The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-01-30

therefore.
away2-John vi &C. g.
Can you not feel the pathos of this text?
Can you not imagine with what sadness
Jesus watched His disciples deserving him,
ard with what longing he asked his chos-
en- twelve if they would stand by Him?
Jesus hungered for appreciation. He real
ized that the disciples were deserving Him
because they did NOT appreciate Him. He
could not bear the thought of having the
twelve-the first chosen. the most trusted,
the best loved--leave him. If they would but
stand by Him. sweetness would be added
to His cup to make its bitterness less.
The sweetest thing in life is to be appre-
ciated. Everybody hungers for 1t. Woman's
happiness depends on it. No one can fall
to see that a look of admiration, "a word
of praise. an act of affection, are the most
satisfying experiences she can know. But
In this she is not alone. Men have the same
kind of heart hunger. They wish to be APP
preciated And this is true even of men we
might easily think were Indifferent to how
their fellows regarded them.
Timour, the greatest general of an
tiquity, mighty as he was magnanimous
he was, had heart that yearned with
all the intensity of womans for graft
tude and praise. There was Elijah. One
lion-hearted prophet could lose heart be-
cause he was not appreciated but he did
that very thing. We know that inapprecia-
ton broke Christ's heart. He bore up under
it as long as He could. but when He found
Himself nailed to the cruel cross and wit
messed the multitude sneering at Him and
treating Him with all manner of indiSnities
His heart broke and He gave up the spirit
The noblest souls of every age have hun
gered for appreciation.
And not they alone. Every human heart
Graves this just recognition of kindly mo-
tive and earnest effort, and is affected for
good or for i'll. as it is given or withheld.
Throughout society to-day are gliding
thousand women silently performing their
duties while they nurse their bleeding
hearts-victims of unrequited love and. unre-
warded fidelity .
When this hunger for appreciation is not
satisfied havoc is wrought. Discoura cement
follows. Kind impulses are stihed. En-
deavor ceases. Wounded spirits suffer in
silence or turn in bitter resentment. People
often become misanthropic. They develop
an Indifference to humanity or a hostility
which is fatal to the interests of both. Men
and women all around us are every day
lapsing into unwillingness to give of their
time and money to their fellows because of
the interpretation they receive. Generously
disposed men and women become soured by
the snarling and swapping and backbiting of
fngrates. Where do cynics come from
these people who go about crying there is
no gratitude among men2 They come from
the ranks of those who have tried to serve
their fellows and have received a kick as
their reward.
One of the meanest things in the world
is intentional ingratitude Thoughtless in
gratitude. and the interpretation which is
so nearly akin to it, may be as cruel and
discouraging il its effects The truth is,
only the very greatest souls are able to
stand up under interpretation and go for
ward with their work and aims. One by
one the race is losing its best spirits because
it passes them by without SO much as nod
of recognition and a word of encourage
ment, while they live.
The lesson: Show appreciation. Cultivate
the habit of praisfng those who deserve it
and of encouraging those who need it.
Some, thank the goodness of their ances-
tors, are borne with genius for apprecia-
tion-they see merit at a glance and seize
the opportunity to make 1t known to itself
and others; they go up and down the world
speaking words of cheer and according de-
served measures of praise To these rare
souls / need not appeal. need but reas-
sure them of the vast good they are doing.
To them we owe many of the and
women who have blessed and advanced the
race.
But the majority of us are not born with
this divine power-we must acquire it. We
must continuously seek to see the good in
others and TO perceive greatness and merit
wherever they exist. And we must make
our discoveries known to those and about
these that they concern. 1t is only by
striving for this spirit. and by diffusing it.
that we can appreciate any one or be APP
preciated ourselves.
We make some singular mistakes, we
mortals We think. among other things,
that we will get what we do not give. We
forget over and over again Christs saying
that with what measure we mete, it shall
be measured to you again." What we have
and what we do. others Will have and do.
This is the law of reciprocity as it actually
works among men. And yet men who are
stingy expect their fellows to treat them
with lberality; men who are captious and
severe expect to be treated with charity
and indulgence; men who are habitually
negligent expect their neighbors and ac-
qua ntances to be thoughtful and self-deny-
ing in their behalf How often we hear
one complaining that during Illness no one
came 10 see him: even his neighbors paid
no more attention TO him than if he had
been up and about. Sometimes such COM
plant involves neighbors in a true charge
OF inhospitality and neglect. but very often
= shows them returning evil for evil-in
other words, they stay away because the
invalid never manifested any sympathy for
them when they were in trouble. The only
way In this world TO have a hospitable,
friendly, sympathetic, thoughtful set of
neighbors is to he hospitable. friendly, SYM
pathetic thoughtful and kind yourself
Sooner or later your example win prove
contagious. The only way TO be appre-
ciated is TO be apDreciative With what
measure We mete, it shall be measured to
you again.
The time to show appreciation Is now
when the person or opportunity is at
hand. Chances come very often. You have
a clerk who is faithful, very faithful. DO
not let him work on and on without any
sign that you recognize his fidelity. Never
fall into the fallacy of thinking that the
wage you pay him is a sufficient return for
his devotion to your interests No money
in this world can cancel the Aebt of graft
tude an employer owes 10 an honest, wide
awake. painstaking employe.
Most of us have wives who are devot-
ed. and that means that their whole
"a