The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1905-08-30
The Use of Wealth.

Son, remember that thou in thy life
time received thy good things, and
likewise Lazarus evil things, but now
he is comforted and thou art torment
ed-Luke xvi, 25.
The object Of the parable of Lazarus
and Dives is not to teach the doctrine
of the world to come, butrto set forth
the evil doing of the unnamed rich
man who was commonly designated as
Dives, and incidentally the infinite
mercy and love. Of COG, which will not
suffer misery and wretchedness to coD-
tinue, but will grant to the sick heal.
ing, to the hungry plenty and to the
friendless friends. q
Now precisely what was the fault Of
Divesl Is 1t that he was rich and
therefore able to clCthe himself finely
and live richly? In the heading, Of
this chapter, in the English translation
which we commonly use, the King
James version, this parable is thus de-
scribed: 1.-THE rich glutton and Lag
arus the beggar." But, that. is quite to
miss the point Dives is not represents
ed as giutton; he, is not described as:
intemperate, in any manner, as we
ordinarily consider intemperance. He
dressed handsomely, he Jared well; so
much we are told and no more. And
is there any reason why we should
assume more than that? The point Of
the story Is missed if we find Diyes'
sin in his gluttony or intemperance.
At his door day by day lay the sick
beggar. That Dives was not unehar-
liable in the customary sense Of the
word charitable is clear from the fact
friends laid him. Such subsistence as
he obtained was derived from Dives
1t, was that which fell from Dives
table, what was superfuous, what
Dives did not wish, which was given
to Lazarus. Lazarus was. not driven
away or treated with cruelty, as, we
ordinarily interpret cruelty; day by day
he was placed at the rich mans gate;
day by day the rich mans super
abundance so far provided for his
wants that he did not starve to death. !,
We are not to think of Lazarus as.
being On especially righteous man. 1t
is not on this account that he is re-
ceiyed into the bosom of Abraham,
but because God is infinitely mercifui,
tender and loving. He cannot tolerate
suffering and misery. His love goes.
out to him who suffers and is in need;
but as in the natural world God works
through natural agencies, SO He does
likewise in the world Of social phe-
nomena and social relations. God does
! not interpose by some miraculous
agency to relieve distress. This He
does through men and women here on
earth; it is their part to act as the
agents or almoners of God; theirs to
feel and show forth the infinite pity
and tenderness of God toward all that
are in need or that suffer, and 1t iis
precisely this which Dives fails to do.
There is none Of the pity and tender
ness of God in his dealing with the,
beggar; he is not sharer with God;
his conception of his life and the obh-
cations of that life is not the Divine
conception. What he has is his to en-
joy; what Is superfuous and he does
not need may fall to the poor, needy
man who lies at his gate.
In the parable Gods purpose and
Gods opinion are shown in the re-
ception Of Lazarus into Abraham's
bosom, II we may so state it. It was
Gods design that he should have found
love and pity and tender brotherliness
at the hand Of Dives, Eho had been
endowed with many good things that
he might have the supreme felicity of
blessing and helping those who were
needy. Dive4 had taken these boun-.
ties Of God and used them for himself,
treated them as his own; conceived OF
his life as one to be lived for himself :
for bis own amusement and satisfac-
ton; failed to grasp the glorious oppor-
tunity of divine living which had been
given him, and so had disowned God
and the divine in himself; cast him
self out from the company Of God;
condemned himself, through his choice
of the lower course, his denial Of the
divine within him. to the eternal es-
arrangement from God, to Hades and
torment, to use the Jewish phraseology
and picture of the life Of the world to
come.-Rev. DR.. John P. Peters, St.
Michael's Church. New York, in the
New York Herald.