The Penn's Grove record., 1903-04-03

in effect that if we will do as wen as we
can He will care for US. 1t is only as far
as We distrust the providence of God, OF
dlsbelieye in His providence, that anxiety
can find a place in our lives. why are ye
anxious" asked Jesus. IF God clothes
the grass of the field and cares for the
birds C. the air, shall He not much more
care for you, O We of little faith?"
But this is only one-half of Paups secret.
He had learned how to be abased, but he
had also learned how to abound. He had
learned to face adverse circumstances, and
he had also learned to face prosperity. We
must all have known people who came un-
scathed through adversely, and we're after
ward ruined by prosperity. Under the in
Huence Of good fortune they become con-
ceited, arrogant and selfish. More people
have been spoiled by wealth than by pow.
erty. | have come to feel that no greater
evil can befal a young man or woman
than to be rich through the effort Of father
nr grandfather, and so be freed from the
blessed necessity of winning ones own way.
Those who struggle from poverty to aflu-
ence by learning first how to be abased at
terward learn how to abound. But those
who begin in abundance are frequently
spoiled by possessing without effort h
we are apt to call the blessings of life.
oftener so. Jesus said: BLESSED are the
poor" Now a poor man is not blessed be-
cause he is poor. IL that were so how easy
for any one of us to secure blessednesss
But poverty urges to effort and effort opens
the door to large attainment.
How, then, may one cultivate and pre-
serve such admirable qualities of charac-
ter, the true riches of the soul, while fac
ing prosperity?
~ Let him In the first place take a les
son in humility We are apt to say of q
wealthy man, HE is independent" It is
a false saying. No man who lives in a civ
ilized community is independent. The only
really independent being is the savage man
who lives by himself in the wilderness,
dressing in the skins of wild beasts and
eating roots. The moment he exchanges
his bear skin for a blanket he places him
self under obligation to the man who raises
the sheep, the man who cuts the wool, the
man who spins the yarn, the man who
weaves the blanket. The MOMENT he ex-
changes his diet of roots for one Of bread
he places himself under obligation to the
farmer who raises the wheat, the reaper
who cuts it, the miller who grinds it, and
to thousands of others whose busy brains
and hands have constructed the lnstru~
ments which make these processes possible.
This truth is extremely far reaching. Not
only for material wealth are we under OBJ
tellectual wealth. Others have labored and
we have entered into their labors. 1t il
creditable fer a man to study and possess
the wisdom of the ages. But let him tenn
per his pride in the abundance of his intel
~lectual possession with the thought that
every great truth he learns has been dis
covered by another. Our abundance OF in
tellectual riches has been dug out of the
solid rock by the men of the past who la
bored with bleeding hands.
And this is just as true of those spiritual
riches which we value. Liberty OF thought
how much has it cost in the suffering and
mighty courage of men who have long since
gone to their reward? The environment OF
our lives which conduces to purity OF heart,
how much did it cost in the struggle of our
ancestors out Of a beastly state into de-
cency of living? Let US not be wise in our
own ~conceit, but in the midst of our abund-
ance let us think humbly, soberly, accord
ing as God has given unto us, through the
ministry of our fellow men, the measure
of all things which we possess
~ Then as we face abundance, even as
when we face want, let us endeavor to APP
p~reciate the relation of values. Is the mar
who possesses wealth better than the man
who possesses nothing? Perhaps. But not
because he possesses wealth. Is the univer-
sity graduate, the man who possesses intel-
~lectual riches, better than the man who has
never been to school? May be. But not
because he is a university graduate. The
man who possesses much and is stingy is
wvrsc than tire Gtf1o
and is stingy, because there may be an ex-
cuse for the ~stinginess of the man who has
only a crust and faces starvation, but there
is no excuse for the man who goes on add
ing barn to barn or thousands of dollars to
other thousands, while his neighbors hun
ger. There may be excuse for the ignor-
ant man for not trying to advance the IN
telleetual standards of the community in
which he lives. He has nothing to give, no
capital TO work with. Bat there is no ex-
cuse to be made by the man who has had
for doing nothing for the world. He has
power and should use it. !.
The only riches worth while are in the
character. Use your abundant possessions
to help build the kingdom of God, as the
workman uses his tools to construct 3
wall or to build a bridge. So shall your
dollars be transformed into character, and
your intellectual achievements minister to
ethical ~attainments.
~ Finally learn to face prosperity by
continually acknowledging that what you
seem to possess you do not really possess
at all. You are only a trustee of a portion
of the estate which belongs to God /
possess so many golden dollars. How beau
tiful they are, how substantial, how en-
during. See me clutch them. They are
mine. ] will hold them. Nothing shall
rob me of them. Nothing? Wait. Shortly
this hand of mine which clutches so firmly
shall be palsied in death and later crumbie
to dust. The grasp upon the gold shall be
loosened. Mine? 1t was never mine. Out
of Gods earth it came. in Gods earth no
human power can prevent its ultimately
returning. NAKED came / into the world,
and naked shall ] depart thither." To-
night, may be, that journey shall COM
mence. How absurd, then, to talk of my
possessing wealth.
But there is one possession which we
shall keep, and which shall endure as long
as we endure. Character shall endure, be-
cause my character is myself. If one has
learned love, that shall abide. Purity Of
heart, honesty of purpose, kindness of life
shall endure, for these belong to the i'm
mortal soul of man. Said Jesus, "The
man who in the spirit of love ministers to
the sick. clothes the naked, feeds the hun
CRY, visits the prisoners, he and he alone
shall hear the voice of Him who stitch
upon the throne, saying, Come We blessed,
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from
the foundation OF the world"
Kindness. Y