Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1905-04-07

since you nave made n financial sue
cess IN life than when you were finan-
clally poor? When as n poor farmers
boy you started for the great city TO
make living you then felt your de-
pendence o0on God There was no
doubt about IL. You prayed hard the
night before you left home that God
would care for you. In the railroad
train just entering the depot you put
your head upon your hand In the car
seat and said: Lord. lead me. am
absolutely weak and helpless. Lead
me-" 10 you make that prayer now7
With big bank account and home
upon Il fine boulevard and multitudes
OF friends. do you get down on your
knees every day, like camel going
through the eye of the needle. aud say:
Lord. thou who doSt feed the birds of
the air and clothe the lilies OF the field,
clotbe and feed me, guide me, pro-
tect me. l am helpless without theeT'
DO you make that prayer daily? oh,
rich man, rich I'm money, but poor I'm
grace, down on your knees. Down on
your knees in supplication. Lift high.
er To-Day tue throne OF God by bending
low over the lowest throne step. Down.
rich man! In the name of Jesus, down,
How to Get Through.
The needles eye OF the Jerusalem
gate Is very low. l also find that il Is
very narrow. Not Only does the camel
have to bend his knee to get through
| II. but he also has to have his packs
taken off his back. IL this is not done
the camel, with its distending loads
hanging upon its sides like our grand
fathers saddlebags on a horse. could
not get through the narrow door. The
rich man cannot get through the nee
dies eye of the kingdom OF God unless
he stops carrying around with him his
/ great packs OF Weaknesses and con-
temptibilities and selfish actions. with
which often be Is accustomed to deal
with his fellow men, And vet how
hard II must be for rich man to be
absolutely just and kind and truthful
ana forgfving to those whom he meets
in the ordinary walks OF life. Indeed,
the more ] see OF rich men the more |
feel that, as far as their dispositions
are concerned, they are I'm the unenvi-
able position OF those who were
brought up as an only child in a fam
~ wv ahsAfC CFCtS unuef
the sun to make them spoiled children
and spoiled men.
There was not very much chance OF
you and your brothers and sisters be-
coming mean and selfish when YOU
were young. You were only one OF
| nine children. Your father was a
farmer. All the boys and all the girls
had 10 do their full share of work.
You not only had TO divide the bone
labors, but you also had TO share your
toys and your pleasures with each 9TH
er. If box of candy came into the
house you were not allowed to grab n
handful. If there were three crullers
upon the table and six children you did
not have three or two or even one. You
only had n half. Each child had as
much as you had, and you had as much
as the rest; no more. no less. When
you went of to the city school you
took turns and went or In patches.
You did not all go together. You wait
ed your turn and helped each other to
an education. You shared each others
bed. You halved each others sorrows.
You doubled each others joys. oh,
feel sorry for the man or the woman
who did not have the blessed training
OF growing UP amid big family of
brothers and sisters,
First Idea OF seIashne.s.
Selfishness? In those days you did
not know what selfishness was. You
did not have n wife to wait on you.
as some OF us have now. And you.
| grown woman. you remember the first
time you awoke to what truly selfish
life meant. A little cousin visited your
fathers home. She was an only child.
Instead Of letting you play with her
doll she kept II all to herself. When
she had box Of candy she would eat
| a piece and then put the rest away In
her bureau drawer. II she went for n
carriage ride she always wanted to
drive or else she would cry. IL there
was game she always wanted to be
tne leader or else she would not play.
She was selfish; she was just mean and
contemptibly selfish. You could not
understand her actions until your moth
er took you in side room and said:
May. / am sorry that you and Helen
cannot play happily together. But you
must be very patient with your cousin.
Remember she is an only child Re
member Mt home everything she wants
| Is given TO her. and no one ever crosses
her. You must be patient with her.
my daughter. She has been spoiled.
and she Is not alone to be blamed for
it."
The rich man may not be all to blame
Tor being selfish. AS the eastern camel
goes swinging along with his head high
up and cares not what little child he
may kick In the street, so the rich man
may not be entirely ut fault because
ne treads upon the rights OF others. He
cannot look ut thesworld through ordi-
nary eyes. The world toadIes to him
and cringes and fawns over him until
after awhile he is apt to think he is the
smartest, noblest. kindest, sweetest
being who ever lived. He begins to
think his blood different from, all other
blood and his life better than all other
lives. Now. rich men. amid all the
sycophants fawning and cringing about
you, want TO tell you clearly and en-
phatically that God has not one code of
morals for the rich and another for the
poor. You and must bow to the same
rules or justice and Kindness and gen.
tleness and forgiveness and love In our
dealings with our fellow men. The
needles eye is a low door. The low
door means that we must bend to God.
IL is n narrow door. The narrow door
means that we must be just and true TO
those with whom we come In contact
In the walks OF daily life.
The Spoiled Child.
Let me digress here a moment and
speak few words in reference to
spoiled women. l do not believe there
are as many spoiled men as spoiled
women. Men, as n rule, have not as
great chance TO be spoiled down ut
the store as some women have to be
spoiled In the home. They would be-
come just as spoiled if they had the
chance. But the women Oh, how
many OF them are spoiled in the home!
Did you ever stop to think that great
deal OF the so called nervous troubles
OF this world among women are simpIy