Orange County observer., 1901-06-20
WITH ONE TALENT.
DR.. TALMAGE'S SUNDAY SERMON.
Every Ones Duty to- Place Proper
Estimate Upon His Natural kndow.
ments, Even When Small.
tCopyright 1861. I

Estimate upon his NdIuEda MHuOWs
ments, Even When Small.
tCopyright 1861
WASHINGTON, D. C.-This is discourse
by DR.. Talmage for those given to de-
preciate themselves and who have an idea
that their best attempts amount to it-
tie or nothing; text, Matthew XIV, Is,
"To another one"
talents the word "usury" It ought to
have been translated interest" ''Usury''
is finding man in tight place and COM
pelling him to pay an unreasonable sum
to get out. Interest" is righteous pay
ment for the use of money. When the
capitalist Of this parable went off home,
he gave to his stewards certain sums OF
money, wishing to have them prohtably
invested. Change also your idea as to
the value of one talent. You remember
the capitalist gave to one Of his men for
business purposes five talents, to another
to last, you think, and how could he be
expected to do anything with only one
talent? I have to tell you that one talent
was about 5000, so that when my text
says, '"ro another one,'' it implies that
those who have the least have much.
We bother ourselves great deal about
those who are highly gifted or have large
1luduCld1 ICSOuICCS VI CAditCu OluCloA pOS1-
ton or wide reaching opportunity. We
are anxious that their wealth, their elo-
quence, their wit, be employed on the
right side. One of them makes mis-
take, and we say, what an awful disas-
ter" When one Of them devotes all his
great ability to useful purposes, we cele--
brate it, we enlarge upon it, we speak Of
it as something for gratitude to God.
Meanwhile we give no time at all to con-
slider what people are doing with their
one talent, not realizing that ten people
of one talent each are quite as important
as one man with ten talents. In the one
case the advantage or opportunity is con-
in another it is divided among ten in
dividuals. Now, what we want to do in
this sermon is to waken people of only
| one talent to appreciation of their duty.
| Only few people have five talents or ten
| talents, while millions have one. My short
text is like galvanic shock, 'To another
one"
| The most difficult thing in the world is
to make an accurate estimate of ourselves.
Our friends value us too high, our enc
mics too low 10 find out what we are
worth morally and mentally is almost
impossible. We are apt to measure our
selves by those around us, but this is
not fair, as they may be very brilliant
or very dull, very good or very bad. In
deed there are no human scales that can
tell Our exact moral and mental weight,
nor is there standard by which we can
measure our exact intellectual height, SO
the hardest thing to do is to calculate our
real stature or heft. But it will be no
evidence of egotism in any of us if we
What is it and, finding what it is, what
use shall we make of it? The most of
the people, finding that they have only
one talent, do as the man spoken Of in
the parable, they hide it. But if all of
the people who have one talent brought it
out for use before this century is half past
and correspondents begin to write at the
head of their letters 1850, the earth would
be one of the outskirts of heaven. I ask
you again, What is your one talent?
Is it cheerful look? Carry that look
wherever you go. It must come from a
cheerful heart. 1t is not that inane smile
, which we sometimes see which is an irri-
tatlon. In other words, it must be a
light within US so bright that it illumines
eye, cheek, nostril and mouth. Let ter
men "ho are accustomed to walking
certain street every day resolve upon a
cheerful countenance as a result OF a
,, cheerful heart, and the influence Of such
in that street, but throughout the town
Cheeriulness is catching. But a Cheerful
. look is exceptional. Examine the first
twenty faces that You meet going through
!. Pennsylvania avenue or Chestnut street
d OF Broadway or State street or La Sale
e street or Euclid avenue and nineteen ou1
d OF the twenty faces have either an anxiou.
u work for those who have trouble Arm
e yourself with gospel comfort Let the Coz
u who comforted Mary and Martha at thu
d loss OF their brother, the God who soothec
d Abraham at the loss Of Sarah and the Coz
le OF David, who conso!ed his bereft spiri
at the loss of his boy by saying, Il shall
= &C. to him." the God who filled St. Joh1
q Patmos and the God who has given hap
s piness to thousands of the bankruptet
aad prosecuted, filing them with heavenl,
! riches which were more than the earthl,
advantages that are ped outlet tha
a God help them. If He takes full pcs
q session OF your nature, then you will e.
a down the street benediction to all WI
81 see you, and those who are in the tougl
Il places OF life and are run upon and behe
and had their homes destroyed, will say
81 Ii That man can be happy, / can be haI
81 py. He has been through troubles as bl
q as mine, and he goes down the street wit
q face IN every lineament of which ther
y are JOY and peace and heaven. What ar
q l groaning about? From the same plac
4 that man got his cheerfulness I can ge
q mine. Why are thou cast down, o m
q soul, and why art thou disquieted With
me hope tnou IN God, for | shall We
praise Him who is the health of my cou1
u tenance and my Cod y
Again, is your talent that Of wit G
n hunor? Use it for God Much of tn
y worlds wit is damaging Most of satir
\ has a sting in it. Much OF caricature
vltriolic. In order to say smart thins
4 how many will sacrifice the feelings {
y others! The sword they carry is keen, an
4 it is employed to thrust and lacerate. Br
few men in all the world and in all til
churches realize that if wit is bestowed
8 is given them for useful, for improving, ft
Il healthful purposes. Ii we all had more
4 1t and knew, how to use it Alright, ho
Il much it would improve our Christian co.
b versation and prayer meeting talk and Sc
& mon! Robert, South and Rowland HI
u and Jeremy Taylor and Dean Swift ar
. Lorenzo Dow and George Whitefeld use
ee, their wit and their humor to gather gre;
4 audiences and then lead them into Il
k.ngdcm of Cod Frivolty is repulsive
nut relg GUS discu ssion, hut Ike the hum
ur1 uIs OF JOB when he said to his insolent crj
~ les, No doubt but We are the people. an
cd cd wisdom shall die with you," and like Il
Au humor OF the prophet Elijah, who told II
Or. Eaalltss TO fray louder as Their god w