Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1904-01-16

means to those who pie up colossal for.
| tunes or who are the habitues of Vanity
Fair. beggar may he, and probably is,
| quite as much OF a mammon worsh.per az
IS the most vulgar money lover. They
4 who fall may be even more worldly than
they who succeed. However that may be,
our present concern i with the admonition
| that warns us not TO bury our talent bv
living so.ely for temporal goods. Every
day we are exposed 10 the conia.ion Of
earthly domination. How Easy It is to lei,
ourselves down to low degree OF
thought. desire and qualification We are
kin to the elements about us. We beione
to two wor.ds-to earth as well as to
heaven. With Dardonab,e fondness we re.
Ter to our present abode as ''moiher
earth" We came ourselves from its bo.
som. We get all that we have on; of the
gronnd-our food and raimen:. our
houses, our books. our sciences and arts
all the material blessings with which we
are enriched. Here reposes all that was
mortal of our beloved dead. and at their
funeral rites the church said earth IL
earth" Here the great have lived. the
brave have fought for right and rights,
and royal souls have done their work for
| three and thirty wears. His feet trod upon
ITS hills and wales. His precious blood
flowed down from His sacred body to its
SOIL. and His mang.ed corpse lay in its
| tomb. How much the earth has in il To
fascinate. Is il a marvel that so many fall
before its seductions and hide the great
/ and holy talent in the clay? How natural
but how wicked. To every one who buries
the talent-his personal force-in worldli-
| ness comes the sharp condemnation, thou
wicked and slothful servant
IL Is nothing less than high crime to
centre ones being in the earth. When he
| has the power to be a son of God. when he
n taN IL,
when he can he efficient and effective
throughout his sphere. when he can make
contribution to the fund of goodness and
happiness. what 4 sorry pity il is that he
should put such possibilities into hole
And yet that Is precisely what so many
are doing. Some OF them are rich. while
| others are poor; some have knowledge and
culture. while Others are ignorant and
hard. but they are all alike In that they
nave buried the precious gift 1t matters
not whether they are lofty or lowly. wheth.
or they live in i palace or garrett. they
have erred gr;evousiy ii they have buried
the power which alone can make lie worth
living. What IN unspeakab.c degradation
It Is to leave the plain where God would
have us think and work and to descend to
the slavery OF a vulgar ambition for world
~ concerns. To pass ones years without
raising TO the dignity and excelcnces OF
noble manhood and noble womanhood--to
ing the Deity-and without noting the
privileges which Christ has assured-to re-
duce ourselves to the level OF machinery.
TO set up song and dance as though that
were the greatest thing in the worlds TO
take ourselves INTO region which is not
ut tor immortals. Let us do our work ard
ENJOY our recreations. but let us also APP
preciate the doctrine that to be true men
and true women is the highest possible cs-
tate. Away with the base de.usion that
the average person is called to n condition
OF inevitable inferiority, and that it is not
Ter him to look for large personal develop
ment and excellence. All could be strony
II they would use their talents.
We have personality. There is such a
thing as the 'Dprsoaal equation" Every
body has fair chance. The man who mas
buried his ta,ent is apt TO deny all this,
and may possibly settle down to be fata-
list. pessinist. misanthrope, chronic
grumb.er. How true the parable Is 10 ma
tu.e and to lite. The complainant is out
OF harmony with everybody and every.
thing. His grayamen is most unlove.y. He
may urge hercdity by alleging that his an
tecedents were uniavorab.e and his birth.
right counts foT nothing. lie may point to
circumstances as pronibitorv add iavinci.
bic when he would assert his right TO be =
man. he may charge that divine proyi.
denee constantly thwarts him and reduces
his every hope to ashes. In the last analy-
SIS he takes tine position of the condemned
man OF the parable and SAYS To the Lord:
knew that Thou art an hard man.. al
allegation which Is disproved by the fact
that the Lord had given him n whole tai.
ent. Although the human heart recoy-
nizes some measure of responsibility. it at
tempts to argue the matter and sets uD 4
defense, and IL ends BY laying the blame at
the feet OF God. The Father has done His
part abundantiy: it on Y remains Tor His
children to 10 their; the talent has va.ue
only in its Use
st. Paul views this question from most
exalted standpoint. He says: There are
diversities OF gifts. hut the same Spirit.
and there are differences OF administration.
but the same Lord. aad there are DIVERSE
ties OF operations, but it Is the same God
that worketh all in all. but the manifes;a-
tIon OF the Spirit Is given 10 every man TO
profit withal."
We speak OF sc.f-made men as thouch
they were miracles. In referring to them
as such "a mean that. in spite OF difiicu,-
ties. they have attained remarkable excel
lence. But every worthy individual is self
made by the grace OF God Even under
the most favorable circumstances. n man.
II he Is to amount to anything, must make
himself: it. therefore, bchooyes us to 20
TO work upon ourselves. We ought 10
take ourselves more seriously in the high.
est possible sense. We have capacities.
TOD mas made us Tor some good He has
given us each one talent ut least. The
sons OF God, we do not belong to the ru1.
bsh pile of the universe Ii We VIII take
ourselves in hand-ii we will he ourselves
and not try to be somebody else if -
VIII serve onr own misSion-if we will
faithfully and honestly accept and meet
the situation we find it, we will sur
prise ourselves sooner or later when me
results will begin to appear
While we live, let us live" or as the
old Romans put it-"dum vivimus viyi.
mus But let Us insist upon life in The
best possible sense. There is capital
enough To begin with. We can devotion a
sturdier fiber. We need not be ordinary:
commonplace. vulgar. inane and insipid.
Mediocrlty Is inexcusable We can be
high-toned. we can be splendid specimens
OF manhood and womanhood. we can be
our best and do our best. We can be our
trae selves by growing more and more into
the likeness OF the strong Son OF Man.