Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1903-11-16

him the question, How long did Ii
take to write that sermon?" By that
Mr.. Beecher meant that every years
work was a preparation for the fol-
lowing years work. Every act of our
present day is dependent in more ways
than one upon the actions of our past
When a woman peeks out of her win
dow to see the furniture van unload
her new neighbours furniture and then
refuses to call upon that neighbor and
extend to her the rightful social respect
of the neighborhood, she is schooling
herself to refuse to extend a welcom-
ing hand to her humble sister when
she enters her church. When a man
is willing to push his way through the
crowds blocking the aisles of a large
dry goods store. forcing frail women
to right and left and showing aside the
little children, he is nurturing the spirit
which is shown by a criminal chauf-
feur who drives his automobile at
frightful velocity through the crowded
streets of a large city. He drives it
ahead, caring not what horses he may
brighten or what person he may strike
because he knows that, like full
speeded Cunarder striking a fishing
smack, it is the other person who will
be hurt and not himself. Christian
courtesy is of the tree of righteousness,
and discourtesy is of the tree of sin.
Let us beware how we ignore that
apostolic commandment, BE cour-
teous' q Peter iii, 8.
Furthermore, my brother, remember
that discourtesy toward others almost
invariably has a reactionary effect. The
person who complains most about
the rudeness of others is generally the
one who himself is rudest of all. Some
time ago l was riding in Pittsburg
street car. An aged colored man enter
ed. His hair was as white as was that
of Frederick Douglass just before his
death. The car started ahead and near
ly flung the old man upon his face. l
rose and beckoned to him to come and
take my seat. All the way down the
aisle he kept grumbling and grumbling.
Even after he was seated he kept on
complaining about the people mot be-
ing willing to give an old man a seat"
At last lost my patience. l leaned
forward and said: Friend, these pas
sengers may have done wrong in not
arising to give you a seat. They may
have been impolite and discourteous.
But did yOa ever stop to think that
you yourself were even more discour
teous than they? When 1 rose to give
you my seat, you were not enough Of
a gentleman to say Thank you for
it." So everywhere we can find that
| the people who most complain about
| the discourtesy of others are apt like
| the old black man, to be just as dis
courteous themselves. If there is this
| sin breeding mote Of impoliteness in
| the eyes of our brothers, let us be sure
| that we have not the larger sinful
! beam in our own.
| Avoid Appearance of Evil.
Small essential the next: The absti-
nence from all appearance of evil. The
| taking care of your life's actions so
that they may never be false lights
Turing your neighbors and friends upon
| the fatal rocks of sin. The refusal to
eat meat, if by the eating you may
| cause your brother to offend. ''All
| things may be lawful, but all things
| are not expedient," was the substance
of the Pauline injunction to the Co
| rinthian church. ITO SEEM may some
| times be almost as great a sin as Ito
be-" Mark you this: No man can af-
ford in any way to have his influence
cast upon the wrong side of any moral
question. Nearly all our great religious
teachers have recognized this truth.
We must abstain from all appearance
Of evil on account of our influence over
others. We must abstain from all ap-
pearance of evil on account also of
the reactionary evil influence upon our
selves. One of the greatest bulwarks
against sin is the God implanted desire
to be thought well of by your neigh
bors. A man, on account of principle,
ought to be ready, if necessary, to defy
the scorn and the sneer and the op-
probrium and the persecution and the
Misrepresentation and the ridicule of
the human race. But every man may
desire that his neighbors and friends
think well of him; that they should re-
gard his name as the synonym of hon
esty and truth and probity and recti
tude. And when any man comes tC
the dangerous condition in which be
does not care what his neighbors think
about him: when he Intentionally and
recklessly stirs up a hornets nest OF
needless criticism; when he tauntingly
boasts that it does not matter what 9th
ers may say. as long as he is not doing
wrong, then that mans feet are tread
ing the soft quicksands of temptation
and walking along the narrow edge OF
the precipice Of death.
Keep Engagements.
My sister, be careful about the char
acter of your associates. My brother
you who are an officer or member OF
the Christian church, l would not at
tend the theater again. You may say
you saw nothing wrong. You may say
Won rao1 tho roIa Won 10