The herald., 1898-10-10
SOME SUNDAY SERMONS
WHAT SHALL A MAN GIVE IN EX-
CHANGE FOR HIS LIFEp
TWO TEXTS OF A KIND
The New Pastor ofjUnity on Rewards
and Punishments-Selec
From City Pulpits

What shall man give in exchange for
his l!fe?" were the words from which Rev.
Burt Estes Howard
What Doth It preached to the con-
P.of;< M.o> gregation of IN c
Church of the Gov
enant. The ddea expressed In this partic-
ular order of words is that life is some
thing to be secured, a goal to be reached.
possession to be acquired. The thought
seems to be that every life has something
to be achieved; that each one Of us has
certain powers, faculties, opportunities,
which do not constitute life in themselves
but which may be converted into what
Jesus calls life, as we would convert money
into some desired commodity.
This conception puts a new phase on
things. Life Is not something which we
may have and lose, but something which
we have not and must get. 1t would seem
that In the mind of the Master every man
is set on an alternative. He may gain
the world and miss gaining life, or he may
gain life and overcome the world. He
becomes Just what he buys with his OPP
portunities.
The multitude of men everywhere are
planning and toiling to heap up wealth.
Brain and Drawn and time are thrust into
the crucible of commerce in order to be
converted by its subtle alchemy
into so many dollars. Men are
being slowly transmitted into money.
Many who succeed In money-getting fail
dismally as men. Prosperity is secured,
not where money cirsulates freely, but
where it's passing to and fro is like the
movement of a shuttle weaving a tissue OF
usefulness and happiness.
Touching on the question of luxury and
vulgar display, the speaker continued: A
man is no more Independent to spend his
money as he chooses, regardless Of moral
and economic considerations, than he Is
to make his money as he chooses. No
man has any right to spend in such way
that 1t dissipates the fund Of economic en-
ergy with no return of economic utility
Money Is condensed opportunity; 1t stands
for so many units of social utility. 1t is
crystallized time and blood and muscle.
1t is symbol, under present conditions,
of so much human flesh and human life.
To convert 1t into that which profits in no
wise either the spender or society. to use
1t in ways that produce nothing Of real
value, Is a moral and economic wrong.
anu II the STATE mas u VOICE III inc dSSTc-
CATION Of wealth. restricting the methods
Of accumulation, she ought also to have a
voice in the distribution of wealth, re-
stricting the methods of its disbursement.
All questions must ultimately be brought
to this test: What is the man profited by
this proposed thing?' This persistent
question, us 1t worth while?" must be
written across our day books and ledgers
and upon every phase Of our living. cam
1 gaining life out Of this?" "Is the world
better by this that am ant
this thing am doing?" AL
things in human rela tionships are to have
vital significance. Your life is yours, but
1t is mine also. and my life is yours and my
brothers. 1t Is as impossible to escape
from social forces and laws as from force
and law Of gravity.
The standards of success are all false.
Moral worth Is the only standard by which
men can be estimated. Success is achieved
truly only In the degree in which we ap-
proach the perfection of our type. Social
success is measured by our desire to be
helpful.