The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1905-10-25


if God cannot receive him into heav-
enly realms, He will put him Out OF
his misery, annihilate him, the ten.
dency will be'for him to throw himself
into the food of activity. whatever its
character. which promises him the full
est and most satisfactory return to his
present selfish ambition. Such atti-
tudes of mind. with their baneful re-
suits, are all too common. The thought
of the judgment Of God in absolute
equity in the eternal existence of the
soul is a most admirable and effective
check upon all such human presump-
ton. Well may we pray with the
Psalmist, Keep back thy servant also
from presumptuous sins; let them not
have dominion over me-"
The baneful results referred to have
illustrations in every field of endeavor.
In no other way can account for the
astonishing attitude Of people whom
I am meeting often-not bad, vicious
people, either-but folks who are utter
" careless and Indifferent in relation
to this duty or that; the moral and
religious instruction of their children,
Sabbath observance, the payment of
bills due, the speaking of the unblem-
ished truth, the holding Of malice
against fellow Christians; in perfect
calmness men will argue in extenuation
of any sin in the catalogue. Then,
there is a popular feeling that man
to get along must have pull" Char
acter, ability, the whole moral and
practical capacity of the individual, are
that you may hear it expressed any
where. 1t has come to me recently
from different sources, in one case eX-
pressed by man, in the other by
woman. In both instances, children
are being reared, reared and trained
by profeSsed Christians in that atmos-
phere. Most emphatically, I resent
and condemn such an attitude on the
part of any, especially Christians. 1t Is
specious, vicious, disastrous. PULP
may secure place among men. but
character and ability only bring honor.
Some men may be tardy in recognizing
worth. COG is not. His judgments
are based on character. Again, in busi-
ness it has come to pass that too often
any legal means is considered justifia-
BILE. According as you put something
in, the greater will be your dividends
of salvation" one man of enormous
wealth and extensive business inter-
ests is reported to have said. That
something" which you put in is not
money, or words, or deeds. These, one
or all, may be symbol Of that some
thing" The thing put in must be a
self-surrender to God, an acceptance
of the Divine will as our standard OF
conduct. If Mr. Rockefeller is desti-
tute of this disposition Of moral self
surrender, all his great gifts are not
sufficient to win Divine approval.
None can buy the gift Of God. God is
too rich to sell, and man is too poor to
buy. Any mans gifts may indeed be-
come an obstacle to favor with God
in that they may promote conceit of
such as certain an
cient Pharisees had. 1t Is worse than
useless for a man to make the church
his hobby if he gouges his fellow-men
in business every chance he gets. BE
not deceived" Remember the harvest
and be heedful of the sowing.
There are men active in political life,
professed Christians, who, according to
rumor-in some instances the rumor
has been proved fact in court-are the
recipients of peculiar favors popularity
known as graft" It's custom. 9th
ers do it, they say. Yes, and it's il
legal, dishonest; it's perjury, too. Sec
retary Bonaparte does well to insist
that this species Of dishonesty is a
grave menace to the nation. The book
says, "Be not deceived" I speak to
young men. Some Of you may hold
political position, as you now hold busi-
ness places Of responsibility. speak
forcefully, for know your possible
temptations. Abhor any moral com.
promise in politics, in business or IN
social life. The man who leads a
double life is doomed man. He may
not be condemned to prison by jury
of his peers; his integrity may escape
question because Of prevailing laxity
or personal shrewdness. But, BE not
deceived; God is not mocked." BE
sure your sin will find you out" All
souls reap, gathering as they have
sown. Thank God, there are men,
many of them here and everywhere,
who are above reproach. May their
tribe increase.
So we deceive ourselves. In. our self.
deceived state, we may find sort OF
we are with the crowd; our
chances are as good as another's; we'll
turn over a new leaf. now or hereafter.
"God is not mocked." We cannot treat
God contemptuously, as we may our
fellows. AS truly as seed brings like
harvest, so truly our derision of God
resolves itself into despair. The insult
to Deity always reverts to the insulter.
Men must not find comfort in the
thought that such willful disorder OH
their part can produce order hereafter.
If the sowing be sin, disorder, the reap
ing must be confusion.
Christianity offers humanity its
greatest conceivable opportunity, hut
humanity must embrace the opportun-
ity.