The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1904-02-19

| is unsettled from the Atlantic to the Pa
cifc. The foundations Of commercial sta
| bility seem to be shattered before the adj
vancing tide of financial ruin. Then only
! the strong stand firm. The weak resort to
! dissipation, to waste OF body and soul, to
crime. The pure become more pure The
wicked grow more vicious. And thus the
| event which brings blessing to one brings
curse to another 1t is all matter of per.
sonal character, of moral fiber. Blessed
is the man that endureth temptation"
Temptation in the sense Of enticement
to evil is totally different from temptation
in the sense OF providential trial. If James
is jubilant over the advantages Of the lat.
ter, he is no less interse in His adherence
OF the former. The sorrows and misfor-
tunes of life may come in the order Of d.
vine providence to refine character. Yield
ing to sin because of allurements of evil
must be traced to some other origin. James
boldly declares that the tauit lies in the
corrupt human heart.
He will find DIRECTORS to his doctrine.
Some will lay the charge of mans tempta-
tioD to evil upon God Himself, who made
men with disposition to love sin and to
pursue it. But that cannot be true, If God
is good. every good git nd every per-
feet gift is from above and cometh down
from the Father of lights" 1t is absurd to
accuse God of enticing men to YickedneSs.
"God cannot be tempted of evil, psither
tempteth He any man" He woasd not be
God if He could do this, lie would be the
devil. 1t is ilAosical to call Him God-eter-
hal goodness-and yet ascribe seduction to
Him.
James holds IN the lustful human heart
and contends that no externs! circum-
stances constitute in themselves alone o
seduction to sin, They may provide the
occasion for wrong doing. They may make
a powerful appeal to the passions and APP
e Dbl ..lL
futile to influence conduct and choice but
for the corrupt longing of the neart The
trouble is this, James explains: Every
man is tem1 ted when be is drawn away Of
his own lust and entioed. Then, when lust
hath conceived. it bringeth forth sin. and
sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth
death"
But will you make no account Of hered..
ity? Certainly, the children of the opium
eater, the user of ntoxcants, the giutton-
Gus. the lascivious, will bear in their en-
feebled wills, impaired nerve centres and
scrofulous sood the foul faint of sinful
parents. And may God pity the progeny
of the vicious! But shall the victim of
fathers sins yield weakly to the propensi-
into the turbid pool of iniquity? Will it
excuse mans bloodstained hand that he
received fiery temper from his ancestry,
ana in moment of ungoverned fury muir
dered his fellow?
But will you make no account of envir-
oonment? Certainly: the generations rising
from the Sums of the great cities can
scarcely be expected to come naturally to
the virtues of your c,ean-faced, church
bred boys and girls. What, then-shall the
soul make no effort to rise superior to its
surroundings? Is there any environment
in which allurements to evil will not exist?
Do they not obtrude themselves upon the
OfV NIB av14 -, Il
ton: Is there exemption for any one?
Surely not, but in the last analysis the
temptation is not in the enticements Of
ones environment. but in heart that
lusts after evil, and which must be denied
its desires. If good character is to be made.
Temptation to evil, then, is matter in
which our personal moral fiber is in
vowed, just as in trial through suffering
our powers of endurance are tested. What
is your attitude toward evil? Is it one OF
apology and condonement? How perilous!
Is it one easy familiarity? God pity your
weakness! We have duty to ourselves.
Luther used to say: 1--WE cannot keep the
can prevent them from building their nests
in our hair" We may not be able to keep
temptation away, but we need not let it
in the house We should not expect God
to lock the door and keep His hand upon
it. We are the doorkeeper of our own
souls
Naturalists tell us that the scorpion will
never use his sting, of which he is exceed
ingly careful, unless he can find a spot on
the body of his desired victim sufficiently
soft to admit it's insertion without fear Of
injury. Temptation never assaiis the soul
except at vulnerable points Our own lusts
determine the spots which the enemy
strikes
But fortunately the whole burden of re-
sisting temptation to evil does not rest
with us. Divine help is promised "If any
Of you lack wisdom, let him ask God"
Wisdom is called by sound writer "the
art of Christian conduct That art can
be acquired of Christ Himself. He was
tempted in all points as we are. vet with
ont sin. He can and viii imnart the power
Of successful resistance Moreover. there
IS specific promise IN the premises There
hath no temptation taken Won but such as
Is common to men, but God is faithful,
VINO will not suffer you to he TEMPTED
above that We are able, but will also with
the temptation make way to escape, that
Fe may be able to hear IT,"
For him tina. endures there is TIRE blessed
'ecomperse of the crown Of life What the
SCULPTOR has wrought is not to be shattered
Dv the hammer of judgment. When the
ship comes bounding over the stormy sea
'he is not to sink in view of the harhor.
BIT after the STRUGGLES of this human ,ife
vii come the felicities and fuiness of the
perfect life. May the victor's wreath be
ours.