The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1903-11-06
EPWORTH LEAGUE.
Topic For the Week BEGINNING Nov.
8, s'The Power OF Consistent
Life' - Text, Neh. v, o,
Rom. xiv. -.


Labor agitation and Industrial re-
form are not new things in the world.
The need of having the doings and
sayings of Christian correspond close
ly is not a recent discovery either
But there are many important prin-
ciples which it takes long time to
get adopted into common customs of
men even after their value is recog-
nized.
1--WE ought to walk in the fear of
God"
THAT no man put stumbling block
in his brothers way"
This duty has been for ages clearly
recognized as binding on all who would
serve God acceptably. Yet to this pres
ent time the consistent Christian is not
so common as is needful.
The religion of Jesus Christ is more
than exact performance of rites, 1t is
actual establishment of rights. the
rights of God and man. 1t is heart
worship and reverence of God and
justice and helpfulness to men.
Love to God is impossible without
love to man. No worship Of the divine
is of slightest value unless it is joined
with regard to man. No sacrilege is
more impious than that which de-
frauds and wrongs a brother man and
offers the gain to God. That worship
is most acceptable which makes offer
ing of soul and body to God in the
work of making men more godlike.
James, the apostle places this matter
of consistency in sober, practical
way. He says: "Who is wise and I'M
Outstanding among you? Let him show
by his good life his works in meekness
of wisdom" There was the same diff
Guilty in his time which is far too com
mon now. He speaks of the way some
people use the tongue. ''Therewith
bless we the Lord and Father, and
Herewith curse we men. who are made
after the likeness of Cod Out of the
same mouth cometh forth blessing and
cursing My brethren. these things
ought not so to be-"
Jesus said: by their fruits We shall
know them. Do men gather grapes of
thorns or figs of thistles?'
The inward and outward life cannot
be divorced Thought and deed are in
separable. las a man thinketh in his
heart so is he"
We are to be right in heart with God
and to be right in life with our fellow
man.
Nehemiah found things in Jerusalem
in bad shape. The poor had no rights
which the rich recognized. The laws
were ignored or interpreted in favor of
the ruling class. Grain and the other
necessities of life were cornered as eff
fectually as was ever done in modern
days. Land, by which the ancient law
could not b. permanently alienated
from the family possession, was forced
from the poor by outrageous rates OF
interest. The greed of the rich went to
the length of obliging the poor to sell
themselves or their boys and girls to
keep from starvation. The condition of
affairs had become unbearable. When
matters get into such a condition that
life becomes intolerable the history of
the past has shown that a change
comes in one of two ways-either the
mob rises in blind fury and madly de-
stroys the existing form of society and
new order rises out of the ruins as
best it may but rarely as good as
should be, or, if there be wise ones to d.
rect, the cry of the oppressed is needed,
their rights are recognized and wrongs
are redressed. A new order energies
from the old without violence and with
sanity and the best possible to the
times Is reached.
The need of all times is sane leader
ship. Consistent lives are priceless in
the worlds work. The root of consist
ency in outer practice lies in constancy
in heart to a divine commission. Who
ever has heard and needed the call of
God to faith and obedience has en-
tered this right path 1t alone leads to
real success in life. Be the sphere
high or low in the estimate of social
conditions, the worth of the man is
gagged by the measure of fidelity to
conviction of right. No brilliancy of
intellect, no popularity among men, no
position of power political or financial.
no command of luxury and leisure,
compares in permanent worth with