Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1900-01-26


Search Dat the Miserable ind oEer
Them Consolation.
Copyright Louis tllopsch. 1901
WASHINGTON. Jan. 21.--In this dis
course DR.. TaInage shows how we
should interest ourselves in the affairs
OF others for their benefit, but never
Tor their damage; text, I Peter iv, 10,
"a busybody i'm other mems matters"
Human nature Is the same in all
ages. In the second century OF the
worlds existence people had the same
characteristics as people in the nine
teenth century. the ouly difference be-
Ing that they had the characteristics
for a longer time. Ii was 500 years of
goodness or 500 years of meanness in
stead OF goodness or mcauness for 40
or so years. Well Simon Peter. who
was q keen observer of what was go
ing on around him. one day caught
sight OF a man whose characteristics
were severe inspection and blatant crit
icism of the affairs belonging TO people
for whom he had no responsibility, aud
with the band once Drowned and hard
ened by fishing tackle drew this por-
trait for all subsequent ages, "a busy
DO0Y In Otner men udIleIS-
That kind OF person has been n trou'
BILE maker In every country since the
world stood. Appointing himself to
the work OF exploration and detection.
lie goes forth mischief making. He
generally begins by reporting the infe-
licity discovered. He is the advertis-
ing agent of infirmities and domestic
inharmony and occurrences that but
for him would never have come TO the
public eye or ear. He feels that the
secret ought to be hauled out into light
and heralded. Ii he can get one line OF
II into the newspapers, that he feels TO
be q noble achievement TO start with
But he must not let IL stop. lie whis-
pers IL to his neighbors. and they in
turn whisper II to their neighbors. until
the whole town Is abuzz and agcg.
You can no more catch IL or put II
down than you can malaria. 1t is In
the air and on the wing and afloat.
Taken by itself. II seems of little i'm
portance. but after hundred people
have handled It and each has given II
an additional twist Il becomes n story
In size and shape marvellous. If it can
be kept going. after awhile II will be
large enough to call the attention OF
the courts or the presbyteries or con
fereuces or associations. The most OF
The scandals abroad are the work of
the one whom Peter In the text styles
"a busybody In other mems matters"
Mission of Kindness.
First. notice that such n mission is
most undesirable, because we all re-
quire oil the time we can get TO take
care OF our own affairs To carry our
selves through the treacherous straits
OF this life demands that we all the
time keep our hand on the wheel of
our own craft. While. as shall show
you before ] get through. we all have
u mission OF kindness to others, we
have no time TO waste In doing that
which is damaging 10 others.
There is our worldly calling. which
must be looked after or IL will become
failure. Who succeeds In anything
without concentrating all his energies
upon that one thing? All those who
try to do many things go TO pieces ell
Their as 10 their health or their fortune
They 90 on until they pay 10 cents on
the dollar CT pay their body into the
grave. We cannot manage the affairs
OF others and keep our own affairs
prosperous. While we are inquiring
how precarious Is the business of an-
other merchant and finding out how
many notes he has unpaid and how
soon he will probably be wound up or
make an assignment or hear the sher-
hrs hammer smite his counter our own
affairs are getting mixed up and en-.
danCered While we are critcIsing
our neighbor for his poor crops we are
neglcctlng the fertilization OF our own
fields or allowing the weeds 10 choke
our own corn. While we are trying 10
extract the mote from our neighbor's
eye we fall under the weight or the
beam In our own eye. Those men dis.
turbed by the faults OF others are
themselves the depot at which whole
trains or faults arrive and from which
whole trains OF faults start. The men
who have succeeded In secular things
or religious things will tell you that
they have no time for hurting out tie
deficits of others. On the way 10 their
counting room they may have heard
that firm In the same line OF busI-
ness was In trouble, aud they said.
Sorry. very sorry" But they went In
ana sat down ut their table and open.
co the book containing n full state.
ment or their affairs TO see II they
were In peril OF being caught in n simi.
lar cyclone.
Gadders about town. With hands I'm
pockets and hats set far back on the
head. waiting 10 hear baleful news
are failures now or will be failures
round with mouth and looks full OF In.
terrogation points 10 find how some
other church member Is given TO ex-
nggeration or drinks too much or
negiects his home for greater outside
attractions have themselves so little
grace In their hearts that no one sus-
poets they have any. In proportion as
people are consecratcd and holy and
useful they are ienIcnt with others
ana disposed to say: wait until we
near The other side of that matter. I
cannot believe that charge made
against that man or woman until we
nave some better testimony than that
given by these scandal mongers. ]
guess II Is a iie"
Worlds Worst Side
HApiVs We NIc lICSDlClIate0
lot the Supervisal OF others because we
sannot see all sides OF the affair repre-
hended. People are generally not sc
much to blame as we suppose. II Il.
aeVer right To do wrong. hut there,
may be allevmtions. There may have
arisen a conjunction of circumstances
which would have flung any one of US.
Inc world gives only one side OF the
transaction. and that is always the
worst Side That defaulter at the bank
VINO loaned money he ought not to
nave loaned did it for the advantage
OF another, not for his own. That
young man who purloined from his
employer did so because his mother
was dying for the lack of medicine.
mat young woman who went wrong
uiu not get enough wages to keep her
f0r