The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1897-09-02

thing in the large store of acorns that
the squirrels had gathered, and some
thing in the phases of the moon, and
something in other portents, that made
You certain we were going to have a
hard winter. Winter came. 1t was
the mildest one within my memory
and within yours All that winter
long | do not think there was
an icicle that hung through the day
from the caves of the house. So you
prophesied falsely. Last winter was
coming, and the people said: I'VE
shall have unparalleled suffering
among the poor. 1t will be a dreadful
winter" Sure enough it was a cold
winter; but there were more large
hearted charities than ever before
poured out on the country; better pro-
vision made for the poor, SO that there
have been scores of winters when the
poor had a harder time than they did
last winter. Weather prophets say we
will have frosts this summer which
will kill the harvests. Now. let me
tell you, you have lied twice about the
weather, and believe you are lying
this time!
Depend upoa it, if you men in
comfortable circumstances do not stop
complaining God will blast your har-
vests, and see how you will get along
without a corn crop; and He will
sweep you with floods; and He will de-
YOUR you with grasshoppers; and He
will burn your city. If you men in
comfortable circumstances keep on
complaining God will give you some
thing to complain about. Mark that!
The second prescription for the allie
Walton of financial distresses is proper
Christian investment God demands
of every individual state and nation q
certain proportion their income. We
are parsimonious! We keep back from
God that which belongs to him, and
when we keep back anything from God
he takes that which we keep back, and
he takes more. He takes it by storm,
by sickness, by bankruptcy, by any
one of the ten thousand ways which he
can employ. The reason why many of
you are cramped in business is because
you have never learned the lesson of
Christian generosity. You employ an
agent. You give him a reasonable
salary, and, To-. you find out that he is
appropriating your funds beside the
salary. What do you do? Discharge
him. Well, we are Gods agents.
He put in our hands certain moneys.
Part is to be ours; part is to be His.
Suppose we take all; what then? He
will discharge us; He will turn us over
to financial disasters and take the
trust away from us. The reason that
great multitudes are not prospered in
business is simply because they have
been withholding from God that which
belongs to Him. The rule is, give and
you will receive; administer literally
and you shall have more to administer.
am in full sympathy with the man
who was to be baptized by immersion,
and some one said: You had better
leave your pocketbook out, it will get
| wet" No" said he, II want to go
down under the wave with every thing.
l want to consecrate my property and
all to God" And SO he was baptized.
What we want in this country is more
| baptized pocketboOks.
So that one of the recipes for the cure
| of individual and national finances is
more generosity. Where you bestowed
one dollar on the cause of Christ, give
two. God loves to be trusted, and He
is very apt to trust back again. He
saws: That man knows how to handle
money; he shall have more money tc
handle;;' and very soon the property
that was ON the market for a great
while gets purchaser, and the bond
that was not worth more than so cents
on dollar goes to par, and the open
| ing of new street doubles the value
of his house, or inone way of a million
God blesses him.
Once the man finds out that secret,
and he goes on to fortune. There are
men whom have known for ten years
have been trying to pay God $1,000
They have never been able to get il
paid. for just as they were taking ou
from one fold of their pocketbook 1
bill, mysteriously somehow in som.
other fold of their pOcketbook ther,
came larger bill. You tell me tina
Christian generosity pays in the worlt
to come. tell you it pays now, pay
in hard cash, pays in government Sc
curities. You do not believe it? All
that is what keeps you back. l knew
you did not believe it. The Who'll,
world and Christendom is to b'
reconstructed on this subject, ant
as you are part of Christen
dom, let the work begin il
your own soul. But" says som
one. Il don't believe that theory; be
cause l have been losing money for tel
years" Then God prepaid you, that
all What became of the money tha
you made in other days? You say +
your son: Now will give you $50
every year as long as you live" Afte
awhile you say: well, my son, yo1
prove yourself so worthy of my conf
| dence l will just give you $4,000 in
single lump" And you give it to hir
. and he starts off. In two or thre
| yearsh he does not complain against you
, Father is not taking care of me.
l ought to have $500 year" You prepai
< your son, and he does not complain
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