The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1899-03-03
The Red Tape of Duty.

Duty Is the most over lAuued WORD
IN the whole vocabulary of life. Duty
is the cold, bare anatomy of right
eOusness. Duty looks at life as a
debt to be paid love sees life as
debt to be collected. Duty is ever
paying assessments; love is constant
ly counting its premiums.
Duty is forced, like a pump; love
is spontaneous, like fountain. Duty
Is prescribed and formal; it is part
of the red tape of life. 1t means
running on moral rails. 1t is good
enough as beginning; it is poor as
flnality.
The boy who "stood on the burn.
ing deck" and who committed sui
eide on technical point of obedi-
ence, has been held up to the school
children of this century as a model
of faithfulness to duty. The boy
was the victim of blind adherence
to the red tape of duty. He was
placing the whole responsibility for
his acts on some one outside him
self. HI was helplessly waiting for
instruction in the hour of emergency
when he should have acted for him
self. His act was an empty sacrifice.
1t was useless throwing away of a
human life. 1t did no good to the
father, to the boy, to the ship, or to
the nation.
Du.y is a hard, mechanical process
for making men do things that love
would make easy. 1t is a poor un-
derstudy to love. 1t is not a high
enough motive with which to inspire
humanity. Duty is the body to
which love is the soul. Love, in the
devine alchemy of life, transmutes
all duties into privileges, all respon-
sibilities into joys.
The workman who drops his tools
at the stroke of twelve as suddenly
as if he had been struck by light
ming may be doing his duty,-but he
is doing nothing more. No man has
made "a great success of his life or a
fit preparation for immortality by
doing merely his duty. He must dc
that,-and more. If he puts love
into his work, the more" will be
easy.
The nurse may watch faith.
fully at the bedside of d sick child
as duty. But to the mothers heart
the care of the little one in the bat
tie against death is never duty
the golden mantle of love throw
over every act makes the word duty
have jarriug sound as if a desecra.
ton.
When child turns out badly ir
later years, the parent may say
well, | always did my duty by
him. Then it is 10 wonder the boy
turned out wrong. Doing his duty
by his son" too often implies merely
food, lodging, clothes and education
supplied by the father. Why, pub
lie institution would give that
What the boy needed most was deeI
draught of love; he needed to live il
an atmosphere of sweet sympathy
counsel and trust. The parent shoult
ever be an unfailing refuge, con
slant resource and inspiration, not 1
mere larder, or hotel, or wardrobe, O.
school that furnishes these necessi
ties free. The empty boast of mere
parental duty is one of the dangers
of modern society.
Christianity stands forth as the
one religion based on love, not duty
Christianity sweeps all duties int
one word,-love. Love is the on
great duty enjoned by the Christian
religion. What duty creeps to lob
oriously, love reaches in "A momen
on the wings of a dove. Duty is no
lost, condemned or destroyed i!
Christianity; it is dignified, purified
exalted, all its rough ways are mad
smooth, by love.
The supreme instance of generosi