The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1906-08-16

The gross sins OF the DelleVlnS
Christian are, largely, not those or
immense or awful delinquency. Most
of Us managed to keep out of prison.
Few of US have to stand for trial
upon charges Of overt crime Most
o. US, by the mercy Of God, are guilt
less of the sins which shock the
senses. The deflng sins OF the
Christian in his home life are what
we are likely to term the weaknesses
of life. For YOU and for me, petty
faults are oftentimes the greatest
sins. With us the proneness to say
the unkind word: think the unWor-
thv thought; to 90 the hard act or
to sneak the stern sentiment; to give
the rein to anger or to let passion
rule: these are the most detrimental
and defling sins. Many a mother
who would give up life itself for the
child Tho nestled at her breast;
many a father who lot only would
but does, work long and weary h"urs
for the loved ones of his nome anu
hearth; many such man and many
such a woman finds the love OF tnose
most dear to them IS lost and lost u
them perhaps forever, because or un-
Christian unchaTitableness IN the
home. .,,
For me to live is Christ" you say.
But do you live the life: Are you
thoughtless of the rights OF otners: :
Are YOU self-centred rather tnan
world loving? Are you needless OF
the needs of men? These are minor
things in life; these are the tribes.
Rut to the soul that is growing up
toward God. and out toward men,
and that is spreading roots through
the eternities, they spell either 1ali-
ure or success. AS has been salo,
| "success is made up of trifes and
success is no triae.'
Selishness, hastiness, 1nconsloeI-
ateness, all these are the sins "nlch
weight the soul. For those OF US
who have laid our hearts at the feet
Of Christ, they are the sins wnlcn
| keen us from attainment unto spirit
nal nerfection and the strength OF
the Saviour. They are the cancers
which snaw ct the vitals of the man
spiritual, and which consume the
very life's blood. Leaving behlnd
these lesser sins we may grow into
the stature of the Son of God. Put
ting meanness and pettiness behind
US we may become like Him who was
in all things pure. But only as we
exclude the smallnesses of life from
our natures do we grow.
But we must always remember
! that we have a duty to self as well
as to society and to the Saviour.
Here, again, duty to God presup-
poses and implies "a right relation
with self. We cannot be true to God
! and untrue to self. Right relations
with God preclude an evil inner life.
ITO thine own self be true" the poet
! sings, "and it must follow, as the
night the day, thou canst not then
be false to any man. He might
have said, with equal surety, that
LOYALTY to God precludes disloyalty
to man and to self. Trueness to self
implies ChristianIy speaking, that
the man is in harmony with man
kind and with God.
Trueness to the highest and ho-
Hest motives and ideals that are
within US brings greatest happiness
and peace. Right thoughts produce
and conserve right life. High
thinking is a tonic. Low thinking
breeds disease. Cleanness of heart
means clearness Of head. To grovel
spiritually is to declare ones self to
be sloven mentally. We must keep
ourselves purified of unwholesome-
ness if we would attain the heights
| where holy men dwell
Education is not salvation. Knowl-
edge is power and should induce pu-
rity. But the pure in heart mind
you, not the strong in mental force
the pure in heart alone see God.
The vile of soul are always in the
depths of hell, and all the wisdom of
all the ages could not pull them out.
A clean heart fits a man for life's
labors. We cannot submit ourselves
to the rule Of our evil passions If we
would escape ruin. "Our bodies are
good servants, but poor masters" IS
an apt and a wise saying. The Christ
was a power, because He had a
healthy mind and a pure heart. To
Him evil was hateful. For Him love
was the law and the light of the
world. For God is love.
To be pure, to be gentle, to be no
Bile, to think kindly and to act wor-
thily, to be right toward man and in
the sight Of God, to be growing con-
stantly into God-likeness, that is to
be truly Christlike. And to those OF
US alone who are trying, as Chan
ming has said, ito let the spiritual,
unbidden and unconscious grow up
through the common" who are liv-
ing nearest to the source of all love
and of all life, is it given to say, with
very truth, For me to live is Christ
Seeds That Grew, Seeds That Didn't.