The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1903-02-19

little money he had left in his wife'S
name. Then he enters the bankruptcy
court and asks the judge to free him
from all these financial obligations.
Now, l care not what the bankruptcy
court may say in such cases. no honest
man, in the sight of God or man, can
ever be morally freed from financial
debt until that debt is paid. 1t is a
mans business 20 pay what he owes.
no matter how che bill was contracteA
One of the first signs Of Zacch;cus' zeal
conversion was when he turned to the
Saviour and said, "lfehold. aord. the
kalf OF my goods give 20 the poor.
and if D have sakes anything from any
man by false accusation ID restore %
him fourfola." In other words he Sai&
IF I have cheated any snan out Of his
Just dues, am ready not only 20 D.
store to him &he FULL amount of money
taken but Z will Sestore to him double
and treble and Quadruple that which l
have takeA." And no man. in the sighS
Of God. can be = Christian until he tirs&
signifies his intention 20 repay 70 che
Utmost OF his ability al! che snoney
borrowed BY him and 20 cancel his fulS
obligations to every one of his financial
creditors. IoU saNnot love sioG ans
40 Che same time signify a willingness
- cheat your Yellow men.
~ il told Of Daniel Aeb>t~r shsas
Sasnes 4. Field. Che famous publisher,
when u young clerk. ~aS Ssns d, COP
lect a bin from the greas constitutional
1awyer Mr. Webster suricil d. hi1R
aud sais: "koung man, O. nave 90 mon
ey. Wnever can pay any debts. %i;ta
is the good of your coming around and
bothering me? See. here o. my money
drawer; there is nothing in it." Vita
that Ne. Webster opened she drawer,
and. To- vevea4ed within vas y big rol4
of banknotes: Mr.. Webster's face lighe-
ed up with look OF grea& surprise.
~Well. Weli!' he said. There is some
money. 4wonder where it came from?
Young man. help yourself" With thai
Mr.. Webster turned his Sack upon
young Field and buried his face in q
iawbook. Dir. Field helped himself.
signed a receipt and left the room, ana
Mr.. Webster did not Took up for one
moment % see whas he was doing.
Daniel Webster may have been q great
statesman, but he was not business
man. He had no more right to ignore
his creditors like that than he had to
sell his vote in the United States SEN
ate. And before God and man we have
no right to run up a lot of bills which
we have no intention of canceling
"Owe no man anything wrote the
greatest preacher who ever lived. That
means pay your butcher and baker
bills and rent just as faithfully as you
ought q pay for your church pew or
your dues to the missionary societies.
10 pertinent Question.
On closing would like TO ask my
hearers a pertinent question-Is not
the chief reason why you are unwilling
% publicly profess Christ because you
have not been living right with your
fellow men and trying to pay your hon
est debts? DR.. Wilbur Chapman,
think it was, once told shis incident in
great evangelistic meeting. For some
weeks there was among the audience
to whom he had been preaching man
who would not confess Christ. DR..
Chapman could not understand why.
But one night this man came to his
hotel room and said: Doctor, is there
help for me? l am a defaulter. |
stole so many thousand dollars from
my employers many years ago. They
have never found it out. What shall
/ do?' DIR. Chapman told the man to
go back to his old employers and to
confess, and fully confess. what he
had done. Then DR.. Chapman told
that man to give up all his property
to liquidate part of the debt and to
pledge himself to pay back the balance
as soon as he could. The man did as
he advised. In trying to undo the past
wrong he removed the obstacle which
had kept him from realizing that Christ
was ready to forgive him. My friends.
is the awful realization that you have
been financially unjust to your fellow
men keeping you away from the love
of Christ? Will you not try to undo
that wrong? Will you not follow the
command of Paul, who tells us to 'owe
no man anything" the same Paul who
tells US to press toward the mark fot
the prize Of the 0igh calling Of God in
Christ Jesus?''
1t may emily take a small speck OF
dust in che eye q blind the sight and
shit out the light of the noontide sun.
1t may only take one bill which we
refuse to pay to CTR neighbor to shut
out all the glories O. heaven. Paui
does not ask of as an impossability but
he does demand that we. one and all.
should not only love God with all our
souls, but also love our fellow mea
enough to be financially just to them
as well as merciful.
copyright. 1903, by 9ous Klopsch.a