The St. Louis Republic., 1902-09-15
REAL ESSENCE OF WEALTH
POSSESSED BY THE POOR.
Gods Greatest Gifts Are Those
That Cannot Be "Cornered,
SAYS Rev. Frank Foster.

The Reverend Frank Foster. pastor of
! Memorial Congregational Church. preached
yesterday morning on the theme. Wealth.
or the Riches of Poverty. His text was
from Reveia. ION H. and CorinIhiaas vi. 10:
Il know thy poverty. bu; thou ait rich. "
As poor. yet making many rich
Material substance. such stocks,
. bonds. money or its equivalent. has come
To oe considered as wealth. par excellence,
but little consideration will serve to show
thst This is serious mistake. Wealth
means well-5cing. and everything that con-
tributes to tue Weil-be:ng is wealth. He
who has vigorous. healthy body Il we'll
developed frame. n keen eye. an educated.
shai Isned intellect, and strong will has
wealth.
tender affection. its Overlooking symps-
thies. and spiritual impulses There are
also riches Of service rendered to man. and
or fellowship with God.
Tho carry Christians were literally poor.
They took joyfully the spelling of their
gooSs because they had riches unseen and
speaking first. thea. OF material wealth.
We must bear in mind that Paul says God
hath siven US richly all things that We
may enjoy them. lut evidently not in any
selfish way, for the same passage bids us
b.. n, Il III good works. reacy TO distribute
wiling to communicate. The boy at
school who receives cake from his mother
and waits fer an opportunity to eat IL. in
Shit3ry Isolation has not half the JOY OF
with Inn. and the latter does not have 10
scad for the doctor next morning.
=" It Is with all material tnIngs To be
enjoyed, they must be distributed In or
der to truly possess them they must he
Si"cn ouJ. II truIy possesses money
who dares to use it for the common good.
he who toards ii does not possess his
money. but his money Possesses him
1t was the custom Of the Scythiaas when
A nolenan died 10 dress him In his best
ciothinS ana carry him from feast To Feast.
placing him at the heaf of the table TO
remind the guests what they must soon be-
come Supposing II were offered to you.
Elnfl1h "A hrrsEn 10 h0rn al
10 field; dollar To dollar. but in the dong
OF II twiliie YOU should retain sufficient con-
uons and sympathies should dry UP ana
you should become a mere mcney-rnakins
machine. would you accept the offer?
The absence OF Il millionaire from our
city, travelling indefinitely in Europe and
the presence Of so many boodlers under
bond. : an indication that mon too often
while We sometimes speak of such man
as advancing in life John EusSin Is right
however, when he says: He only is ad-
FancinS IL life: whose heart is getting soft
-. whose blood warmer. whose brain quick
or. whose spirit IS entering into living
peace
Moreover. the supposed .pcssessor of n,
article OF N1lu- is nos always it's real pos
sesSor- One OF GU milisonaires goes abroad
and pays So1c thousands of dollars for a
picture (Which is a desirable thing to have
done. adding. 80 il does to the real wealth
OF the American people,. But does n pos-
sesS that picture2 One day a poor arts.
calls. spends a few hours before tho picture
takes its ideal into his own soul. and Is tho
ticher thereby forever The millionaire nos
true possessor Of the picture is the man
who mas received the impression of the
painters IDEAL
When yoa walk along the beautiful
streets ot our city. the leaves OF the trees
clap tilair hands for you. the birds in theIr
branchsS sing for You. and the perfume
You have these things without the trouble
OF cul;iv0ting them. You need not enjoy
them any the less because you do not have
the r1Gh; to cut them down or to destroy
The truest riches are the common nos
session OF all the people. There IS no cor
ner yet on. the sunshine. or the wind. or
the AR We breathe. When Lady Franklin
spent her fortune organizing expeditions TO
search for her lost husband she was mani
IeStlils the truth ever known in the deep
more than money. He is rich who has
formed true friendships. | would not accent
All The bank stock in st. Louis IL offered
on the condition that part with my f,fend
ana stand alone in solitary grandeur
Young man, The love of that true wife
Is OF more value to your well-being than
All tne riches OF the yanderbIlts. Young
woman. II would rot pay you to exchange
the true love OF a really noble man for an
the wealth OF the Klondike.
Paul said that he was poor yet max
said of many of our modern r1iissionaries-
In mere material sense how many rich
men are there in St Louis who have been
wake of poor missionariesr
Not long ago, wealthy business man
calculated tha; II would pay commercially
tho world. IL Is an unfortunate Thing that
true development In life has not kept pace
with the development OF commerce. so that
Money is placed before character. and vet
n is stu true. as Ruskfn wrote wars ago \
sere is no wealth but life-life Including