Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1903-02-05

vi IIlOhS u CIEal uIttco bOALS OsS WV
paid for It. 1t is not principle that
saves some men from going to destruc-
ton by the broad highway Of disso-
~luteness, but ~penuriousness. They hold
on to every dollar they lave and are
too stingy to spend a cent. They keep
their money as long as they can and
never give n cent to n friend unless
they make that friend give them n first
class security and pay full interest.
But, my SO called respectable N up
right pharisaical friend though you
are not n prodigal, you may be a usur-
or. an extortioner and n slanderer. You
may be n robber Of the poor widows
mite and a contemplate tyrant In your
dealings with your debtors and your
EMPLOYEES. You may be n peddler of
evil reports and a murderer of your
neighbours reputation. You may be
n Of those keen, cold automatons
without one drop Of human kindness
in your heart. You may he SO mcrcl-
less in your dealings with mankind
that you will not stop for one moment
to consider the sad causcs which led
your friends into sin or into financial
difficulty. And, elder brother. if your
faults are meanness and avarice, though
YOU may have never violated h Grim.
inal code of your state. you are at heart
n sinful monster, n financial tyrant;
YOU are Mt heart a merciless calumnia-
tor. God despises your ~unrcpented sins
Just ms much as he dcspiscs the sins of
! the prodignl in the far country.
Satan is no nearer being Il Christian
gentleman for dressing himself in
broadcloth. The hangman's moose is no
less fatal for being deity placed about
the doomed throat by white fingers
n-glitter with diamond rings. Because
you, oh, elder brother, stay at home
and live under your fathers roof, that
is no reason why you may not be living
10000 miles away from your fathers
love. ] do not believe there is a more
contemplate character painted in all
the word pictures Of the Bible than this
cold blooded, unforgiving, sncering,
carping elder brother, who was ready
to take every advantage he could over
his fellow men If he could only do 80
without disobeying the letter Of the
law. Instead Of being drunk with
wine he was intoxicated with self m
ceit and selfishness. Instead of being
n beggar or. earnin~ his bread by tend
ing swine he was ready TO unkennel the
bloodhounds of vindictive ranco which
would tear q %repentant brother limb
from limb.
a DcspicabIe Spirit.
The elder brother thinks that his Di-
vine Fathers house is not big enough
TO hold two sons. He feels that if his
| brother is allowed to come back the re-
turning prodigal will crowd him out of
some room which rightfully belongs to
him. He says to himself: There is
that drunken loafer Of a boy. He has
taken his one-half of the property; now
he is coming back to eat up part Of my
half. I know that father is so kind
hearted that he will give part of my
rightful inheritance to this lazy spend
thrift, this boon companion of dissOlute
characters. If he has spent his all,
then let him starve. That Is just what
he deserves. He has no right coming
JUN W ~ " ''iil'i' 'iiNii a. IipI'
erty." SO the selfish elder brothers in
many of our large churches refuse to
let the prOdiCals come among them and
will not allow them TO be received as
equals in their Fathers house. They
seem to think that the advent Of the
poor and outcast means their own so
Cial extinction and their spiritual de-
basement.
Where can the despicable, pharisaic-
al spirit of the elder brother be found
more conspicuous than in some of your
modern Sunday school classes: "uh,'
say the we'll dressed young girls OF that
class, you are not going to put that
poor girl in our class. Why, it will
ruin the whole class. You cant expect
the daughters of millionaires to asSo-
ciate with sewing girls even in a Sun
day SCHOOL, Where can you find n
more despicablc. pharisaical spirit than
in the missionary life of some of our
large city churches? There are many
large and wealthy churches that are
supporting missions in the foul slums
of the city, yet whose members would
htt iCi pAlt IHNliIl dIioN tIt pun W
sit in their pews or kneel at their
communion tables. And. mark you,
this pharisaical spirit of old is not only
found among the rich, but also among
the poor. Some years ago the Avon
dale church of Cincinnati, of which the
Rev. Charles T.. Goss is pastor. tried
to run n mission in the slumS. DR.
Goss declared that that mission had
TO be abandoned because of the phar.
isaical spirit which was TO be found
there among the poor. There, even
among the rags and sins Of poverty
he found there were classes. SinfuI
men and women would not associate
with each other because some of then
thought their own rags were n little
cleaner and better thar their neigh
boris rags. So all through the churcl
and the world you find this contempt
bic spirit Of the elder brother. w,
find so called Christian men and WON
en- who protest against the prodigal's
return because they fear the younger
brothers reformation might in SON
way injure their own social and spir
itual standing.
The Two Sons.
The elder brother never longs to sat
isfy the divine cravings OF his father