The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1899-09-23
BUSINESS TRIALS.
DR.. Talmage Saows How They Re-
fine The Spirit.
Religion in Trade-Thc Merchants
Once "a School of Industry, Pa
thence, Integrity and Up
right Living.
copyright, 1899. by Louis Klopsch.]
T, Washington,

=
| that religion may be taken into all the
affairs of life, and instead of being a
I hndrance, as many think, is re-
enforcement. The text is Romans 70:
II: Not slothful in business; fervent
in spirit; serving the Lord"
Industry, devoutness and Christian
service-all commended in that short
text. What, is it possible that they
! shall be conjoined? Oh, yes. There is
no war between religion and business,
between ledgers and Bibles, between
! churches and counting houses. On the
contrary, religion accelerates business,
sharpens mems wits, sweetens acerbity
of disposition, fillips the blood of phleg-
MATES and throws more velocity into
the wheels of hard work. It gives bet
ter balancing to the judgment, more
strength to the will, more muscles to
industry and throws into enthusiasm a
more consecrated fire. You cannot in
all the circle of the world show me a
man whose honest business has been
despoiled by religion.
The Industrial classes are divided into
three groups-producers, manufac-
turers, traders. Producers, such as
farmers and miners. Manufacturers,
such as those who turn corn into food
and wool and fax into apparel. Traders,
such as make profit out of the transfer
and exchange of all that which is pro-
duced and manufactured. A business
man may belong to any one or all OF
these classes, and not one is independ-
ent of any other.
When the prince in perial of France
! fell on the Zulu battlefield because the
strap fastening the stirrup to the saddle
broke as he chung to it, his comrades
all escaping, but he falling under the
lances Of the savages, a great many
people blamed the empress for allow
ing her son to 60 forth into that bat
: tlefield, and others blamed the Eng
lish government for accepting the sac
rifice, and others blamed the Zulus for
their barbarism. The one most to blame
was the harness maker who fashioned
that strap of the stirrup out Of shoddy
and imperfect material, as it was found
to have been afterward. If the strap
had held, the prince imperial would
probably have been alive to-day. But
the strap broke. No prince independ'
ent of a harness maker! High, low
wise, ignorant, you in one occupation
in another, all bound together.
So that there must be one continuous
! line of sympathy with each others
work. But whatever your vocation
if you have multiplicity of engage
ments, ifinto your life there come losses
and annoyances and perturbations az
we'll as percentages and dividends, il
you are pursued from Monday morning
until Saturday night, and from January
to January by memorable obligation
and duty, then you are business man
or YOU are a business woman. anG
my subject is appropriate to you;
case.
We are under the impression that the
moil and tug of business life are pris
on into which man is thrust, OF
that it is an unequal strife, where un
armed a man goes forth to contend.
shall show you this morning that bust
ness life was intended of God for Crane
and glorious education and discipline
and if | shall be helped to say what
want to say | shall rub some of The
wrinkles of care out of your brow ant
unstrap some of the burdens from youl
back. / am not talking CT an abstrac
ton. Though never having been il
business life, l know all about bust
ness men. In my first parish at Bel.e
vile, n. j., ten miles from New York
large portion or my audience wa:
made up of New York merchants. TheT
/ went to Syracuse, place of immens'
commercial activity, and then l wen
to Philadelphia anu lived long among
the merchants of that city, than whom
there are no better men on earth, anC
for 25 years / smod at my Brooklyn
pulpit, Sabbath by Sabbath, preaching
toaudiences the majority of whom were
DuSlucSS llch anu buSibSss "OAiSh'
is not an abstractoh OF which speak
but a reality with which am we'll &C
quainted.
In the first place, I remark tina
business life was intended as schoo
of energy. God gives us "a certain
amount of raw material out of which WI
are to hew our character. our facul
ties are to be reset, rounded and sharp
ened up. Our young folks having grad
uated from school or college need ;
higher education, that which the resp
ing collision of everyday life alone cal
effect. Energy is wrought out oni.
in the fire. After a man has been il
business activity 10, 20. 80 years, hi
energy is not to be measured by weights
or plummets or ladders. There is nj
height it cannot scale, and there is II,
depth ii cannot fathom, and there is NJ
obstacle it cannot thrash.
Now. my brother, why did God pu
you in that school of energy? Was j
merely that you might be yardsticl
to measure cloth, or a steelyard II
weigh flour? Was it merely that yo,
might be better qualified TO chatter anc
higgle? No. God placed you in tina
school of energy that you might be de
veloped for Christian work. If the un
developed talents in the Christian