The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1903-01-21

We have to maintain certain degree of
goodness in order to live at all, and in
certain directions we have to maintain
greater degree of goodness than that
necessary to maintain existence, else
human law takes charge of us and con-
fines us among those who are dangerous
to the welfare of society. Note also the
impossibiity of maintaining organiza-
tions for evil purposes. The corrupt
rings organized for the plundering of
cities fall to pieces after few years of
success, and the rich thief usually dies
poor. An organization has to assume
some good purpose in order to make
successful appeal to the public, and if
any promoter has a bad end in view, he
is certain to keepit pretty well concealed.
We can all see, and we have no doubt of
it when we try to see, that the good is
stronger than the evil, and in the eternal
contest which is going on evil has no
shadow of a chance. We are prone to
lose sight of this, however. and in the
presence of some temptation to imagine
that what is true as an academic propo-
sition, will not prove true in practice.
1t is at this point that it becomes true
that "the just shall live by faith" The
best definition of faith is "a willingness
to trust ones fortunes to the good"
The momentary temptation pleads pow
erfully in favor of the evil deed it is
just here that we need the support of an
unfaltering faith in goodness. Lay it
well to heart that the good, true, upright
thing is the thing to be done always, the
thing which it pays to do, while its
opposite, no matter how the thing is
covered up and concealed, is the thing
which carries with it disaster. 1t does
not need that any God should interpose,
and punish the evil-doer from the out
side, as it were. The punishment is in
the thing itself, inseparably wrought
into it by its very nature. This is why
satan's kingdom is losing ground. At
the beginning it had every advantage,
and for the greater part of human his
tory it has had ten, and even a hundred
adherents, where the kingdom of God
has had one. Why then has it been
defeated all along the line? Simply
because evil is self-destructive. Wewill
do well to believe in this as funda-
mental principle OF life. Such belief
will arm us against temptation a thou
sand times but it will do much more
than that. 1t will be great comfort,
and save us from some mistakes, when
we see evil apparently getting the upper
hand. You may be very certain at such
times that the future has in it surprise
for the evil and the evil doer, too. Re-
member that the Psalmist says: 81
myself have seen the ungodly in great
power, and tlourishing like green bay
tree" And then, little later, 81 went
by, and 10, he was gone. | sought him,
but his place could nowhere be found 4"
The thing had worked itself out, and
r.
We have all seen the same things a
hundred times. 1t was in each case
what could not help but happen. No
God interposed from without, but the
thing worked out the result that was
inseparable from it, Faith here con-
sists in believing that as this has been
true in other mems experience, when
ever and record has been made of it,,
and as it has been true in your own
experience, so far as you have gone, so
it will be always. An evil action is
placed before you, and the apparent
gain in doing it is immense but Faith
says, "If you do it, you will rue it; you
found it so yesterday, it is just the same
today, and it will be the same tomorrow
and forever; for the seed of evil is in
itself, and its ripened fruit is sorrow,
disappointment and regret.