The weekly intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1891-1901, 1898-01-22

common sense in the building up and
charging of our Christian character.
There are men who have for 10 years
been running the Christian race, and
they have not run a quarter of a mile!
No business man would be willing to
have his investments unaccumulativc.
If you invest a dollar you expect ii to
come home. bringing another dollar
on its back. What would you think of
Il man who should invest $40, 900 in a
monetary institution, then go off for
five years, make no inquiry in regard
to the investment, then come back,
step up to the cashier of the
institution and say, Have you kept
that $40, 900 safely that L lodged
with your but asking no question
about interest or about dividend?
Why, you say, That is not common
sense" Neither is it, but that is the
way we act in matters of the SOU We
make a far more important investment
than $40. 900. We invest our soul. Is
it accumulative? Are we growing in
grace? Are we getting better? Are
we getting worse? God declares many
dividends, but we do not collect them;
we do not ask about them; we do not
want them. Oh, that in this matter of
accumulation we were as wise in the
matters of the soul as we are in the
matters of the world!
How little common sense in the read
ing of the Scriptures! We get any
other book. and we open it, and we
say, Now what does this book mean
to teach me? 1t is a book on astron-
omy, 1t will. teach me astronomy.
1t is a book on political economy;
it will teach me political economy"
Taking up this Bible, do we ask our
selves what it means to teach? 1t
means to do just one thing-get the
world converted aud get us all to
Heaven. That is what it proposes to
do. But instead of that we go into
the Bible as botanists to pick flowers,
or we go as pugilists to get some
thing to fight other Christians with,
or we go as logicians trying to
sharpen our mental faculties for a
better argument, and we do not like
this about the Bible; and we do not
like that, and we do not like the other
thing. What would you think of a
man lost on the mountains; night has
come down; he cannot find his way
home, and he sees u light in a noun
tdA nc kOSS ~ 80 ~ AlONEAo ~
the door; the m~ountaineer comes out
and finds the traveller and says, "Well,
here l nave a lantern; you can take it
and it will guide you on the way
homer and p that traveller
should say, 81 don't like that lantern;
/ don't like the handle of it; there are
ten or fifteen things about it ! don't
like, If you can't give me u better Ian
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Now, God says this Bible is to he a
lamp to our feet and u lantern to our
path, to guide us through the midnight
of this world to the gates of the celes-
tial city. We stop and say we do not
like this about it, and we do not like
that, and we do not like the other
thing. Oh, how much wiser we would
be ii by its holy light we found our
way to our everlasting home. Then,
we do not read the Bible as we read
other books. We read it perhaps four
or five minutes just before we retire at
night We are weary and sleepy, so
somnolent we hardly know which end
of the book is up. We drop our eye
perhaps on the story of Samson and
the foxes, or upon some genealogical
table, important in its place, but stir
ring no more religious emotion than
the announcement that somebody be-
gat somebody else, and he begat some
body else, instead of opening the book
and saying: Now, l must read for my
life, my eternity is involved
in this book"
How little we use common sense in
prayerl We say, "Oh, Lord, give me
and ''Oh, Lord, give me that"
and "Oh, Lord. give me something
else" and we nj not expect to get it,
or, getting 1t, we do not know we have
it We have no anxiety about it. We
do not watch and wait for its coming.
As q merchant, you telegraph or you
to some other city for a bill of
goods. You say, Send me by such
express. or such a steamer, or by such
q rail train" The day arrives. You
send your wagon to the depot or to the
wharf. The goods do not come. You
Immediately telegraph, "What is the
with those goodsP We haven't
received them. Send them right
away. We want them now, or we
don't want them at all" And you keep
writing, and you keep telegraphing,
and you keep sending your wagon to
the depot, Or to the express Office, or to
he wharf. until you get the goods.
N matters of religion we are not SO
wise as that. We ask certain things
be sent from Heaven. We do not
whether they come or not. We
have not any special anxiety as to
whether they come or not. We may
ret them and may not get them. In
stead of at seven o'clock in the morn
ng, saying: Have / got that bless
ng?" at 12 o'clock MONDAY, asking;
Have l got that blessing?" at seven
in the evening, saying: "Have
received that blessing?' and not get
ing it, pleading, pleading-begging,
1egging-asking, asking until you get
{. Now, my brethren, is not that com.
non sense? If we ask a thing from
Tod, who has worn by His eternal
that He will do that which we
lsk, is it not common sense that we
watch and wait until we get it?
But 1 remark again; we want more
common sense in doing good. o, how
many people there are who want to do
rood. and, they are dead failures!
Why is 1t? They do not exercise the
anne tact, the same ingenuity, the
iame strategy, the same common sense |
n the work of Christ that they do in
worldly things. Otherwise, they would
in the other. There are many
men who have an arrogant way with
hem. although they may not feel ar.
'ogant in their soul. Or they have a
,atropizing way. They talk to a man
IF the world in a manner which seems
% say, Don't you wish you We're as
rood as ] am? Why, / have to look
lear down before I can see you, you
ire so far beneath me-" That manner
disgusts. always drives men
lway from the kingdom of Jesus
instead of bringing them in.
When was n lad l was one day in a
store, and there was q large
yroHp of young men thcre full of roll
and fun. and a Christian nan
,ame in, n very good Christian man,
Ind without any introduction of the
subject, and while they were In great
said to one of them: George,
What is the first step of wisdom?"
George looked up and said: Every
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