The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1899-09-02

""u 'u'lr mas been no necessity that
ION since, There came time ',,Lnr /
sald To myself Shall now retire fr,,,,
business or shall go on and serve the
LORD IN my worldly occupations" lie
s'lu' " resolved ON the latter mud !
nave been more industrious In CONNER.
'lal circles thuu ever was before onJ
s"''' mat hour / have never kent a
I"rlhlng for myself, Ihaye tbougbt n
TO he "a great shame if couldn't toll
as hard for the Lord as / had toilrd
ior myself, and all the products of my
factories and my commercial establish
ments' to the last farthing, have ponc
Tor the building of Christian instim-
lons and supporting the church of
God Would that the same energy
put forth for the world could be put
forth for God, Would that thousand
men in these great cities who have
achieved a fortune could see il their
duty now to do all business for Christ
and the alienation of the worlds sur-
feringl
Again. ] remark that business life is
school OF patience, In your every
day life how many things to annoy and
to disquict! Bargains will rub. Com
mercial men will sometimes fail to
meet their engagements. Cashbool,s
and money drawer will sometimes quar-
rel. Goods ordered for special cmer-
gency Will come too late or be damaged
IN the transportation. People intend
ing no harm will go shopping without
any intention of purchase. overturning
great stocks of goods and insisting that
you break the dozen. More bad deLts
on the ledger More counterfeit bills
in the drawer. Mote debts to pay for
other people, More mcaunesscs on the
part OF partners in business. Annoy
ance after annoyance, yexation after
yeNatiou, and loss after loss.
All that process will either break you
down or brighten you up. 1t is a
school of patience. You have known
men under the process TO become petu-
lant and choleric, and angry, and pug
nacious and cross, and sour. and queer,
and they lost their customers. and their
name became a detestation. Other men
have been frightened up under the
process. They We're toughened by the
exposure, They were like rocks, all the
more valuable for being blasted At
first they had to choke down their
wrath, at first they had to bite their
lip, at first they thought of some sting
ing retort they would like to make, but
they conquered their Impotence. They
have kind words now for sarcastic
filings. They have gentle behavior now
for unmauuerly customers. They are
patient now with unfortunate debtors.
They have Christian reflections now for
sudden reverses. Where did they get
that patience? By hearing minister
preach concerning it on Sabbath? Oh,
no. They got it just where you will get
tiff YOU ever get it at aII-seIling hats,
discounting notes, turning bauisters,
blowing corn, timing roofs, pleading
causes. Oh, that amid the turmoil and
anxiety and evaporation of everyday
life you might hear the voice of God
saying; I'm patience possess your soul.
Let patience have her perfect work"
| remark again that business life is
a school Of useful knowledge. Mer-
chants do not read many books and do
not study leXicons. They do not dive
into profounds of learning, and yet
nearly all through their occupations
come to understand questions of
finance, and politics, and geography,
and Jurisprudence, and ethics. Busi-
ness is a severe schoolmistress. If pu-
pills will not learn, she strikes them over
the head and the heart with severe
losses. You put $1,000 into an enter
prise. 1t is all gone, You say; "That
is a dead loss" Oh, no. You are paying
the schooling. That was only tuition,
very large tuition told you it was
severe schoolmistress-butit was worth
it. You learned things under that proc
css YOU would not have learned in any
other way
Traders in grain come to know some
thing about foreign harvests: traders in
fruit come to know something about
the prospects of tropical production;
manufacturers of American goods come
TO understand the tariff on imported
articles; publishers of books must come
to understand the new law Of copy
right: owners Of ships must come TO
know winds and shoals and navigation,
and every bale of cotton and every
raisin casll and every tea box and every
cluster of bananas is SO much literature
for business man. Now, my brother,
what are YOU going to do with the intel
Iigcnce? Do you suppose God put you
in this school of information merely
that YOU might be sharper in trade
that you might be more successful as a
wording? Oh, no. 1t was that you
might take that useful information and
use it for Jesus Christ,
Can it be that You have been dealing
with foreign lands and never had the
missionary spirit wishing the salvation
of foreign people? Can it be that you
have become acquainted with all the
outrages inflicted in business life and
that YOU have never tried to bring to
hear that Gospel which is to eXtirpate
all evil and correct all wrongs and IL
IuIpinateall and save men for this world
and the world darkness and lift up all
wretchedncss to come? Can it be that
understanding all the intricacies OF
business YOU know nothing about those
things which will last after all bills OF
exchange and consignments and in
voices and rent rolls shall have crum-
pied up and been consumed in the flres
of the last great day? Can it be that
man will be wise for time and fool for
eternity?
remark also that business life is
school for integrity No man knows
~ is d.