The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1898-07-20
EPWORTH LEAGUE.
,ssson For the Week Beginning July 20.
Comment by Rev. w. j. Yates. A. NJ.
Topic. The Discomfort Of
WorIdliness.


SCRIPTURE READING. Luke xii, 1921. "a
mans life consistent not in the abundance Of
the things which he possesseth.
Possessions are needful. Nobody can
live long without food, drink and suffi-
cient covering The appetites of hunger,
thirst and chill give no rest to mind or
spirit till the needs Of the body are sup
piled. So urgent are the cravings and so
comfortable the feeling when they are
satisfied that much of our time is taken
up with providing for bodily needs.
These met, there arise aesthetic desires,
the sense of the beautiful, the philan-
thropic impulses, the claims of compan-
ionship and the spiritual emotions. All
claim attention and satisfaction. All in
dictate imperative needs Of the nature.
To neglect any is to injure oneself. All
do net have the same grade Of value,
and no two have the same right to cul-
tivation. The highest in grade is the
spirit nature or the essential manhood.
This is the fruitage Of human nature,
of which the physical and more purely
intellectual powers are the root and
stalk Too exclusive attention to tho
body or mind is like cultivating plants
for root and stalk while their root and
stalk are worthless and only their fruit
has real worth.
"Of goods or absolute ends there are
but two, perfection and happiness, {" is
the declaration Of Sir William Hamil-
ton, the great English philosopher. But
perfection in men is never found in u
mere animal existence. Physical beauty
and strength, though perfect as Greek
statue, have never brought to their pos
SCISSOR perfect happiness and conscious
ness of worth. On the contrary, the
most beautiful have often been the most
abandoned morally, often cruel, selfish
and most miserable Envies jealousies,
enmities, have grown from this root Of
bodily beauty and embittered the whole
life and poisoned the nature. Serpents
and tigers are often beautiful, but not
often lovable. So is it in human nature.
No amount of possessions can make
the spirit pure and sweet. No amount
Of honor or praise or homage can bring
peace and contentment. These all have
their place and value. But that place is
not to give peace and satisfaction to the
spirit by themselves. The one who be-
gins to get possessions and praises is Of
ten so pleased that the whole care is
turned to getting all possible, with the
mistaken idea of finding in them per-
manent peace and happiness. The soul
becomes absorbed in getting things
merely in order to repeat the pleasure it
first felt when they met real need
Either the real need is not there or be-
comes Unsuitable, SO that the possessions
and honors fail to satisfy. 1t is impossi-
BILE to satisfy the spirit which gets hun
cry for worldly things. The body needs
things the mind needs ideas, the spirit
needs God, .Contentment can be found
only in likeness, oneness with the divine
nature. Thinking and eating cannot
bring peace to soul. He who is absorb
ed in accommodating stores Of things OF
thoughts must ever be doomed to disap-
pointment Swine may feed on husks,
but no son of God can so satisfy his
hunger, even if he is prodigal in far
land. We have an appetite for goodness,
for Godlikeness as truly as for food and
drink. This is the most imperative
need. To it's satisfaction all else must
yield, rather all else must assist
The world can never give
The bliss for which we sigh.
IT'S not the whole of life to live,
Nor all of death to die.