The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-02-06
THE VOICE OF THE PULPIT
THE WORLD WE LIVE mi III CAN BE
MADE ONE or PLEASURE OR PAIN.
short sermon by Rev. sIinOt o. simons,
First congregational society, Uni-
tartan, BiIIerica, Mass.

I Corinthians. vii, sl--.They that use this
world. as not abusing it.
James ", 1+-What is your life?
About two hundred years ago a German
philosopher maintained that God chose
this world out of an infinite rumber of pos
sible worlds as the best possible world that
could exist
Repeat this theory TO yourselves; fix 1t
IN your minds. for although We can here
only touch upon the multitude of things
It suggests. life can have but little right
eous enthusiasm if we cannot see the truth
Of this proposition as we shall interpret it
to-day. Not restricting ourselves to its
literal meaning. let us look at some of its
rich suggestions as applied to our own little
personal worlds
Did you ever stop to think that right here
upon our own planet there are an infinite
number of possible worlds that live
among?, In the dewdrop there are millions
of lives that are born, grow old and die
before the sun rises to dry up the little
world they live in. The insects that fly
about our heads of summer evening, all
have a world different from the one we see.
So. the fish of the sea, the birds of the air,
we do not possess have worlds of their own.
So with people born blind, or deaf. or VINO
have lacking any sense or faculty that
shuts them away from so much that we
know. Could we have a sixth sense we
should have an utterly new world.
But the difference in these worlds are no
more striking than those among peoples
worlds, according to the point of view from
which they Judge life. And this suggests
what we mean by the world we live in
Not the one OF time and space and matter
that whirls it's way about the sun. but my
own inner life. that is the world / live in,
the character Of which / have so much
power to determine.
How different these real worlds are, Here
is man who is bright, careless, happy, be-
cause all the world has seemed so. Here
is one defrauded by a trusted partner, and
now he is suspicious of all his fellow-men;
he is bitter and feels that all the world is
trying to take advantage of him in every
possible way. Another has had such dis
appointment in a friend that all trust in
human nature has been shaken and all the
world seems different You know what
difference sickness makes. DO you know
what u difference narrow prejudices make
as people look from different points of view
at civilization, at college education, at the
temperance question, at politics, at relig-
ion? You will be surprised to see how peo-
pie warp their conceptions of their own and
other peoples worlds in this way, and how
responsible they are themselves for their
ideas of things.
Now, in spite of all the differences there
Is one thing common to them all. Each
thinks that he sees things Just as they are,
that his world is. the true one Especially
do we see this oftentimes, at least, in the
case of one who has lived much of lis life
ir trial and disappointment-he feels GER
tain that the JOY and happiness and care
less pleasure about him illusions and no
part of the truth of life, as he realizes it.
Remember, how differently life has seemed
to you at different times according as you
were pleased with it, or Disguised with it,
or discouraged and sad about it. and we
might well ask what helps us to determine
whether or not we see things as they are,
whether we can justly measure other
worlds that people are living in about us,
by our own?
God sees things as they are. Why? Be-
cause He sees everything in relation to
everything, his view considers the just pro-
portions, He can take all things into ac-
count, His outlook is absolute. Each of us
is in his own little world and looks out
from that world to see what all life must
be and we shall see our own world as it is
ard other worlds as they are only as we
take a broad view, try to take all things
into consideration.
Our trust that Gods judgments are per-
feet is for this simple reason, and so we
must never allow ourselves to be shut in
ov,1 tcr1,
it may be to us. 1t cannot be every thing
to us. No one experience, however great,
can be taken by itself. This is true when
we are in trouble, and faith has hard
time to endure: it is true> when we look
out upon the world with eyes that have
never known bitter tears.
We must make our present world of pain
or pleasure, as the case may be. part Of
the larger world of helpful service and pur-
pose for which God has chosen us to live.
We must make these other worlds about
us parts of our own, and find comfort and
help in them, before we can feel that we
SEQ things as they are. Then we shall real
iza that our world, instead of being the
measure of all others, is but one out of
an infinite number of possible worlds
But IS it the best possible one for me?
The answer TO that question lies with each
Of us. 1t is the best possible world accord
ing as we make il so. This may not seem
a helpful gospel to one who is discouraged
or who is afflicted with weak or lazy will,
but it is 50.
Think how it could be otherwise. No SUI
pernatural power can IN all respects live
our lives for us. You have in mind. per-
haps, the case of one who started out in
life with every advantage to make
life a great success, and failed Was this,
then in the beginning. the best possible
world for this one? Undoubtedly. but in the
way 1t was lived it became a terrible mis-
He have realized that this one was to de-
feat the very means for success that He
furnished? BY no means. The one who
failed was 10 blame. God only knows to
what extent The point is that God has
not chosen to give as the opportunities for
right living and then To live the life for us
to be sure there shall be no mistake. We
have to do that. We have to attain lSnowl-
edge, we have to become good ourselves,
from the very nature of wisdom and good
ness He does not leave us without help
and guidance in this. however IL We hon
-estly seek his aid and earnestly strive to
govern our thoughts and actions by it. we
shall not make shipwreck of our lives
And So with powers equal to the de-
mands our worlds become the best for US
according as we make them So Ever when
the circumstances of life are narrow ana
humble, when it is hard to appreciate this