The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1900-11-09


flake, ''you are going up and | am
coming down." Young merchants,
young lawyers, young DOCTORS young
mechanics, young artists young farm
ers, at certain times there are those
to sympathize with you, but now that
you are becoming a master of your
particular occupation or profession,
how is it now, young lawyers, young
doctors, young artists, young farm
ers-how is it now? The greatest
crime that you can commit is the
crime of success.
Again, my subject impresses me
with the value of decision of char
acter in any department. Daniel
knew that if he continued his adher-
ence to the religion of the Lord he
would be hurled to the lions; but,
having set his compass well, he sailed
right on. For the lack of that ele-
ment of decision of character so emf
nent in Daniel many men are ruined
for this world and ruined for the
world to come. A great many at 40
years of age are not settled in any
respect, because they have not been
able to make up their minds. Per
haps they will go west; perhaps they
will go east; perhaps they will not;
perhaps they will so north; perhaps
they may go south; perhaps they will
not; perhaps they may make that in
vestment in real estate or in rail-
roads; perhaps they will not. They
are like a steamer that should go
out of New York halbor, starting for
Glasgow, and the next day should
change for Havre de Grace and the
next for Charleston, and tie next for
Boston, and the next for Liverpool.
These men on the sea of life ever
lastingly lacking ship and making no
Roadway! Or they are like man
who starts to build house in the
Corinthian style and changes it to
Doric and then completes it in the
Ionic, the curse of all styles of archi-
lecture. Young man, start right and
keep on. Have decision of character.
Character is like the goldfnch of Ton
quin. 1t is magnificent while stand
ing firm, but loses all its beauty in
flight. How much decision of char
acter in order that these young men
may be Christians! Their old asso-
ciates make sarcastic filings at them.
They go on excursions, and they do
not invite them. They prophesy that
he will give out They wonder if he
is not getting wings. AS he passes
they grimace and wink and chuckle
op5 COW. GTbara 0ooS q ca,nt ~ n
young man, have decision of charac-
ter! You can afford in this matter
of religion to be laughed at. What do
you care for the SCOTS of these men,
who are affronted because you will
not go to ruin with them? When the
grave cracks open under their feet,
and grim messengers push them into
it, and eternity comes down hard
upon their spirit, and conscience
stings, and hopeless ruin lifts them
up to hurl them down, will they |
laugh then?
/ learn also from my subject that
men may take religion into their world
ly business. This is most appropriate
thought at this season of the year,
new enterprises. Daniel had enough
work to do to occupy six men. All the
affairs of state were in his hands; ques-
tions of finance, questions of war, of
peace; all international questions were
for his settlement or adjustment. He
must have had correspondence vast
beyond all computation. There was
not a man in all the earth who had
more to do than Daniel, the secretary
of state, and yet we find him three
times a day bowling before God in
prayer. There are men in our day who
have not hundredth part of Daniels
who say they are too
busy to be religious. They have an
idea somehow that religion will spoil
their worldly occupation, that it will
trip the accountants pen or dull the
saw or confuse the lawyers
brief or disarrange the merchants
store shelf They think religion is i'm
pertinent. They would like to have it
very well seated beside them in church
On the Sabbath, to find the place in the
osalmbook or to nudge them awake
when they get sleepy under the didac-
tic discourse, or they would like to
cave it in the pew on Sabbath evening
as they go out, closing the door, say
ng: '..Good night, religion; I'll be back
neXt Sunday!" But to have religion
90 right along by them all through life,
10 have religion looking over their
shoulder when they are making bar
gain, to have religion take up a bag
IF dishonest gold and shake it and say:
Where did you get that?" They think
that is an impertinent religion. They
would like to have a religion to help
hem when they are sick, and when
the shadow of death comes over them
hey would like to have religion as a
sort of nightkey with which to open
The door of Heaven, but religion under
other circumstances they take to be
Now, my friends, religion never
'obbed man of dollar. Other things
being equal, a mason will build bet
ier wall. cabinet maker will make a
better chair, a plumber will make a
better pipe, lawyer will make bet
,er plea, a merchant will sell a better
dill of goods. l say, other things be-
Dor aoua1 0f coursa Xvhar ral;o,;o,,