The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1904-09-03

uNIVV 0l M lions are sweptaway
vMIN VI W and the brother
AW of low degree is ex-
allied and the saint
of high degree is
brought low, and both meet In sweet fel-
lowship with Jesus as guest, as well as
host What is more dishonoring to the
Christ, who emptied Himself of all glory,
and power, and majesty which He pos
sessed with the Father from the begin
ming and took upon Himself the form
of man and became servant unto all men,
than for those who claim fellowship
with Him, who identify themselves as
His followers and acknowledge Him as
their Saviour and Lord and Master, to
make distinctions between people &C
cording to the standards which prevail
in the world? What could be more dis
pleasing to Him, think you, than for one
who wears the livery Of the redeemed to
estimate and Judge men by the mere ex-
ternalities of what they possess, or what
they are, and let such judgments bias
their conduct towards them? We know
such distinctions are unworthy the call
ing and profession of Christ-man or a.
Christ woman; we realize that we ars>
under condemnation because we have
the respect Of persons; we know Gods
Word cries out against the sin, and yet
what condition is more prevalent among
Christians to-day than this caste spirit,
this tendency and disposition to let the
"gold ring" and the rich raiment" infiu-
49, 40 nd IN a
paragement and dishonoring Of the poor
brother who is rich In faith towards God
and possesses in rich fullness the hid
den graces of the heart? The Apostolic
Church came early to experience this
weak and worldly tendency among It's
members. In fact before the organiza-
ton of the church on the day Of Pente-
cost, Jesus met this defect among His own
immediate disciples. He had to rebuke
preferment, and for estimating people
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 preferment. And
il 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
grievous 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 no respecter Of persons, when
It has to do with the possessions and at
tainments Of this world. In fact, how
often 1t 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 despised 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.
T HE admonition Of James is need
NJ full and timely. "My brethren,
hold not the faith of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the Lord of glory, with re-
spect of persons" For II 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 so
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
fiattered and fiattering obsequious-
ness. and the untutored, uncouth saint
is despised and forgotten and ignored;
when. the church counts its 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 oil
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 tine
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 AZ max az