Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1903-02-06

you are at heart merciless calumnio-
tor. God despises your unrepented sins
Just as much as he despises the sins OF
the prodigal I'm the far country.
Satan is no nearer being n Christian
gentleman for dressing himself I'm
broadcloth. The hangman's moose is no
less fatal for being deity placed about
the doomed throat by white fingers
a-glitter with diamond rings. Because
you. oh, elder brother, stay at home
and live under your fathers roof, that
ia no reason why you may not be living
10000 miles away from your fathers
love. do not believe there is n more
contemplate character painted in all
the word pictures OF the Bible than this
cold Hooded, unforgiying. sneering.
carping elder brother, who was ready
to take every advantage he could over
his fellow men II he could only do so
without disobeying the letter of the
law. Instead OF being drunk with
wine he was intoxicated with self con-
ceit and seliishness. Instead OF being
a beggar or earning his bread by tend
ing swine he was ready to unkennel the
bloOdhounds OF vindictive rancor, which
would tear repentant brother limb
from limb.
a Despicabie Spirit.
The elder brother thinks that his Di-
vine Fathers house is not big enough
to hold two sons. He feels that IL his
brother is allowed To come back the re-
turning prodigal will crowd him out OF
some room which rightfully belongs 10
him. He says to himself: There is
that drunken loafer OF boy. He has
taken his one-half OF the property: now
he is coming back to eat up part OF my
half. l know that father is so kind
hearted that he will give part OF my
rightful Inheritance to this lazy spead-
thrift. this boon companion OF dissolute
characters. II be has spent his all.
then let him stnrve. That is just what
he deserves. He has no right coming
back, to be n vampire upon my prop
erty." So the selfish elder brothers in
many of our large churches refuse TO
let the prodigals come among them and
will not allow them TO be received as
equals in their Fathers house. They
seem to think that the advent of the
poor and outcast means their own so
cial extinction and their spiritual de
basement.
Where can the despicable, pharisaic-
al spirit of the elder brother be found
more conspicuous than in some OF your
modern Sunday school classes? "Oh,"
say the well dressed young girls of that
class, you are not going TO put that
poor girl in our class. Why, II will
ruin the whole classl You can't expect
the daughters Of millionaires to asso-
ciate with sewing girls even in n Sun
day school" Where can you find n
more despicable. pharisaical spirit than
in the missionary life of some OF our
large city churches? There are many
large and wealthy churches that are
supporting missions I'm the foul slums
of the city, yet whose members would
not for one instant allow the poor to
sit In their own pews or kneel at their
communion tables. And. mark you,
this pharisaical spirit OF old is not only
found among the rich. but also among
the poor. Some years ago the Avon
dale church OF Cincinnati, of which the
Rev. Charles L. GosS is pastor, tried
to run n mission in the slums. DR..
Goss declared that that mission had
to be abandoned because of the phar-
isaical spirit which was to be found
there among the poor. There, even
among the rags and sins of poverty,
he found there were classes. Sinful
men and women would not associate
with each other because some OF them
thought their own rags were a little
cleaner and better than their neigh
boris rags. So all through the church
and the world you find this Contempt
bic spirit OF the elder brother. We
find so called Christian men and WON.
en- who protest against the prodigars
return because they fear the younger
brothers reformation might In some
way inture their own social and spir-
itual standing.
The Two Sons.
The elder brother never longs TO sat
isfy tie divine cravings OF his fathers
love. 1 have no sympathy with some
or the excuses that are made for that
prodigal son. have no sympathy with
those who declare that young men are
LED astray into the far country OF sin
because they have generous impulses
and abnormal affections and therefore
cannot say no to the tempter. That
prodigal was an migrate. every way YOU
take him. He was selfish, contempt
bic, dissolute rake. No man Is large
hearted who will take a friend To n
saloon or open a bottle of wine Mt a
club when In order to do IL he makes
his own children so hungry and dress
III rags. No generous hearted young
man VIII so into the far country OF sin
ana recklessly squander his money
when at the same time he knows that
his old father is weeping at home. with
his eyes fountain OF tears: but. thouph
that younger son was a selfish. desni.
cable character. the elder was Just as
uespicaoie When the elder brother
heard the music which signaled the
parental Joy over the repentant prod
igafs return; when he saw the eyes of
his father glistening with love and his
cheeks flushing with n holy thankful
ness, he would have rejoiced for his
fathers sake if he had not been selfish
and would not have tried TO stab the
ola man To the heart. Did he not saw
IN erect: Yes. we shall drive that dis |
soiute debauchee back to his swine |
trough. Then we can have the pleas- |
ure or seeing father again restlessIv |
pacing the floor through the long
weary hours of the night" Did he not |
want TO hear that dear, old, gentle. for.
giving father again moan over his way.
ward boy as David mourned over his
dead son Absalom?
III that elder brother had been the
right kind Of n son, he would have seen
what JOY came into the fathers heart
ut tue return of his repentant son. He
would have Immediately said: ..What
does money make il / can
oniS make rather happy? Away with
the question Of dollars and cents IL INV
brothers return is only q true return |"
so every Christian today, IL he ia the
right kind of a Christian, does NOT
think about the social condition of his
repentant fellow man. He immediately
says, when the publican bows at the
mercy seat: ''Oh. the joy and the ran.