Milford chronicle., 1903-08-07

ehirl." have had business men come
to me and ask: what shall 1 do? 1
have entered into a business partner
ship with such and such man. But
he is lazy, indoient, useless dead
weight. He will not think Of work.
And vet he expects me to divide the
profits with him He is a shirk, use
less shirk. And If there is anything
despise it is a shirk, draining and sap
ming nv energies, as the vampires In
inythological times used to suck out the
lifa's blood nf their human victims"
The shirlS In Religion.
Now if you despise a shirls in pleas
ure and despise a shirk in business,
how is it that you are willing to be
yourself a shirk in religion? You. my
brother, believing in Jesus Christ and
hoping some day to he eternally saved
by his blood, ought in common hon
esty to fully realize that your actions
toward the church are just as despica-
bic and contemplate as the shlrking
characteristics which you despise in
others. You are practically saying to
yourself: Il want to some day reach
heaven; but in the meantime l want
my wife, my mother, my sister, my
daughter, to do all my praying and
working in the church. When l am in
my last sickness want their minister
to come and fix things all up for me
in a spiritual sense. And when l am
dead l want their minister to state
over my casket that have repented
at the eleventh hour and have been
saved all right. In other words, want
to win every joy and hope Of the re-
ligious faith without lifting a hand
for Christ, without doing one stroke of
work in the Masters service" Oh, my
brother such a statement as that. is so
mean and despicable l do not believe
you have ever fully realized what your
gospel shirking has signiiied. Come,
man. and be true man in the spiritu-
al as well as in the temporal way.
Come and take off your coat in holy
enthusiasm. Do not compel the wom-
en- folks OF your families to longer
bear the brunt Of the gospel struggle.
At it in the name Of the Lord Jesus!
At it now! At it all the time! Hear
the plea Of the manifest Christian man
who ever lived. This plea he made to
men: Help those women! Help
those women" Help them now.
A strong. robust. manly man compels
the admiration Of other men. There IS
a popular theory abroad that Il manly
man can never fascinate the mascu-
line world as a beautiful woman can.
Put | do not think that that theory is
true. l know it is not in my own case.
| also know it Is not true with many
Of ny gentlemen friends. Often, when
walking through the crowded thor
oughfares Of Chicago. l have had a
member of my family say. Did you
ever see more beautiful face than
that?" "Who? WnereT | would ask
why. that beautiful woman who was
walking there with that man." "Oh," ."
I would answer. Il did not see the
woman. but l did see the man. l was
watching him very closely. My! He
was a strong man. There was a some
thing in the look of his eye, In the set
of his mouth, in the strength Of his
shoulders and in his well poised, self
confident walk that proved to me he
was a leader among men. l did not see
the woman. but what fine specimen
of a man he wasr' l believe that the
fascination which a strong man has
upon me is the same fascination which
he has upon all men except those men
tai weakllngs and masculine nonenti-
ties who think that the chief purpose
for which a man was created was to
eat and sleep, to dress and undress.
If manly man is to hnve such a
great influence upon other men, who
will be able to do your Christian work
unless you are willing TO do it? There
are persons and spheres which you. and
only you. can reach. The women who
have labored with Paul in the gospel
cannot do it. Your mother. wife, or
sister. or daughter cannot do it. You
know that there are today down in
your store some clerks whom no human
being can touch for Christ as you.
their employer. can touch if'you Will
Would you not be a Christian mer-
chant like William Z. Dodge, or Il
Christian statesman like Governor
George n. Briggs, or a Christian soldier
like General o. 0. Howard or A. W.
Reilly, or a Christian physician like
Charles Jewett, or a Christian lay
president of a college like Mark Hop
kins? These men had great influence
in the financial or the professional, or
the political realm. Their greatest and
most far reaching influence, however,
was when. as earnest. cOnsecrated
Christian leaders, they stood before the
young men OF this world as living ex-
amples of faith in Jesus Christ. They
were manly Christians in the busy
marts appealing to men.
True Courage.
Would you not like to be a Christian
scientist like Henry DrummOnd? Some
people are foolish enough to suppose
that his greatest work was in the lee
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