The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-11-22

mon?" By that Mir. Beeeher meant that every years work. Every act of our present day is dependent in more ways than one upon the actions of our past. When a woman peeks out of her window to see the furniture van unload her new neighbours furniture and then refuses to call upon that neighbor and extend to her the rightful social respect of the neigh borhood she is schooling herself to re- fuse to extend a welcoming hand to her humble sister when she enters her church. When a man Is willing to push his way through the crowds blocking the aisles of a large dry goods store, forcing frail women to right and left and show ing aside the little children, he is matur- ing the spirit which is shown by a crimi- nal chauffeur who drives his automobile at frightful velocity through the crowded streets of a large city He drives it ahead caring not what horses he may frighten or what person he may strike because he knows that, like a full speed ed Cunarder striking a fishing smack, it is the other person who will be hurt and not himself. Christian courtesy is of the tree of righteousness. and dscourtesy is of the tree of sin. Let us beware how we ignore that apostolic commandment Be courteous q Peter |. 8.
 Furthermore, my brother remember that discourtesy toward others almost invariably has a reactonary effect. The person who complains most about the rudeness of others Is generally the one who himself is rudest of all. Some time ago I was riding in Pittsburg street car. An aged colored man entered. His hair was as white was that of Frederick Douglass just before his death. The car started ahead and nearly flung the old man upon his face I rose and beckoned to him to come and take my seat. All tcI. and grumbling. Even after he was seat ed he kept on complaining about the peo pie mot being willing to give an old man a seat" At last l lost my patience. I leaned forward and said. "Friend, these passengers may have done wrong in not arising to give you seat They may have been impolite and dscourteous. But did you ever stop to think that you your self were even more discourteous than they? When l rose to give you my seat you were not enough of gentleman to say Thank you for it.'' So everywhere we can find that the people who most complain about the discourtesy of others are apt. like the old black man, to be just as discourteous themselves If there Is this sin breeding mote of impolteness in the eyes of our brothers. let us be sure that we have not the larger sinful beam in our own.
 
 Small essential the text: The abstinence from all appearance of evil. The taking care of your life's actions 50 that they may never be false lights turing your neghbors and friends upon the fatal rocks of sin. The refusal to eat meat if by the eating you may cause your brother to offend. All things may be lawful, but all things are not eXpedient,' was the substance of the Pauline injunction to the Corinthan church. "To seem may sometimes be almost as great a sin as ito be-" Mark you this: No man can af- ford in any way to have his influence cast upon the wrong side of any moral ques- ton. Nearly all our great religious teach- CTS have recognized this truth.
 We must abstain from all appearance of evil on account of our influence over others. We must abstain from all ap- pearance of evil on account also of the reactionary evil influence upon ourselves. One of the greatest bulwarks against sin Is the God implanted desire to be thought well of by your neighbors. A man, on ac- count of principle, ought to be ready, if necessary, to defy the scorn and the sheer and the opprobrium and the perse- cution and the misrepresentation and the ridicule of the human race. But every man may desire that his neighbors and friends think well of him; that they should regard his name as the synonym of honesty and truth and probity and rectitude. And when any man comes to the dangerous condition in which he does not care what his neighbors think about him; when he intentionally and