The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1899-03-16
BENTON. LOUISIANA, THURSDAY, MARCH 49, 1899.


committed to their charge. they do not
purloin, they say they only borrow.
When q banker makes an overdraft
upon his institution, he does not COM
nit theft; he only borrows. When the
officer of company, by flaming adver-
tisement in some religious paper and
gilt certificate of stock, gets multi
tude of country people to put their
small earnings to an enterprise for car
rying on some undeveloped nothing, he
does not frauduiently take their mon
ey; he only borrows. When 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 few dollars for
Wall street excursion, he expects to
put it back. He will put it all back. He
vii! put it all back very soon. lie only
borrows. Why, when you are going to
do wrong pronounce SO long word as
borrow, word of six letters, when you
can get a shorter word more descriptive
Of the reality, word of only five letters
the word steal?
There are times when we all borrow
ard borrow legitimately, and borrow
with the divine blessing for Christi in His
sermon on the mount enjoins: From
him that would borrow of thee turn
not thou away" A young man rightly
borrows 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 man not to borrow. But
roll this warning through all these
aisles, over the backs of all these pews,
never borrow to speculate-not dol
lar, not cent, not 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 Caskets.
the Douvers, the Anderlos, the Skerries
and many 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
the breakers of borrow.
If had only worldly weapon to use
on this subject, l would give you the
fact, fresh from the highest authority,
that 90 per cent. of those who go into
wild speculation lose all, but L have a
better warning than worldly warning.
From the place where men have per-
ished-body, mind, soul-stand off,
stand off! 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
mercial integrity. "Render to all their
Dues" "Owe no man anything" And
while I mean to preach faith and re-
pentance, more and more to preach
them, l 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 rlen and women for time
and eternity. The greatest evangelis-
tic preacher the world ever saw, man
who died for his evangelism-peerless
Paul-wrote to the Romans: Provide
things honest in the sight of all men;'
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 humbug.
Here is something that needs to bt
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 Yet
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 Saturda.
and Monday as on the day between ane
rot to be a mere periph1asis of sane
.ity. Our religion ought to first cleal
our hearts, and then it ought to clea'
our lives. Religion is net. as som
| seem to think. SOFT of church dedica
I.tion, kind of confectionery, sort o
spiritual caramel or holy gumdrop o
sanctified peppermint or theological
anaesthetic. 1t is an omnipotent prin
ciple, all controlling, all conquering
You may get along with something les
than that, and you may deceive your
self with it, but you cannot deceiv
God, and you cannot deceive the world
The keen business man will put on hi
spectacles, and he will look clea
through to the back of your head, an
see whether your religion is fictiol
or a fact. And you cannot hide you
samples Of sugar or rice, or tea o
coffee, if they are false; You cannot hid
them under the cloth of a communio
table. All your prayers go for nothin
t~nx