Lincoln County leader. [volume] (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987, 1903-12-18
9W1El2
Pulpit
aus he carries in his heart a load Of
unforgiven sins.
WHO OR WHAT'S YOUR MASTER?

TO have a statement intended as a rule
or life uttered with authority and in
language so simple and direct that it
cannot be misunderstood.
Jesus Christ, whose words these are.
was not only the Lord Of life" but the
Master of living. He spoke not only
as one having authority, but out of an
experience that had tested in his own
life the rules he gave for the guidance
Of others.
mat he exempliled both in letter
n spirit the principle expressed in
the text Is so clearly a matter of his
tory that even his most persistent crit
les have not been able to gainsay. Nor
should any one fail to understand the
force of the axiom, mo man can serve
two masters" 1t is a universal mega
tive and asserts an impossible condi-
ton OF service. 1t does not destroy the
free exercise Of the human will, but II
places a Limitation upon the functions
Of that will.
We are so constituted that though
n may boast of his independence in
thought and action, nevertheless there
Is a mastery to which every one is ever
rendering an obedient service. We
must serve some master, but mo man
can serve two masters" Nevertheless.
we are confronted with the fact that
the great majority Of men are endeav-
oring to do the thing which is here
pronounced impossible and proved to
be so by all experience. Alas! how
many nave fallen victims to this vain
endeavor; how many are still engaged
In the hopeless task of a dual service!
The proposition Is as true in the affairs
of everyday life, in the questions at
fecting political, civic, ethical, CONNER
cial, and social relations, and the nu-
merous situations in which we are
called upon to assume an attitude of
service, as In the realm of religion
and morals. The tendency Of the age
is to be noncommital, to straddle, to be
on the fence, to serve two masters,
when, as a matter Of fact, such an eff
fort is a delusion and a snare, and in
the end subverts the best interests of
the individual and of the common
veal. Compromise is always a sign Of
weakness. Conservatism is a sort of
fetch Of the day. In questions of
honor and dishonor, of good report and
evil report, Of right and wrong, there
Is no middle ground upon which honest
men can afford to stand. In such we
are at the parting of the ways and
we must follow one or the other.
Especially Is this true in matters of
religion. Here the line of separation is
so clearly defined that it cannot hon
estly be escaped. The Great Teacher
gives a concrete examples: "Ye cannot
serve God and mammon." God, as rep
resenting the highest, because most
perfect, mastery, and mammon as de-
handing the lowest, because the most
degrading, service, each is an imperi-
GUS md exacting master. and no man
can be loyal to both. Their wills are
so different, their commands 80 oppo-
site, and their ends so a%ntagonistic
that the occasion must frequently arise
when IN or the other will have to be
despised and disobeyed II the other
be honored and served. Try as we
may to elude the difficulty of the stu
alton we are forced to enlist In the
service Of the one or the other. Be-
yond a doubt mammon rule-mammon
worship-is n of the distinctive fea-
lures of the day, and few realize how
deep is the impress upon life and char
acter. There Is an expression about
"every man" or Everything having Its
price," and the fact that 1t calls forth
a resentment that steadily grows less
pronounced indicates how far we have
gone in this direction. However, there
is no necessary conflict between God
and mammon, between the acquisition
Of wealth and the highest duty OF life,
but there is a necessary conflict be-
tween the mastership Of wealth and
the mastership Of God. When men
are so dominated by the love OF gain
that it becomes an absorbing passion
and the higher claims Of duty are
made secondary, they should mt least
be honest with themselves and know
in what service they are enlisted, and
not deluded by the thought that they
can hold to the one and not 'despIse
the other" Unworthy service assumes
other forms. Society, fashion, pleasure,
may be substituted for ''mammon,"
and we have identically the same stu
alton. 1t Is not a question of incon-
sistency or ~incongruity. 1t is not I'VE
ought" but I'VE cannot"
II, therefore, every man must serve
some master, and mo man can serve
two masters" and every man really