The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1901-09-02

brotherhood of man is an element in his
teachings, as well as the fatherhood OF Goo.
He was in the best sense OF the term a
Socialist. His sermon on the Mount Is
| socialism which is. as MT. James Russell
Lowell defines it. the practical Tt app,lGa.i@ nf
Of Christianity to ife.' The rs,I p5in an5 iif Sl
which the master proclaimed on this occa-
sion have been the admiration and the
ideal OF the world ever since. Seek we hrst
the Kingdom of God and his righteousness
he said TO his disciples. Seek We! each one
of you. The unit In social science is the
man and in recognition Of this TACT inc
struction In those principles. which if IN.
corporated in the individual life will most
surely bring In the Kingdom OF God among
men.
"In the principle herein laid down. tho
master answere the question spoken or
thought, which sysry bought, ,s ni ne c asks
concern" He takes. up some of the vary,
ing answers men make to this question. and
points out the lallacy in them; or the super.
should be LIES chief concern The neces-
edties of life? Too many people make them
SO. One would think life one awful strng-
gle to obtain food and drink to see the
hand to mouth existence of the very poor:
Too many wage-earners are merely. bread
winners. Under our present economic sys-
strenuous effort are the necessities of life
provided. In some of its aspects life IS a
gigantic struggle Tor existence IN WHICH
only the stronger survive.
But must the Woodworking toiler live
on such n low. plane? Can he not as well
as Lis more fortunate brother. catch the
God. 1t bids the weary toiier remember
that God can and does provide for the ne
c~essities of his people. Away with anxious
care over the necessities of life, that crowds
out all higher thoughts. TIL God who feeds
the birds of the air will surely feed his
people. The distinguishing mark between
tho fy.Vfflag Of CtviGfs= flo,. aud htS fn11pur-
ers was the absence of this anxious, cor
roding care which makes life 4 burden.
another answer TO this question Is Of
fered. 1t is this: The pursuit of pleasure.
Men elevate pleasure to the point of max,
ing it life's chief end. There is a right and
q wrong use OF. pleasure. and this il wrong.
We shall some day drop exhausted by the
side OF life's highway. a miserable. disap-
pointed wreck. Solomon had exceptional OPP
po-tunity In his search for that which is
tife's chief concern. He tried all the springs
and fountains of pleasure. and YEARLY con-
Guided at the end. This also is vanity
this question. which is closely allied TO
pleasure. The acquisition. of wealth is with
many the chief concern of life. Wealth and
pleasure are handmaids In the popular
thought. the terms are synonymous Give
me the one and l will get the other men
cry. Now there Is a right and a wrong pur-
protest II he finds God a jealous God. teal-
Gus of everything that occupies a place IN a
mans heart hat should be his alone. The
race for wealth is appalling. 1t Is every
where in evidence. 1t Is LIES chief con-
Germ to thousands, and has won for our
nations of being a nation Of weaknesses
ers. In no other country in the world Is q
mans position in society SO largely deter
mined by his wealth. In our strong. young
land, with its unrivaled resources and OPP
portunit.es for amassing fortunes, the dol
lar mark is stamped on nearly everything.
What. then. should be LIES chief con-
Germ? It is not the necessities of life; nor
we, WEALTH H1a'cA What Ell IS it, Seek se first the
said the Master. This is MES chief con
Germ. the search for things eternal. He
did not mean by the kingdom Of God a
were looking for. He came to inaugurate
a spiritual kingdom. and right here the
Jews most misunderstand him; An invis-
among men unheraided by trumpets and
rejoicings. WAS something they could
scarcely understand. And SO Christ sought
the principles that govern this Kingdom.
! In hts Sermon on the Mount. The leading
, characteristic Of that kingdom is the right
eousness OF God which its members must
have. a Righteousness so unlike the right
ousnesss Of the religious teachers Of the
day that Christ expressly declared EXCEPT
your righteousness shall exceed the right
eousness of the Scribes and PharIsees. ye
shall in no case enter the kingdom OF
heaven
This. then, Is the Masters answer az to
what should be life's concern: membership
In the Kingdom Of God, and the attainment
Of the righteousness of God. These are
are the only things worth strenuous human
effort. These are the only things that out
last the years. They may still be our
priceless possessions when everything else
has been taken away. There will come q
tim when we shall he beyond the need Of
earthly food and raiment. There may come
a time when We have exhausted the posi-
bllities Of earthly pleasure, and the pretty
treasures We have gathered will have alb
aolutely no charm for us. There will surely
come. a time when all the wealth OF the
world will not gain for us our souls sal
walton. All these things swept away. what
have we left? At that hour. II not before.
we shall know that the only enduring
things, the only satisfying things. are those
dom Of God. the things which God gives to
those who seek first his kingdom and his
righteousness. Will you do it,"