great swamp angel" like that which
Numbered over Charleston, and try 10
shoot them down The game Is too
small for the gun. But what, then.
are you to do with the abuses that
come upon you in life? You are to