Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1903-09-30
MODERN SOCIAL TEMPTATIONS.
Arise Largely from a False Sense OF
PrOpOrtiOn-Man hOOd Should BE
Sought Before Success

The temptations of social life large
ly arise from false sense of proper
ton. We are like men who stand SO
close to some Outjutting rock that they
cannot see the mountain We are so
close to our immediate work, says the
regationalist, that we cannot real
ize that it is only a part of our true
life. The whole duty of man cannot
be bounded by the apparent require
ments Of business success. It takes
account of relations to God as we'll as
self, to others as certainly as to those
who are dependent on u.s. We may
praise diligence in business with
good conscience only so long as we
combine with it the other require
ments of the apostle: I'm diligence
not slothful; fervent in spirit; serv-
ing the Lord" Because we have our
place in the social order and business
competition to sustain. we must study
the proportion of these claims to the
demands of our filial relation to God
and our brotherly relation to men 1t
will be serving the world badly if we
succeed in offering it a successful
business at the cost of giving it a
mean and petty and degenerate man.
There, Is certain cynically allit-
erative rule of life which charges a
young man to "get on, get honor, get
honest" The stress of business com
petition seems to call for some such
progress by way of success to position
and self-respect. 1t is real and con-
slant temptation, only to be met by
remembering that if the man makes
the business. the business also makes
the man. Even success may be too
dearly bought. 1t may be spending
life to climb the rock when the real
mountain of vision and honor is be-
hind it. 1t may mean so short-sighted
perspective that time fills the WIS.,
ion while eternity is out of sight, and
that the praise Of men may satisfy
while the praise of God may be forgot
ten or refused. The business man
needs the sense of proportion which
takes account Of God as we'll as man,
OF old age as we'll as maturity, of self
respect in days to come as well as the
servility which follows wealth to-day.
The companion of this desire to get
on in business at any cost is the So
cial rivalry and display which is al
ways with us, but which has never
reached larger proportions than in our
recent prosperous times. 1t is a
glamour which takes possession of the
soul and destroys the sense of great
and small of trra and false TT avadac
definition, it escapes analysis It turns
sensible men, and women into foolish
ones, competency into the strain of
poverty, wealth into a real Indulgence,
because the thing desired is always
just beyond the reach of those who
seek it. This social ambition which
on the one side seeks self glorifcation
by lavish display and ON the other by
despising those who are lower in the
ranks of fashion becomes a destroyer
of the brotherhood of men. contra
diction of the lChristlike spirit.
Here, too, sense of the proportion
of our life, sense of the dignity of
every child of God is the corrective
for this insanity of false ambition
The resources which are employed for
service are the true satisfact:ons of
the social instinct, and bring the true
reward of honor To seek with fever
ish endeavor the praise Of men is al
ways disappointing. To seek the
praise of Goo sooner or later also
brings in its train the honor and the
love of men.