The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1903-06-05
A SATURDAY SERMOaETTE.

II
same as IL always did. just what hel
Is, however. and where it is, Is NOR
/ OF less a matter of theory and specu
latlon. The more advanced thinkers
we believe, treat the old time hell o
liquid fire and birthstone. as hgur
of speech; driving, thereby. from the
death bed of many a timid soul, IL
most awful hobgO0lin. So much foi
progressive thought along that line.
Along another line there has ais
been progress. even more helpful U
| tine human race. Which IS this: "a
perfect hell on earth. " used TO he con
sidered a mere figure of speech. NOW
1t is considered the real thing ane
the antechamber. as 1t were. TO ina
hell hereafter, from which there Is nc
escaping.
And this change of thought, this
progress along these lines, is Leading
men to look upon life from view
point entirely different from that from
which their forefathers saw 1T. In
the old fire and birthstone days the
idea was-(and a horrible idea II
VAS that mans hest Work through
life, from the cradle to the grave. was
an industrious preparation to dodge
the devil at the last and escape the
eternal hell of the future. Nhat a
nightmare that was to the human
race What horrible shapes it conJured
up to fearful minds; what fantastic
antics it cut in the darK; what hob
goblin it was to little boys and girls,
and how many millions have duckeo
their heads beneath the cover, or fallen
down stairs in Wild stampede, TO
escape its awful clutches. 1t was not
merely the preached hell of the pulpit
but it was the hell of the nursery
and the hell of the home; an angry
Gods avenging Mem esis, dogging the
footsteps of man from early infancy
TO hoary age. What dead man s
weight that was for believers In u
inst God and benign Savior, to carry
in their innermost consciences.
But the orthodoxy of today, Will
it does not discount the hell OF tue
future belleVes that no such place was
established in the beginning OF time
for errlng man to occupy, but that
he may establish for himself hell
on earth, the memory OF which, like
molten lead, will burn upon his brain
through all the ages He may do this
or he may not. And the study of
man should be. not how to. ole, but
how to live. How to live that he may
escape the pricl ilgs OF an outraged
conscience. How to live, that the
vultures of Regret will not come I'M
hidden guests to his festal board. How
TO live, that the morose bird of Re-
morse shall not spread her gloomy
wings and shut the sunshine out VI
his life.
"How to live Right - that should
be the study OF man. How not to over
indulge ones self, to selfish exclusion
of the rights and pleasures OF others.
How not to shut up the bowels OF com
passion against the roor. How not
to hoard what God has given us to
spend for verify il is easier for d
camel to pass through the eye OF
needle. than it is for stingy man to
enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Money is bread and meat to the poor
And the man who has lands and
houses and cattle, and money to loan,
ana gives scant,ly to the poor, is
dishonest steward whose misery soul
will dwindIe and cramp with its little
ness throughout the wears OF all the
ages in nell OF his own making.
SO few of us can escape our environ
ments. And yet man at his best is
Gods noblest work. The competitions
of lite, irritate, If they do not en-
bitter, and man, proud man, becomes
little in his contentious, rasplng ana
pickering, and sometimes. unwittlngly
as it were, a garden of Eden Is turned
into veritable hell on earth. Croak-
ing ravens drive the song f1rds all
away; rank weeds grow where orchids
were stagnant pools stand in gold
fish pools; dumb Despair walks
about the place once called Home, all
because of "man's inhumanlty to
man..
This comes mainly firm ignorance
of the art of living. The whole world
would be happy it 1t only knew how
If the selfish could only feel unseltsh
once, they would Re unseltsh al
ways. If the stingy could see them
selves as others see them If good
name was preferred to great riches, and
good manners and good morals held
above all price. IT we could bride our
tongues Just at the moment, and
learn to remember that soft answer
turneth away wrath; if we could learn
and would practice, one and all, the
GOLDEN rule to do unto others as we
would that others should do unto us.
hell, wherever or whatever 1t is, would
be abolished. now and forever.
Max ORell. the famous French
writer, two hours before his d. ath,
lust few days ago, wrote kinu OF
farewell to the world, in which he
expressed the following beautiful
eminent
what pity that the formula,
Nothing but good should be spoken OF
the dead, is current. 1t ought to be,
Nothing but good should be spoken
of the living. When we hear of a
relative or friend stricken with a
disease we begin to acknow-
ledge all his good qualities, virtues,
and all our Efforts lend to make his
life beautiful. But why on earth
did we wait until he had cancer,
tuberculosis or pneumonia to try to
make his life happy and beautiful
Very seldom have / failed to hear at u
death bed men and women wailing
If I'd known We would
have lost him 80 soon how different
we would have behaved toward him
how indulgent we would nave been for
all his little tads and foibles, tor
after all he was good.
Hell may exist in the next world.