Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1902-08-15

making these criticisms about others
therefore IL you and | feel hitter
against the sins Of others it is high
.iihe Tor us to examine our own sinful
hearts; IT is high time that we fan upon
our own knees in supplication and plead
with the Lord God Almighty that he
might cleanse us. that he might purify
us, that he might forgive ms. 1t is the
sin in our own lives that urges us on TO
condemn the sins I'm others. IL is our
own evil eyes that are able TO see only
the imperfections in others.
he Not BRsty to Condemn.
No man should rashly condemn an
other. because it is often impossible for
him TO realize what We're the nitigat
ing circumstances In which the sin was
conceived If all men were born free
ana equal, as the American Declara-
ton of Independence optimistically de-
clares, you could judge them i'm the
bulk. You could judge any two men
as you might test two bars of steel
which come from the same mold. You
could judge them. as you might saw
that pound of coffee ought to weigh
as much as n pound of tea; but all
men are not born free and equal We
are different in hereditary tendencies.
Only short time ago at convention
of the Women's Christian Temperance
union delegate read the record of a
woman with criminal tendencies who
died in 1927. The name of this wom-
an, for obvious reasons, was not told
This woman of criminal tendencies
has had up TO date over 500 descend
ants, Seven hundred of these descend
ants have been criminals. and all were
convicted ut least once and most of
them more than once for crime. Thir-
ty-six of those descendants have been
murderers. And" said the speaker,
"the blood OF that one woman of GRIM
inal tendencies has cost the nation in
eighty years over 100000 for trials
and executions and for the property
stolen or destroyed" Is not the blood
that flows in your veins happily differ
ent from that which flowed in the
veins of those children?
We are different in the surroundings
of babyhood aud boyhood and Young
manhood. Some men never knew the
love of n parent. Their father and
mother died when they were very
young. Instead OF being able to get
an education, as you and have been.
they were pushed out into the great
world unprepared for the struggle of
life and told TO shift for themselves.
We are as different as flowers are diff
ferent. Some are planted In rich soil.
others In poor. Some are cared for by
loving hands; others have to fight for
their lives among the bristIy thorns
and the overshadowing weeds. Some
have enough sunlight to incubate and
develop them and just enough showers
and dews TO Stake their thirst Other
flowers are continually being scorched
by the droughts and deluged by the
freshets.
Faiths Saving Grace.
We are all different in our inherited
Compartments and our power to resist |
temptation. Oliver Wendell Holmes.
the quaint poet and philosopher. once |
wisely said, Every child's training
should begin ut least 100 years before |
that child is born" Have you and / |
any right to condemn mans actions
unless we can put ourselves In that |
mans place? Then after we have put |
ourselves In our erring brothers place |
have we right TO affirm that we. In |
our own strength. would have done |
other than he has done? II we do |
thus affirm. we are not honest and true
10 ourselves. for some of the mightiest
and best men of God have testified
just the opposite. Glorious John New
ton, trumpet throated John Newton.
Holy Spirit inspired John Newton.
OnQA daelp roll haf ha |
derer being led away to the gallows
but he always said to himself, There
goes John Newton unless he had been
saved by the grace OF God" Horatio
Seymour, twice governor OF New York.
In large religious meeting once SOL
emnly declared: 'In my time. as the
chief executive OF the state OF New
ork. ] have had to examine hundreds
OF Applications for pardons. After /
had carefully examined them and fully
entered into the lives of the convicted
ana realized the influences which
those crimes am free 10 con.
Tess that had / had the same influ-
ences about me as those men had I'm
every easel should have committed
ne same crimes, II not blacker ones"
IN, my brother, instead of condemn.
nS your brother put yourself I'm your
srring brothers place. Get down on ,
Iour knees and offer prayer OF graf
tude that you have not been temntcd
Is he is tempted. You ought TO get
Town on your knees and thank God
hat even in your lesser temptations ,
'ou nave boon saved solely by an in. ,
piring faith In n divine love which ,
nay never have been kindled I'm your ,
rother's sinful heart.
No human being should condemn his ,
because it is only the loving !,
ear or pleading sorrow that can ,
uench the fires OF sin and not the :
harp tongue which "breaketh the :
one. 1t is only the warm, gentle. $
rotecting. outstretched arm of ,
riend that draws the sinner toward :
'ou ana heaven; not the clinched fist y
an enemy. Did you ever see n I
Minister who became a better min. =
Ster through the fault finding of his p
onSregauon? Did you ever know of n s
'iIe VINO became better wife be- /
ause her husband talked against her c
MS neighbors? Do you know of one .,
uman being who was brought closer n
your heart and TO God by being d
in the eyes OF his fellow f
zen through bitter denunciations that Il
on hurled against him? MOI No, 81
lander and utilization and traduce- h
ent and disparagement and evil RI. "
or, repeated by your lips, never soft. h
led or purified n sinful heart. They s,
lly drove the sinner farther awav a
ON you and farther from God. "
Guard Carefully the Tongue. II
Most people are influenced in life bv al
ARP words and fault findings a great N,
al as was the little boy who was left n;
the care of an elder brother by the ju
attn or his parents. The older broth w
wanted to bring his younger brother III
TO be good man, so he was very
arp and strict with him. Whenever v,
G younger son would do wrong the hs
Ter brother would scold or punish CO
N. The result was that the younger ST