The Tupelo journal., 1904-09-02

by ~eXternalitieS. rather than the internal
qualities of heart and character.
THE world judges people by what they
| possess in tangible assets, whether
they consist of gold, of power, OF physic-
al or intellectual attachments which
give social and business p~referment. And
it is hard to unlearn the lesson of the
world. 1t is hard to give up her measur-
ing rod and her balances, and measure
and weigh things after the Divinely ac-
curate means of the Gospel of Jesus
Christ and His unfailing and unerring
Spirit of love and service. The natural
tendency is to have respect of persons.
Even Samuel the Prophet made this
g~rievous mistake when sent by God to
anoint the new king of Israel. He
judged by the eye, he used the worlds
standards of measure, and was prone to
pour his consecrating oil upon the finest
physical specimens of Jesse's fam
lily, but God checked him in his ig-
norance and folly, by saying:
Man looketh ON the outward appear
ance, but God looketh on the heart"
God is NJ respecter of persons, when
it has to do with the possessions and at
tainments of this world. In fact, how
often it has pleased God to choose the
foolish things of this world that He
might put to shame them that are wise;
and God chose the weak things of the
world that He might put to shame
the things that are strong; and the base
things of the world, and the things that
are 0espised did God choose. yea and the
things that are not that He might bring
to nought the things that are: that no
flesh should glory before God" How
unseemly, nay, how wicked, that those
who are in Christ Jesus, who profess His
name, should recognize the distinctions
which prevail among men and should
be governed by them.
THE admonition of James is need
l full and timely. MY brethren,
hold not the faith of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the Lord of glory, with re-
spect of persons" For il We have re-
spect of persons, We commit sim"
And perhaps there is no one thing to-
day for which the church of Jesus
Christ is blamed so much or is 50
harshly criticised than this one sin
of class distinctions. The world can
forgive most every other weakness.
but when the rich are honored and
cherished to the exclusion of the poor
and humble brother; when the talent
ed and cultured are welcomed with
f1attered and f1attering ~obsequious-
ness, and the untutored, uncouth saint
is despised and forgotten and ignored;
when the church counts it's success
by the numbers of its Selects and
bulks the rest of it's membership as
so much necessary ballast to keep the
ship steady and obedient to the helm
when the world sees this, its cry of
condemnation is heard, and the church
is denounced as an exclusive and ex-
Guiding organization, and no place
for the poor and the weak and the
%unlearned. And while we do not rec
ognize the right of the world to judge
the church, and realize that the preju-
dice which prevails against it makes
the world prone to criticise and point
defects wherever they may exist Oh
seem to exist, still it is true that many
churches, yea, may we not say, most
churches, are tinctured with this ten
dency to class distinction. In some
churches it is more marked than in
Others. To the degree that the Spirit
of God rules in the hearts of the mem
bers. to hat degree is the church free
from this marring and d~ishonoring
condition.
II HIS sin of class distinction is one
into which the Christian falls SO
naturally and easily. How much more
prone we all are to render to the