The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-09-12

effects of this malariaI attack on on,
morals and piety. We know something OF
cures. What bave we learned?
CURES. SUGGESTED.
| First, that indifference to one thing may
4 be brought on by overweenirsg interest il
another, not always a bad thing. There
| IS much in life which we do well TO ignore
Thus we may overcome evil with good
but We must beware of letting evil over
come good, or of permitting the good e
Starve out the better. Many a man be
comes an Indifferent Christian, sometimes
an indifferent husband. father or brother
( as he becomes engroSsed in business. He
lets his business eat his heart out anC
! batten on his spiritual life. So also the
e&cltementS OF society, or pleasure some
times Aabsorb. our yitalities; God and
home Netting only the Indifferent residue
the worn out scraps. ard the weary re-
actions of life. We use the very best OF
our life in making money or sport and the
residue thereof we make into a simula-
crum wherewith we serve our higher af-
fections ard God. When shall We learn
! that we must give the best we have to the
best We know; and that we must put
| first things first and give them our heart
We might as well face the fact that we
cannot do every thing that wants US 10
do II. and neglect the right things. a
Few years ago We We're all noting now
Captain Murren had 10 choose between
saving the passengers Of a sinking ship
and saving his cargo. AS you remember
he took on the Swedes and threw over his
rags, Some of US Will never get US and
our brothers homo unless We get rid OF
less important cargo. Our boats are too
small for pleasure and merchandise ana
life saving at once.
Secondly as much Indifference is due
to ignorance or lack of information, much
of il may be renledieG by turning on the
light. Some Of You VIII remember how the
people of New York seemed asleep to the
dOings of the Tweed ring until tho news
papers turned on the light. The onslaught
made on the dives Of Philadelphia a few
years ago was largely due to revelations
made by newspapers and courts. DR..
Parkhurst has more recently awakened
Indifferent New York by a similar Use of
the search light.
If the Christian conscience of this city
could once see the saloon business as 1t
IS, / suppose it would fight it as it once
fought slavery. A reformation, or re-
viVal, has Won its first victory when it
forces men to stand up as men and con-
front all the facts Good men won't re-
sist truth if they know it. Bad men can't
resist as long as truth can Truth is a
hammer which has broken or will break
all anvils of falsehood. whether the lie be
wrought into words or lives. We have
gone far toward routing indifference when
we have thrown the doors of our hearts
open toward God and unmuZZled the
truth. One of the prophets said. as he be-
walled the peril of his nation. My people
will not consider" The best cause cannot
win without consideration, even the cause
of Christ. But give Christ and Christian
ity your candid consideration and you
Thirdly and in the same direction. ac-
tivity has ever been found one of the
best antidotes fer stupor. The browsing
victim Is saved from Succumbing TO sleep
causing poison by unceaSing. and mayhap
enforced. citation. Sometimes il is nee
essary TO whip the patient with rods. Re
formers like Garrison have defended their
severity OF speech on some such grounds.
Better lash the public than let it so to
sleep But activity is much more nor
NAL stimulant; IL has saved many a strong
in NJ n
annals of the Alps are trustworthy, men
have been kept from sinking down in the
sleep of death by their activity in serving
others There are times III our journey
ings when the best we can do is 20 keep
each other awake. MANY a Christian is
kept from utter indifference by necessary
as you think a Christian ought to act:
act as you think you ought to act if the
eyes, OF Christ were always on you, anc
his heart always open toward you. and
If you want to be rid of indifference. If
you want to rekindle your interest IN the
work of Christ. lend hand. When bust
ness men speak of their INTEREST in q COM
pany or firm, they thereby Imply that
they have money or service in 1t. They
have an interest in that which they do for
they have invested their skill or other
capital. Are you interested in. have you
any such interest in Christ's enterprise for
saving the world? How much interest
have you in your church? What have you
at stake in its success? How much. and
what have you invested in>-Christ's bust
ness: in the Christian religion? Time
money. service, counsel. faith, hopes. love
Christlike spirit are in this enterprise.
Your interest viii depend more or less
upon the amount of your investment So
IL you wish to increase your interest and
cure your indifference, como in with us
and lend a hand.
BORN OF DEPRES-
SION.
But there is an Indifference which Is
born Of depression. Men are sometimes
out Of heart in the presence of over
opportunities or CiScouraging
failures. Light may reveal a state of
affairs which staggers courage or I'M
nerves as a PANIC. Seeming lnadequacy
beSetS despair. As we review frUitleSS eff
fort, we are tempted To say. We have
made our trial and have failed" So We
to indifference and let matters
20: we join the army OF do-nOthingS and
ness the length of our liStleSS lives. Now
4 man never needs courage and heart so
much as when odds are against him. and
opportunities threaten 10 Whelm him.
II doesn take much courage to give bat
lie when YOU have five To the enemies
1ne, but real courage is needed where you
are pitted one against five. 1t is not hard
% go from victory into victory. but ii
axes man OF metal to organize victory
1ut of defeat: yet some of the best of
9arthS StrugglerS never seem to be thor
lughly in earnest until partly beaten. You
10 not know the metal there is in men I'M
II they are thrust TO the wall. As a
natter of fact blunders and bruises are
rot 50 fatal as loss of heart; not that We
AN ignore our failures.
LACK OF SPIRIT.
But perhaps it is at the bottom lack
If spirit rather than wickedness of spirit: |
1 lumpish lifeless. spiritless undiVine
condition. TnsDirntion is its ONLY cure
Where shall we get such inspiration or
lewness of life? Where shall we get
mis- breath of God? We are almost clay;
lt any rate the clay seems to clog us as
body of death. Ii We are not dead
'ouls. as the poet would put it, we have
eason 10 speak of ourselves as poor dying
ouls. in plain prose; the hymns We sing |
ometimes truer than we know. And yet
hese souls of ours ought to be living and !
lot dying. our spirits were made not to |
lie. but to live. and to live each day each |
When God bre2thed into man the breath |
T life ii was 10 make man a living soul. |
But our Drodigal race has made light of |
Iod spirit 1t mas wasted its spiritual |
and tried to feed it on material |
site husks- Sometimes it has seemed as |
there was but spark of divinity left |
he deluge, and the giver of life was |
bliged TO gather the few Goals together |
nd refan them to flame, destroying the |
cad souls: and SO it has been done |
gain God has rebreathed into the race
nc breath of his life. So We account for |
1en OF the Splrlt, ilKe the prophets so
re account for Israel the prophetic race.
the course of Hebrew history has been
uick with inspiration. il has been be-
ause God has continually retouched it
nth life from above. Our fires would go
at if not continually relit from the sun.
hank God for the men who have lighted
heir souIS at the sun. 1 thank God that |
he sun has been within touch of our
orches. Thank him most of all that il
as come down 10 MS in the face of Christ
n the old prophetic struggles men |
Il Y
ispensation of Gods love in these latter
avs we have the sim of ri-hteousness