The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1900-02-07
DR. TALMAGES SERMON
SUNDAYS DISCOURSE BY THE NOTED
DIVINE.
Subject: The Affairs Of Others-The Busy
body Has Mission to Perform When
His Motive is Good-Search Out the
Miserable and Offer Th em Consolation.

Miserable and Offer Them Consolation.
copyright, Louis Klopsch. 1901
WASHINGTON, D. C.-In this discourse DR..
Talmage shows how we should interest
ourselves in the affairs of others for their
benefit, but never for their damage; text,
Peter, iv., Is, "a busybody in other mems
matters
Human nature is the same in all ages
In the second century OF the world s ex.
istence people had the same chara cteristics
as people in the nineteenth century, the
only difference being that they had the
characteristics for longer time. It was
500 years OF goodness or 500 years OF mean.
ness instead OF goodness or meanness for
forty or fifty years. Well, Simon Peter,
who was keen observer Of what was going
on around him, one day caught sight OF u
man whose characteristics were severe
inspection and blatant criticism OF the af-
fairs belonging to people for whom he had
40 res sponsibility, and with the hand once
crowned and hardened by fishing tackle
drew this portrait for all subsequent ages,
"A busybodY in other mems matters"
That kind OF person has been trouble
maker in every country since the world
.tood. Appointing himself to the work OF
exploration and detection, he goes forth
mischief making. He generally begins by
the advertising agent Of inflrmities 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 her:
aided. If he"caR get one line OF it into
the newspapers, that he feels to be noble
achievement to start with. But he must
not let It stop he whispers 1t to his
neighkors, and they In turn whisper it to
xbt, offp1,H oro. f1vnf ha yuh c
abuzz and agog. Yon can no more catch
1t OF put 1t down than you can malaria.
| It Is in the airand on the wing and aGoat.
Taken by itself, It seems otlittle impor-
sance but after q hundred people have han
lied It and each hksgiae 1t IN additional
twist 1t becomes story In size and shape
marvellous. lift can be- kept going, after
awhile 1t will be large enough to call the
attention OF the courts or the presbyterles
| II the scandals abroad are the work OF the
| one whom Peter in the text styles "a busy
! bodyin other mems matters.1
| First, notice that such O mission is most
undesirable, because We all require all the
lime we can;get to take care OF our own
! affairs To carry ourselves through tha
, !rcaeher6us straits OF this life demands
hat we all the time keep our hand on the
wheel OF our own craft. While, MS shall
,bowyou before ! get through, we all have
mission Of kindness to others, I'VE have
30 time to waste in doing that which is
iamaging to others.Ss'
There is our worldly calling, which must
oe looked after or will become failure.i
Who succeeds IN anything without concen.
lrating all his energies upon that one:
+ shfng2 AL thobe who try to do many things
go to pieces either as to their health or
:hsIr fortune They 60 on until they pay
|sien eents on the dollar or pay their body
| into tli3 grave. We cannot manage the
staaIEso ot Others and keep our own affairs
bRr9sperous.@ While we are inquiring
6W pfecarlous Is the business OF an.
Ib5ther merchant and finding out how many
notes he has unpaid and how soon he will
probably be wound up or. mako an assign
ment or hear the sherlf's hammer smtte
Ills counter our own affairs are getting
mixed mp and endangered. While We are
,rItleislng our neighbor for lns poorcrops i
we are neglecting the fertilization OF our
owns fields or allowing the weeds to- o'choke
our own corn. While we are tryl ng to ex-
rat the mote from our neighbor's eye we
TALL under the weight OF. the beam In our
OWN eye. Those men disturbed by the fnults
II others are themselves the depot at which
whole trains of faults arrive and from which
whole trains of faults start. The men who
have succeeded in secular things or reIig-
lous things will tell you that they have no
lime for hunting out the deficits OF others.
On the way to their counting room they
may have heard that q firm In the same
line Of business was in trouble, and they
said, "Sorry, very sorry" But they Went
in and sat down at their tuble and oponed
he book containing fpll statement OF
their affairs to see II they wero in peril OF
Jeing caught in Il similar cyclone. l
GpI6arc nb0nt town. with lQlQS in
pockets and hats set far back on the hcad,
waiting to hear baleful news, are failures
now or will be failures. Christian men
and women who go round with mouth
and looks full OF Interrogation points to
and how some other church member Is
given to eXaggoration or drinks too much
Or neglects his home for greater outside
attractions have themselves so little grace
In their hearts that no one suspects they
have any. In proportion as people nre
,onsecrated aud holy md useful they are
enient with others and disposed to say:
'Wait until we hear the other side OF tbnt
matter. cannot believe that charge made
against that man OF woman until we nave
some better testimony than that given
by these scandal mongers. guess 1t IS
lie."
Furthermore. we are incapacitated for
tie supervisal OF others because we cannot
u
| People are generally cot so much to blame
| as we suppose. 1t Is never right to do
wrong, but there may be alleyiations.
There may have arisen conjunction OF
circumstances which would have flung any
one OF us. The world gives only one side
Of the transaction, and TINT is always the
worst side. That defaulter Mt the bank
who loaned money be ought not to have
loaned did it for the advantage OF another,
hot
! purloined from his employer did so be-
| cause his mother was dying for the lnck OF
medicixe. That young woman who went
wrong did not get enough wages to keep
her from starving to death. Most people
| who make moral shfpwreck would do right
| IN some exigency. but they have not the
courage 70 say NO" - -. -.
| Furthermore, We make ourselves q dis.
gnsting spectacle when we become busy
bodies. What Il dinbolical enterprise those
! undertake who are ever looking for the
moral lapse or downfall of others! As the
| human race is most Imperfect race, all
such hunters find plenty OF game. There
have been sewing societies in churches
which tore to pieces more regulations than
they made garments Tor the poor. with
| their sarcasms aud sly hints and deprecia-
tion OF motives they punctured more good
names than they had needles. With their
| scissors they cut character bias and bacl1
stitched every evil report they got hold OF.
Meetings OF boards OF directors have some.
times ruined good business men by insinu-
ations against them. The bad work may
not have been done so much by words, for
they would Le libelous, but by twinkle OF
the eye or a shrpg OF the shoulder or "a
sarcastic accentuation OF u word. ''ies,
he is all, right when lie is SOBER Have
| you inquired into that mans history"
''Do YOU know what business lie was in be.
| fore he entered this?" II move that the
application be laid on ths table until some
Investigations now going on are consum-
mated" 1t is easy enough to start O sus-
nicion that will never down, but what
| despicabe man Is the one who started 1t!