The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1903-09-30

their backs. Simon is the man who -
bearing his lot in gloomy and sulien 81
lence. and bearing it in way that MAKES
you feel he is none the better LOT ha!lhs
to 20 it. Paul is the man whose suner'nss me ISs
and losses you. can plainly see are tne
explanation of MS buoyant and courageous
spirit. His lot, disagreeable and dithcul1
as it is, he accepts, not as the other man,
with bitterness and resentment, but IN tnag
spirit of faith and obedience. that God
has q right to expect from all Ills chill
dren. ,,:,,
l know there are some to whom this Will
sound strange and perhaps Impossible. ana
7 know they are conscientious and religious
people They accept it as fact that men
must expect to be suddenly halted IN HE,
:" :, like Simon of Cyrene, made to bear
some heavy and humiliating cross, and they
endeavor to be stout-hearted and brave
under the ordeal, but it is always and only
a disagreeable and unfortunate clrcum,,
stance in their lives; and they resent IT ia and
| hate it as did Simon; and that is all. Iheey
never seem to find the source Of strength
and happiness in their cross. Now, ls lt
| true that the Paul attitude and the Paul
spirit are possible? Possible to the aver
age man, mean? Or do they require the
| Paul conversion and the Paul visions: ls
it true that the Paul spirit is possible IN
ordinary life, or must one have first caugnt
glimpse Of the third heaven? l ask you
| to ponder this query, in the hope that we
| may clearly see and be convinced that 1t
is no unattainabie principle for any man,
anywhere in this world.
| Here are two young men-classmates at
college, or shopmates, II you please, IN the
scme Office or factory. The one is about
as diligent as the other and about as sue,
cessful. Nevertheless, there is marked
difference. The one finds study OF bus,;
| H. he rI.c
slavish. it neither inspires nor develops
him. He simply does what he does be-
cause he ought to or must, and his whole
| life is nothing more than a stolid persist
| ence lacking the heartiness and the nope
fulness of the other. The other man is no
better scholar, no better workman or busl-
ness man, but he is contrast, notwlth-
standing. Whether it is study or business,
he finds his joy and inspiration in what ne
does, and does what he does from spirit
of love- There are the same restraints,
! the same burdens upon both, but the one
exults in them and is developed by them,
where as the other is full of resentment,
and is in no way benefited. While the one
| is full of enthusiasm and anticipation. the
other is heartless and crushed. The one Is
| Paul, the other is Simon.
People used to wonder why George VIII.
liam Curtis. the distinguished and gifted
editor of Harper's Magazine, entered the
lecture field. He was known to have. a
lucrative position and considerable in:
come from his writings: and 80 it seemed
strange to many people that he should
take up lecturing, with its Inconvenience
and risks. Some were inclined to regard
him as mercenary, but on his death the
explanation appeared. Years before, so IT
is said, Mr.. Curtis had engaged IN busl,
ness enterprise with friend which proved
unfortunate for both. 1t was in order to
meet all the obligations incurred BY the
firm which bore his name that necessltated
his coin: on those extended lecture tours;
and Mr.. Curtis lived long enough to retire
from the lecture p!atforJn-and that. too,
after he had paid every dollar OF indebted
ness with interest. Some might say that
is superhuous honesty, and yet many men
thing Mr.. Curtis did, and as matter OF
fact the number of men who have done
80 in the past is not small. Indeed, there
are men living in our midst who are strlv-
ING to do this self same thing. But all
men do not manifest the same spirit IN
this otherwise noble task. One man Will
act as if he we're a bond slave. and While
he is faithful to his duty, does it in a
cherries, heartless manner, apparently
rejoice in or be thankful for. He goes
about his task as Simon bore the cross--
cursng the luck that brought him to the
hour. and full of bitterness and resentment
on accor 1t of it. Without heart or IN
spiration, and without comfort or Joy, he
takes I'D his cross and trudges toward
Calvary. On the other hand, there are
men to whom these heavy tasks become an
inspiration and source of strength: who
are finding their happiness and theT, de-
velopment in carrying the. cross, nap,
| p,noee md deypl0prnpnt. t.t that tleV would
otherwise never have known.
If you and I are to have the P'ul spirit
of courage and contentment, even while
we stagger under the heavy cross, it can
only he by the way of the Paul attitude
toward God and the Paul relationship to
Jesus Christ. This is the same Paul who
wrote. eve are children of T. ID and II
children then heirs: eirs of God and Joint
heirs with Christi" the same Paul who
wrote. IAN things works together tor Tor
good to them who love God" Atterward
Simon of Cyrene understood the GROSS OF
Christ, and then he became Paul. Though
the authorities turned him out of the SYM
agogue as defled, though he and his family
became ostracised, it mattered little to
them, since they could clearly see how
great good had come to them in the form
of misfortune. -. :,
And do we not see how true this is OF
many people about us! 10 we not see lhae
the burdens of the family to that young
mother. and that the new and heavy re-
sponsibility to others were just what they
needed to round out their characters and
to fiji their careers with force and
strength?
And whatever may be the form of the
weight of the cross laid upon ns in this
life. nv friends. let us remember these
two things: That it is possible: like Paul,
the apostle. to find the inspiration and JOY
of our lives in the cross: and, further; that
it must be 80 if our attitude toward God
is one of faith and obedience and our
relationship to Jesus that of a loyal and
loving disciple.