The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1901-11-11

to everyone who heard 1t and that fair
ly spnrklcd with epigram. ~" chose
| for his text Galatians $40: "As We
have therefore opportunity. let us de
good unto all men. especially unto then
who are of the household OF faith"
In beginning his remarks he en-
| plaincd that the text treated of three
essential things-that mans duty is to
do good: that the objects of mans
! duty should be those who are most
| worthy and the most III need and
| that each man should do good accord
! ing to his opportunity. Continuing, he
said in part:
| LAS we have therefore opportunity.
| let us do good. says the text. Life it
self is the simile of opportunity aud
| opportunity determines our eternal
destinies.
| "Tllere are times when the slightest
! trcnur of Il breath will bring down Il
| mighty avalanche in the Alps. so viii,
our lives which may he said TO be
| placed amid the Swiss mountains. Only
| a breath and we are among the avail
! anches. Only a morlent but a moment
! Of destiny. Only Il word, but q word
, whose echo will be heard adown the
| corridors of time.
| "ln these days of progress and Of ill.,
! V"ntion we cannot measure our duty
! by the standards of the past. We
must measure it by the standards of
| today With all the splendid oppor-
| tunities afforded in the present. why
| the meagrc achievement, you ask?
"Ah. my friends, too many of us fail
| to see the dangers that gather around
| this richness of opportunity. 1t
Hhounds on every hand in such pro-
| fusion that the majority of men fail
| t" soc it. They are like people riding
on The rear platform of moving
| train. They don't see things till they
arc passed. They fail to apprehend
their divine opportunities until they
| "re past and gone They do not look
| for an opportunity to do good ani ac-
! cordingly they do no good
SAEIOR'S INJrNCTION.
"lt is u significant thing that in
twelve lines in the Bible, Christ en-
joins us no less than five separate and
distinct times to watch OH if We
would but watch that we might not
llc found sleeping on the threshold Of
&. great opportunity. It is not oppor-
tunity and lack of opportunity that dis
pprtunity, | say, but failure to See and
grasp it. 1t is not lack of talent that
has prevented many Il man from
| achieving great things but rather fail
urc to use his talent.
THE ma aiorty of us fail To realize the
fullnesS of the consequences wrapped
up in ordinary occasions, and in single
acts. The obscure pastor who con-
vcrtcd Motif didn't realize that his act
was the first tla led to the opening up
OF the Dark Continent tn the gospel nf
Christ. Philip. when he was called
from ministering to large congrcgu-
tionS of people. to preach TO one man
in the desert. did not know that Ii.
WAS laying the foundation of the .Ahys-
Siniru church.
"'rhc Lord. my friends. will not ar-
| ccpt lack of opportunity us an excuse.
He viii not accept the explanations
of the man vino says he has no oppor-
| tuniti"S. How often do We meet this
man in tho world. n" Demoaus the
| fact that he was borl in such Il place
| aud thnt his parents We're who they
! werr II he had only been born when
the country was younger he would
| have made Il great success.
I'VE have too many OF these subjunr-
| tive heroes. II this had happened or
| il they had seen that chance or it the
| other person hadn't done the other
thing they would be shining lights.
| But there's always on If.
"A world Of consequence often fol-
lows u moment Of opportunity. The
great doors of all the ages swing on
small hinges. Trilles are the matches
which set OFT great conilagrations.
Verify, it seems as if Almighty God de
lights in using the weak things of this
world to confound the mighty.
1T is u peculiar thing that the great
crises OF history have never been taken
at their full value 1T the time of their
occurrence. There Is no action 50
small but that il brings Il world of
consequence in its train.
FIRST LAW OF SUCCESS.
The first law of success in life is 10
watch the opportunity, but ii is not
enough to see it, We must be prepared
for it. The prepared man reveals his
strength only when he is tempest
tossed. Great occasions do not make
great men; they only serve to call great
men to the front For the worl; of life
there is no genius equal to strong prep
arat!on.
"ProcrastInution, however, is inbred
IN human nature. our common speech
abounds in words of qualification, We
use so very, very often almost about
not quite, ana many other such words
ana phrases, We are satisfied with un-
finished things. An Englishman once
said that the word about saves many
people from lying. They agree tn be
ut n certain place about O'Clock or
to do about this or about that ana
when the crash comes they are gcucr-
ally only about ready
'"rhe effects of this evil of proCras-
tmation can he seen on every side The
snendthrirt admits his recklessness
but he's going 10 be cconoinical---neXt
he's going to do great workbench
week; the moral coward admits his
cowardice but he is going to win vic
tories-bye and bye,
"Oh, that we might stop chasing the
phantoms, power and fame, and come
10 real estimate Of values. oh, that
we might realize that noise and show
are not the measure of life oh, tbst
we might break aSunder the fetters
of evil habit which keep us in an
apathetic frame Of mind and make us
have positive disrelish for duty.
we need the spirit OF self denial to
discern the abundant opportunities
round about us. We need to keep our
eyes open for the chances that are