Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1900-08-11

from the foundation affects the entire
structure. And if you live 100 years and
do right the last so years you may never
theless do something at 20 years of age
that win damage all your earthly exist
ence All you who have built houses for
yourselves or for others. am l not right
IN saying TO these young men, you can
| not build a wall so high as to be indie
pendent of the character of its founda-
| tion1 y man before so years of age may
commit enough sin 10 last him a lifetime.
Now, John or George or Henry or what
ever be your Christian name or surname,
say here and now: mo wild oats for me,
no cigars or cigarettes for me, no wine
or beer for me, no nasty stories for me,
no Sunday spreeS for mt. am going to
start right and keep ON right. God help
me, for | am very weak. From the
throne OF eternal righteousness let down
10 me the principles by which / can be
guided in building everything from
foundation to capstone Lord God, by
the wounded hand of Christ throw me "a
plumb line"
But" you say, ''you shut us young
folks out from all fun" Oh, moi i like
fun l believe in fun. have had lots
0 fit in my time. But l have not had to
80 into paths of sin to find ii. No credit
10 me, but because OF an extraordinary
parental example and influence | was
kept from outward transgressons, though
my heart was bad enough and desperate
| ly wicked l have had fun illimitable,
though | never swore one oath and new
or gambled for SO much rs the value of n
pin and never saw the inside of a haunt
Of stu save as when many years ago. with
a commissioner of police adm detective
and two elders of my church, | explored e
New York aud Brooklyn by midnight,
not out of curiosity, but that l might in
pulpit discourse set before the people the
poverty and the horrors Of underground
city life. Yet. though / was never in
toxicated for an instant and never COM
mitted one act of dissoluteness-rest
I'd only by the grace of God, without
which restraint l would have gone head
long to the bottom Of infamy-I have had
so much fun that | don't believ, here ~
a man on the planet at the present time
who has had more. Hear it, men and
boys, women and girls, all the fun is on
the side of right. Sin may seem at
tractive, but it is deathful and like the
mauchiueel a tree whose dews are
poisonous The only genuine happiness
is ma Christian life.
Harmful Pleasures.
There they go--two brothers. The one
was converted Il year ago in church one
Sunday morning during prayer or ser
mon or hymn. No one knew it at the
time The person on either side of him
!
mans soul this process went on; Lord,
hero | nc, a young man amid the tempta
tons Of city life, and am afraid to risk
them alone; come and be my pardon and
my help; save me from making the mis-
take some of my comrades are making
! aud save me now" And quicker than
| fash God rolled heaven into his soul. lie
! is lust as jolly as he used to be, is just AZ
| brilliant as he used to be. He can strike
a ball or catch one as easily as before he
was converted. With gun or fishing rod
in this summer vacation le is just as
skillful as before. The world is brighter
to him than ever He appreciates pie
lures, music, innocent hilarity, social life,
good Jokes and has plenty Of fun, glorious
fun But his brother is going down hin.
| In the morning his head aches from the
! champagne debauch Everybody sees he
! is in rapid descent. What cares he for
| right or decency or the honor of his fam
! lily name? Turned out Of employment,
/ depleted in health cast down in spirits,
| the typhoid fever strikes him nthc small
est room on the fourth story OF a fifth
rate boarding house, cursing God and
calling for his mother aud lighting back
demons from his dying pillow, which is
beswpated and torn 10 rags. He plunges
out Of this world with the Shrek of a
destroyed spirit Alas for that kind of
fun, II is remorse. 1t is despair. II IL
blackness Of darkness 1t is woe unend-
ing and long reverbcrating and crushing
as though all the mountains Of all conti-
nents rolled on him in one avalanche My
soul, stand back from such fun. Young
man there is no fun in shipwreckng your
character, no fun in disgracing your faith
er's name. There is no fun in breaking
your mothers heart. There is no fun in
the physical pangs Of the dissoute There
is no fun in the pr6nigatc's deathbed.
There is no fun in an undone eternity.
Parraccsus, out Of the ashes Of a burnt
rose, said he could rccreate the rose, but
he failed in the alchemic undertaking.
and roscate life, once burned down IN sin,
can never again be made 10 blossom.
GoI's Plumb Line.
Oh this plumb line Of the everlasting
right! God will throw it over all our
lives 10 show us orr moral de6ectious
God will throw it over all churches to
show whether they are doing useful work
or are instances of idleness and pretense
lie will throw that plumb line over al
nations TO demonstrate whether their
laws are just or cruel, their rulers good
or bad, their ambitions holy or infamous
lie threw that plumb line over the Span
ish monarchy Of other days, and what
became Of her? Ask the spintcrcd hulks
Of her oycrthrown armada. He threw
tina tplumb line over French imperialism.
and what was the result? Ask the ruins
Of the Tuileries and the fallen column Of
the Place Fcnd0me and the grace
trenches Of Sedan aud the blood Of rc20-
buttons at different times rolling through
the Champs Elysees, He threw that
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