The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1899-02-17
speculate with the FUNDS Of an estate
committed TO their charge. they do not

! speculate with the funds Of an esfat.
| committed 10 their charge. they do moi
purloin; they say they only borrow
When a banker makes al overdrafI
upon his institution, he does 10 com
nit a theft; he only oorrows. When ths
officer Of n company, by flaming advef
tisemcnt In some religious paper ane
B gilt certificate OF stock, gets a multi
tude of country people to put their
small earnings to an enterprise for car
rying on some unleyeloped nothing, he
does not fraudulentiy take their mon.
ey; he only borrows. When a young
nan with easy access to his employ
er's money drawer or the confidential
clerk by close propinquity to the ac-
count books takes a few dollars for a
Wan street excursion, he expects to
put it back. He will put it all back. lie
vii! put it ali back very soon. He only
borrows. Why. when you are going to
do wrong pronounce SO long Il word as
borrow, a word of six letters. when you
can get a shorter word more descriptive
of the reality. a word of only five letters
the word steal?
There are times when we all borrow
aud borrow legitimateiy, and borrow
with the divine blessing orChristi in His
sermon on the mount e~njoins: From
him that would borrow of thee turn
not thou away" A young man rightly
b0rrows money to get his education.
Purchasing a house and not able to
pay all down in cash, the purchaser
rightly borrows it on mortgage. Crises
come in business when it would be
wrong for a man not to borrow. But |
roll this warning through all these
%aisles. over the backs of all these pews,
never borrow to speculate-not a do
lar, not a cent, not a farthing. Young
men, | warn you by your worldly pros
poets and the value Of your immortal
souls, do not DO it. There are breakers
distinguished for their shipwrecks-
the Hanways, the Needles, the Baskets,
the Douvers, the Anderlos, the Skerries
and many a craft has gone to pieces
on those rocks. but | have to tell you
that all the Hanways. and the Needles,
and the Caskets, and the Skerries are
as nothing compared with the long line
of breakers which bound the ocean of
commercial life north, south, east and
west with the white foam of their de
spair and the dirge of their damnation
--tha hrpakprS of harrow
If | had only a worldly weapon to use
on this subject, l would give you the
fact, fresh from the highest authority,
that 80 per cent. of those swho go into
wild speculation lose all, but | have a
better warning than a worldly warning.
From the place where men have per-
is hed-body, mind, s~oul-stand off.
stand Oft! Abstract pulpit discussion
must step aside on this question. Faith
and repentance are absolutely neces-
sary. but faith and repentance are no
more doctrines of the Bible than COM
merc.al integrity. Render 10 all their
dues" Owe no man anything" And
while | mean to preach faith and re-
pentance. more and more to preach
them. | do not mean to spend any time
in chasing the Hittites and Jebusites
and Girgashites Of Bible times when
there are so many evils right around us
destroying men and women for time
ard eternity. The greatest evangeIis-
tic preacher the world ever saw, II man
who died for his evangelism-peerless
Pnul-wrote TO the Romans: "Provide
things honest in the sight of all mem"
wrote TO the Corinthians: do that
which is honest" wrote to the Phil
ippians: "Whatsover things are hon
est" wrote to the Hebrews: willing in
all things to live honestly" The Bible
says that faith without works is dead,
which, being literally translated,
means that if your business life does
not correspond with your profession
your religion is a humbus.
Here is something that needs to be
sounded In the ears of all the young
men of America and iterated and reit-
Grated If this country is ever to be de.
liyered from its calamities and COM
mercial prosperity is to be established
and perpetuated-live within your
means. Spend no more than you
make. And let us adjust all our bust
ness and our homes by the principles
of the Christian religion. Our religion
ought to mean as much on Saturday
and Monday as on the day between and
rot to be a mere p%eriphrasis of sane
tity. Our religion ought to first clean
our hearts. and then it ought to clean
our lives. Religion is not. us some
seem to think. a sort Of church dedica-
ton, a kind Of confectionery, a sort OF
spiritual caramel or holy gumdrop or
sanc,ifed peppermint or theological
anaesthetic. 1t is an omnipotent prin-
ciple, all controlling, all conquering.
You may get along with something less
than that. and you rnay deceive your
self with it, but you cannot deceive
-.-. !