Newport weekly independent., 1901-06-07
LENTS.

selves and who have an idea that $heir best attempts amount to little or nothing; text, Matthew 25: Is, "To another one"
 Expel first from this parable of the talents the word "usury." It ought to have been translated interest" "Usury" is finding man in tight place and compelling him to pay an unreasonable sum to get out. Tn terest" is a righteous payment tor the use of money. When the capltal- list of this parable went off from home he gave to his stewards cer- *ain sums of money, wishing to have them prontably invested. Change also your idea as to the value of one talent. You remember the capital ist gave to one of his men for busl- ness purposes five talents, to another two, to another one. What small amount to last, you think, and how gould he be expected to do anything with only one talent? l have to tell you that one talent was about $7,2oo, So that when my text says: "Io an other one," it implies that those who Nave the least have much.
 We bother ourselves a great deal about those who are highly gifted or have large financial resource or eXait- sd official position or wide reaching opportunity. We are anxious that fhc;r wealth, their eloquence, their wit, be employed on the right side. One of them makes a mistake, and we say: What an awful disaster If han lavntaS all his great ability to useful purposes, we celebrate it, we enlarge upon 1t, we speak of it as something for gratl- &ude to God. Meanwhile we give no time at all to consider what people are doing with their one talent, not realizing that ten people of one tal- snt each are quite as important as one man with ten talents. In the one case the advantage or opportunity IS concentered in a single personality, while in another it is divided among ten individuals. Now, what we want to do in this sermon is to waken peo- pie 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 a galvanic shock, ITO another one."
 The most difficult thing in the world is to make an accurate estl- mate of ourselves. Our friends value us too high, our enemies too low. To find out what we are worth morally and mentally is almost impossible We are apt to measure ourselves by +hNSn orn11n6 hllt thic iS not fair as they may be very brilliant or very dull, very good or very bad. Indeed 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 in- fellectual 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 say that we have at least one talent. 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 corre spondents 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 a cheerful look? Carry that look wherever you go. 1t must come from a cheerful heart. It is not that Snane smile which We sometimes 600 which is an irritation. In other words, it must be light within us so bright that it illumines eye, cheek, nostril and mouth. Let ten men who are accustomed to walking a certain street every day resolve upon a cheerful countenance as a result of q cheerful heart, and the influence of such facial irradiation would be felt not only in that street, but throughout the town. Cheerfulness is catching. But cheerful look is exceptional. Examine the first 20 faces that you meet going through Pennsylvania avenue or Chestnut street or Broadway or State street or La Salle street or Euclid avenue, and 19 out of the 20 faces have either an anxious look or severe look or depressing look or an avaricious look or a sneering look or a vacant look Here is a missionary work for those who have trouble. Arm yourself with Gospel comfort. Let the God who comfcrted Mary and Martha at the loss of their brother, the God who soothed Abraham at the loss of