The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1901-12-12
BENTON, LOUISIANA, THURSDAY, DECEMBER II, 1901.

our bad habits we are sailing down
stream, but the moment we try to
turn we put our boat in the rapids
just above Niagara and try to row up
stream.
A physician tells his patient that he
must quit the use of tobacco, as it is
destroying his health. The man re-
plies: 81 can stop that habit easy
enough" He quits the use of the weed.
He goes around not knowing what to
do with himself. He cannot add up
column of figures; he cannot sleep
nights. 1t seems as if the world had
turned upside down. He feels his busi-
ness is going to ruin. Where he was
kind and obliging he is scolding and
fretful. The composure that charac-
terized him has given way to fret
full restlessness, and he has become
complete fidget. What power is it
that has rolled a wave of woe over
the earth and shaken a portent in the
heavens? He has quit tobacco. After
awhile he says: II am going to do as
1 please. The doctor does not under
stand my case. am going back to my
old habits" And he returns. Every
thing assumes its usual composure.
His business seems to brighten. The
world becomes an attractive place to
live in. His children, seeing the diff
ference, hail the return of their IA
theirs genial disposition. What wave
of color has dashed blue into the sky,
and greenness into the mountain foli
age, and the glow of sapphire into the
sunset? What enchantment has lift
ed world of beauty and joy on his
soul? He has resumed tobacco.
The fact is, we all know in our own
experience that habit is taskmaster.
AS long as we obey it it does not chas-
tise US; but let US resist, and we find
that we are lashed with scorpion whips
and bound with ship cable and thrown
into the track of bone-breaking Jug
gernauts.
Suppose a man of five or ten or
twenty years of evildoing resolves to
do right, why are all the forces of dark
ness allied against him? He gets down
on his knees in the midnight and cries:
"God help mel" He bites his lip. He
grinds his teeth. He clinches his fist
in a determination to keep to his pur-
pose. He dare not look at the bottles
in the window of wine store. 1t is
one long, bitter, exhaustive, hand-to-
hand fight with infiamed, tantalizing,
merciless habit. When he thinks he is
entirely free, the old inclination
pounces upon him like a pack of
hounds. all their muzzles tearing away
at the tanks of one poor reindeer.
In Paris there is a sculptured rep
resentation of Bacchus, the god of
revelry. He is riding on a panther
at full leap. Oh, how suggestive!
Let every one who is speeding on
bad ways understand he is not rid
ing a docile and well-broken steed,
but that he is riding monster wild
and bloodthirsty and going at a
death leap.
have also to say if man wants
to return from evil practices society
repulses him. The prodigal, wishing
to return, tries to take some profess
sor of religion by the hand. The
professor of religion looks at him,
looks at the faded apparel and the
marks of dissipation, and instead OF
giving him firm grip of the hand
offers him the tip end Of the longer
fingers of the left hand, which is
equal to striking man in the face
Oh, how few Christian people under.
stand how much gospel there is in a
| good, honest handshaking! Some.
times when you have felt the need
of encouragement and some Chris.
tian man has taken you heartily by
the hand, have you not felt thrilling
through every fiber Of your body
mind and soul an encouragement
that was just what you needed?
The prodigal, wishing to get into
good society, enters a prayer meet
ing Some good man without much
sense greets him by saying: "Why
are you here? You are about tht
last person that I expected to see il
a prayer meeting. Well, the dying
thief was saved, and there is hop'
for you" You do not know anything
about this unless you have learned
that when a man tries to return
from evil courses of conduct he run!
against repulsions innumerable.
I think, also, that men are Otter
hindered from returning by the fac
that churches are anxious abou
their membership, too anxious abou
their denomination, and they rusl
out when they see man about t.
give up sin and return to God ant
ask him how he is going to be bap
tized-whether by sprinkling or i'm
mersion-and what kind OF a churcl
he is going to join. 1t is a poor tim
to talk about Presbyterian catechisn
and Episcopal liturgies and Metho
dist love feasts and Baptist INNER
sions when a man is about to com
out of the darkness of sin into tn
glorious light Of the Gospel.
| Now, / have shown you these oh
stacles because I want you to under
stand l know all the difficulties in tn
way. But am now going to tell yo
how Hannibal may scale the Alps an
how the shackles may be unrivete