The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-07-02
MISUNDERSTANDING

|
&Every man, woman, and child is a
builder. They are building every hour
of life. They are not all using hammer
saw, plane trowel and plumbline:
they are not all putting up houses OF
wood or stone, or brick, but they are
all erecting buildings vastly more i'm
| portant; they are building characters
Paul says in 1st Corinthians Bird
chapter: That other foundation can
no man lay, than that is laid. which
| is Jesus Christ. Let every man take
heed how he buildeth thereupon."
1t is matter of vital importance that
We take heed how we build" In every
infant that is born into the world, God
lays the foundation for the building
of character. During infancy. and
early childhood, parents start the
building. 1t is solemn responsible
work. None but true Christian parents
can do it right. When children get old
enough TO know right from wrong.
they share the responsibility of char
aster building, with parents and relig-
ious teachers.
SuppoSe you are going to build a
house. One man proposes to furnish
you material, every part of it suitable,
good, perfect, durable. Another pro-
poses to furnish you material much
cheaper, but half rotten, crooked,
twisting, defective, unsuitable. Which
would you use? For every character
that is built, God furnishes good ma
terial, the devil bad. You choose which
you will put into your character. Are
you using the good or the bad? Paul
says, Take heed how you build" Why
Take Heed?
First, because our building will be
inspected.
God will inspect it. When the con-
tract for a public building is let. and
the work is finished it is always care
fully inspected to see if the work is
done according to contract, before it
is received and paid for. So God will
carefully inspect our characters to see
If We have built with the material He
has furnished, and according to the
model He has given us in His Book. If
we go to the devils pile of lumber and
put bad material into our characters,
God will see it, and hold us responsible
for our wrong.
Men are constantly inspecting our
characters. They see every defect in
them. If we use bad material 1t weak
ems our characters, and sets a bad eX-
ample for others. Others see our vices,
and human nature is more inclined to
copy vices than virtues: and therefore,
we ought to take heed how We build"
We are constantly putting material.
the lives of others.
The Devil inspects our building.
Many years ago a friend of mine told
me of an old SOW he had, that reminds
me of the Devil. She was of the old
razor backed" stock, with a nose
nearly a foot long, to tear up pine
roots. on which they depended largely
for their living, the most mischieVous
thing he ever saw. She would break
.f oil a, int saJa he
put her. She would get out and go to
the fence around his cornfield, and
with her long nose che would try pam
mel by PANEL until she found q rotten
rail, and pushing it she would break
it and in she would go and destroy
much of his corn. He woull put her
back in the pen, but soon she would
be out and try the fence around the
potato patch until she found a rotten
rail, and in she went to destroy pota
toes. That is the way the Devil does.
He tries every part of our characters,
and if we have put in q rotten piece OF
material he will find it, push it, break
1t. and go in and do us immense dam
age. How often we put into our lives
the rotten timber of high temper, an
unruly tongue, intemperance, covet-
BUSINESS, worldliness, unbelief.
But We should be careful how we
build characters. because they will not
only be inspected, but tested
Gunbarrels, scales, timepieces
steam engines are tested before they
leave the factory to see If they Will
accurately, safely and properly perform
the purpose for which they are made.
SO our characters will be tested to see
if they are what they ought to be
what God requires them to be. They
will be tested by temptations; as Abra-
hams faith was tested in offering
Isaac. as aJosephs purity by the allure
ments OF Potiphar's wife, as David's
chastity by Bathsheba, as Peters cour-
age at the trial of his Master, as the
loyalty of Judas by the love of money.
Some temptation will test every char
acter. Paul writes pathetically to Tim
othy: "Demas hath forsaken me, hav-
ing loved this present world" Esau
solemn thoughts that comes to me is,
How important then that we put
into our characters only the good ma
terial God furnishes US and that we
use wisely the building time God allots
US.
j. A. STRADLEY.