The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-12-30

| for the sake OF spending it in sta
| ble?" I care very little for the length
of life as compared with that which
| makes up its contents. When 1 see
people who seem to be living for the
single purpose of elongating for a little
! the span of a mere animal EXISTENCE
who weigh and measure how much
they shall eat OF this thing or drink or
that: who fear an extra heartbeat, or
a quicker pulse throb, lest the excite
ment be too great a drain, then l am
ready to say that on such terms DO
not want TO live any longer. Take all
the taste out OF life, and what remains
| 1 do not care for. In any manly use
OF the phrase, 1 believe in the motto,
live while you do live" and in order
to do this one must have some definite
| life purpose. Here is the clean page
here is the raw material What are
we going to turn il into? When the
clock shall tick out the close OF this
year. We shall find that we have turn
ed them into something, and what
shall that be? Let us now briefly con-
| slider some Of the things that We may
write upon this page, as life-purposes.
| l take il that many OF us will write the
4 word money there, and that is well,
| provided we do not pay too high a price
| for il. Money is commodity, just as
much as wheat or iron, or the material
with which you build a house. Money
/ is a commodity that you buy. People
unless they happen TO be spectators or
gamblers, do not ordinarily get money
in this world for nothing. They give
| something for IL. something that the
person who Is willing 10 pay the mon
| ey considers an equivalent. believe
in writing money upon che page OF 1907.
| l believe II is the duty OF every one 10
turn part of this new year into mon
ey But We are to remember that IL IS
possible to pay too high a price for 1t.
/ II is not worth while TO pay honesty
for it. II we would only stop to think
a moment we should see that there are
some things that are worth more than
anything which you could get in re-
turn for yielding them up. Are not the
Joys OF home. the happiness and the
welfare of wife and children, little
| too high n price TO pay Tor money
Is not the cultivation OF the heart.
the developing of tenderness, pity,
/ sympathy. generosity-these higher,
sweeter. finer diviner qualities OF the
soul-are they not worth much more
than money? To give these Is paying
too much for it, What Is money for,
what is II good for? 1t is a magnih-
cent implement for a man to use-that
is all. But for man TO pay his man
hood for II, to sell his soul, is not that
too high n price TO pay? Is II worth
our while to write the word money on
the page of the new year on those
terms?
Then. We can write the word power.
and this is natural. Who does not wish
| to be ahead in this world? Who does
not feel his pulse beat little quicker
when his horse passes another one on
the road? What parent does not re-
joice over the fact that his child Is
at the head of his class? Who does
| not like the best house, the most at
tractive furnishings. the most desirable
location? Who Is not glad when his
/ friends select him for some position
OF honor or trust? Who does not like
to- paint picture or write book that
| men applaud? Who does not like to
feel that he has stimulated the worlds
| thought and added 20 it's treasures?
have never known a minister to re-
sent being called the greatest preacher
| of his town, or to feel sOrrowful over
the fact that his church was full. No,
we all love power, infiuence--we want
| to be looked up to. to be ahead In the
| chosen path where lies our life work
What then? Are you going to de-
| nOunce all this?" you ask. BY no
means. To destroy this desire would
be TO cut the very nerve cord of clvili-
cation. 1t is this unquenchable thirst
10 get more. to do more. to be more.
that Is the taproot OF the worlds civtli-
cation. To fight that would be fight
ing against God and man. But there
against II is a false ideal of what IL
H. to excel: IL is the using Of power
that has been gained IN unworthy
ways. There are two ways OF getting
anea0 OF ones fellows, ana lfleTe
two ways OF using this precedence af-
ter II is gained. Get all the money you
can, provided you create and not sim
ply appropriate that which rightly be-
longs to somebody else, and for which |
you render no adequate equivalent
Use all the money you can get, pro-
Vided you so use IL that the world is |
better and happier. Get the highest |
office you can. provided you get ii be- |
cause you are ut for ii. and get 1t by |
fair means. Only do not forget the !
principle involved in the saying, 1T Is !
better to be right than to be Presi- |
dent" He who does forget II is un-
worthy of any place Of trust Yes; we
all love power, but power is possiolh- !
ty both Of good and evil, and he only |
word who seeks and Yields power for !
the sake Of making the world a light
OF, sweeter. cleaner, diviner place 10
live in
There is another thing we can write
on the page Of the new year; that Is,
enjoyment recreation. pleasure. We
can determine TO make that our one
object Of existence. We can strive TO
be comfortable ourselves at all hazards |
We instinctively seek to be comfortable |
and we cannot help il. Let person |
enter a room, and almost unconscious
Is he selects the easiest chair, ana
drops into IT. We not only seek physical |
comfort. but we are perpetually seek |
ing u ADJUST our thoughts anu oPih
ions in such way that they viii be |
comfortable. This is the secret why |
people are often so angry when a new /
idea is thrust upon them. 1t makes |
them uncomfortable; they do not |
want the trouble OF getting !
rid OF the old and OF adjusting them
selves to the new. 1t is good thing
10 he comfortable; but in a world like |
this. where thousands and millions are
not and cannot be comfortable. ought
IL 10 be the highest aim in life for man
or woman? Take what comfort, what
pleasure. what enjoyment you can pS
Inc vyav for the sake Of the strength |
and refreshment that you gain by II;
but only remember that we are living
in a world where great things are 10 De |
done for God and humanity. suppose
Jesus had refused the cross because ne