The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1897-05-22

Butldeth Up."
st. Paul, in one OF his terse, strong
sentences, tells us that knowledge
puffeth up, but love buildeth up" Mere
knowledge initiates q man. makes him
vain, self-conceited. In relation to
others IL makes him arrogant. CRITICAL
impatient, intolerant Thus knowl-
edge alone Is insufficient as qualifca4
ton for dealing with others. There
must be love as well as knowledge.
Love in the heart tempers knowledge,
1t makes us patient with others, charit-
able toward their mistakes, quick to see
the good that is in them, and ready tn
bear with their inirmities and to help
them to do better.
At no other point is this teaching
more important than In our Judgment
Of others. The habit of finding fault is
very common. 1t Is easy; anyone can.
| find fault. We see faults and flaws, and
we like to speak about them. 1t seems
luxury TO some people. The law OF
love, however, II given full sway, would
put restraint upon us, not only upon
the utterance of our criticisms, but also,
upon all unlxindly Judgment of others
and of their acts.
| Criticism aften discourages, and
too often does permanent and serious
harm. Life is not easy TO anyone, and
to many people IL is very hard. They
are carrying every pound of BURDEN
they can possibly carry. They some
times almost totter beneath their heavy.
load. Now suppose that instead OF
| saying cheering words TO these peoplei
| heartening words, which would put,
new hope and courage into their spiritsl
we do nothing but criticise them, find
fault with them, speak In harsh, un-
loving way of them; what is the effect
upon them? We know what IL is. 10
makes their load all the heavier; or.
rather, IL weakens them, and thus
makes IL harder for them 10 GO on. Y
At certain points in the Alps tourists
are cautioned not TO speak or sing, or
even TO whisper, as the faintest sound
| might start reverberations in the air
which would loosen delicately poised
avalanche from its place on the moun-
tain, and bring it crashing down upon
villages and fields. There are men and
women who are walking under such
stress of burden, care, responsibility
sorrow, or temptation, that one whis-
per of censure, of criticism, of com-
plant, unldndness, may cause them To
fall under their load. The world needs
love, love that will never add to an
others burden, that will not Judge or
condemn another, but that willalways
| give cheer, encouragement, inspiration
of hope. knowledge that puffs up and
makes one censorious Is not OF God.
| Without love we are not fit TO touch an
other life. Love builds up.
This lesson is not unneeded. We may
MS well confess that we are all prone To
be critical Of our fellows. We fall most
easily into the habit of saying unl1ind
things Of others. We do not mean to
hurt anyone. We imagine that our
criticisms are just and right, and there
| fore that we should utter them. We
forget that we ought TO look at others
through eyes of love and not through
| eyes of mere cold knowledge. We do
not know how much hurt we do by our
un-Christian censure and faultfnding!
Especially should we think OF the In
| fluence OF this critical habit on Chris
tian workers, our companions and
friends. 1t is not our work that they
are doing. They are not in our employ.
We are not their masters. They are
not under our direction. We have no
right whatever TO dictate TO them how
they shall do the work Of Christ, or To
criticise the way in which they do IL.
Christ is their Master. II is His work
that they are doing. They do IL under
His direction. To Him as their Master
they stand or fall. We can have no pos
sible right TO criticise them or find
| fault with them.-Chicago Standard.