Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1904-07-20
TIE WORLD WE 1--we In.
BY Rabbi Alexander Eyo

BY Ea0bI Alexander Lyons.
God saw everything that he had
made and, behold 1t was very good
Genesis, l., 81.
The world we live in is an astonish-
ing device OF fertility and utility.
There is no limit TO the productiveness
of a single seed. There is no existing
thing. dead or alive. that may be said
to be useless. Even the lazy, debased
human icing who consciously seeks TO
commi, himself to policy of useless
ness win subserve soirc use beyond his
ken. Vice often breaches and enforces
virtue better than virtue does. Nnce
knew an Invalid whose helplessness
was absolute People said: How use
less such life. What Il pity in
justice that God doesn't take her,
And yet saw what others overlooked
The accomplishing. cheerful self-con-
troll and considera ton for others of this
invalid inspired many with glander
aspirations of character than are stir
red by many ministers.
This world is Il moral world. You
may doubt it. The fault lies in the
limit of your vision the impotence of
your expectation, or the falsity OF your
moral conception. Our world is a
sphere of constant progress to better
things. We have finer fruits, fairer
flowers. and a higher level of manhood
and womanhood generally than could
be said of century ago. Our world
is so ingeniousy devised that the true
ultimately triumphs and the false fans
character is crowned, and vice van
pushed If you do not always see
this it may be that you expect results
too soon. Remember that, as the
psalmist has taught, what you con
slider a thousand years is in the Divine
vision only a little while. Gods great
est consummations must be awaited.
They can't be hurried. and they are
worth waiting ! u.
You may not see the moral nature
of this world because you are not suf-
ficiently moral to take the right view.
You look for results in the wrong di-
rection. Your idea of justice is that
goodness should be fat and fiourishing,
while wickedness should wither and
wall If this world We're arranged
with such mechanical precision and
the reward of goodness were always
material, morality would disappear
and men become cold, calculating ma
chimes AS the world is you will find
goodness always rewarded if you look
within Genuine goodness desires no
higher recognition than the joyous con-
seriousness of duty done. Spurious
goodness-the goodness which calcu-
lates-will not find this reward and is
entitled to no other Yes, this is Il
moral world God is in league with
whatever is good.
Our world has its troubles and tears.
True, but they heightcn its beauty and
deepen its blessedness. a world with
out opposites were killing monotony.
If there were no sorrow and suffering
there would be no tenderness, no SYM
pathy, and ultimately no love. The
heart of humanity would be turned 10
stone. The gloom of this world is the
necessary price placed by Divine Wis
dom upon its gladness.
And yet the world is not so gloomy
rs pessimists hold. T. more sun
shine than shadow. more health than
sickness 1t is easier TO smile than to
weep. and happy heart is possible to
every human being be he rich or poor,
ignorant or informed, suffering or
sound.
Still do we find the world faulty.
And so it is, but it is mans and not
Gods world that is Objectionable. We
cause most of life's sorrows and forget
its smiles. We overlook the rose and
eriticlse the Ii RI. We cxaggerate our
personal Importance and expect the
universe to circle about us and dance
attendance upon us. We overlook that
we must fit into the world and can if
we will find joy in furthering the
world even at the cost OF the sacrifice
of our pleasures.
Let us not try to do the world. but
to do for the world. Let us stop criti-
cisins Gods creation and "iticise our
selves Down with sclfiShness. Let it
be our ambition TO leave life happier
than we found It. If we try to SEQ
how much we can put into the world,
if we strive to still its cares and deep
en- its dimples. we shall agree with the
ancient conviction of the Almighty
that this world is not only good but
very good