The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1905-11-11

nave lDuENt the E10l uRHl. i nave
finished the course, ] have kept the faith.
I'll Tim. iv. 2.
II is splendid thing, at the end Of
life. to be as certain Of having done
the right thing all along as you were
confident Of intention to do it at the
beginning Seldom is life's review as
satisfactory as its prospect was in
spring. Long before its end we begin
to see ways in which we might have
done better, and to us all there must
often come the grave question: What
are the things most worth striving for
in Iife2 It is a needless life that never
asks: Am ! seeking the prizes really
worth the gaining?
Every purposeful life gains some
prize; the puzzling question is as to
which are the most desirable-the per-
manently valuable Popular opinion
points to riches and honors; but exper-
ience warns Of the price to be paid for
them. It would be folly to pretend
that they 60 always to the most
worthy. You do not have to look far at
any time to find the microscopic man
with the magnificent fortune. Often
the richest man is the poorest kind Of
man. At any rate it is certain that
you cannot pursue that prize with sin
gleness Of purpose without the sacri-
fee Of almost every other desirable
thing.
Then, cries conscience, choose char
acter; make that your end. But man
stops to count the cost While it is
not true that one cannot be rich both
in character and in cash, the instances
are sufficiently few to make them look
more like exceptions than rules. Piety
is not established by poverty. neither
does it insure against it, They who
seek character regard adversely and
prosperity, ignominy and honors but
as incidents ON the way, the goal alone
La to them essential One world Of
thought brands as a failure the life
that leaves no legacy of things, while
yet another is equally sure that sue.
cess is to be measured by treasures of
the soul alone. Who will show us the
right way?
A concrete answer comes from one
of the worlds wisest and best. Paul,
mighty in manhood died poor and in
prison; but he died endorsing the
course that had such an end. In review
he saw that the way had been right
He might have taken many other
ways. So potent a personality would
have found prosperity in any of them.
But he deliberately chose the way Of
service for spiritual things; he accept
ed the hardships loss, priyations, pris-
.ons and death and rejected the possi
bilities of easy wealth and fame. At
the end, having tasted all the bitter
ness Of the way, he commends it to his
young friend Timothy The path Of
service for humanity, the fight against
sin and wrong, the stewardship OF
faith and truth and right, these, says
he, are the worth while things in life
But was Paul right? Is any life pat
termed after his Masters, any life that
counts the inner joys, the glories Of
service, the rewards of character as
supreme, and so misses the treasures
for which the many strive, a success?
Let history answer. Is it fame we
seek; there were a thousand famous,
mighty, successful men in imperial
Rome when Paul, from his prison,
wrote these words. Well might they
have despised the poor prisoner had
they even heard of him. Yet who to-
day remembers the name of one of
these great ones? And who is there
has not heard of and honored that
poor, condemned prisoner? Even
much more is all this true concerning
the lowly man of Nazareth.
Let our own hearts answer Is it
riches we seek; what is all prosperity
without peace Of heart? Can money
ever buy comfort, content or sympa-
thy? Money is to be measured by its
earning power, the interest accruing
in happiness and usefulness. The
worth of the things you hold in your
hand depends on the riches Of your
heart Think you not this world would
be the better place and life the wealth
Ter for us all if all were seeking the
things unseen, truth and right and
holiness, love and service, seeking to
see their God and to serve their fel-
lows? That would not mean race Of
mystics; It would mean more manhood,
less mammon;' more wealth and fewer
fortunes Deep in all our hearts we
know this is the best way; its toilsome
path alone gives peace; its intangible
prizes alone are permanent; its SUI
preme reward is character. the soul,
the one asset we can carry from this
world and the one legacy which 1t is
safe to leave to others-Chicago Trib.
une.