Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-03-10
Christian Endeavor Hour
For Sunday. March IL. 1906.


Conducted by Grace Livingston Hill-Luts
Topic: James Picture Of Perfect Nan, How
Can We Realize 1t in ourselves7" Matthew
v:4s; James iii lis.
Matthew VAS: Be ye therefore perfect.
even as your father which is in heaven Is
perfect
James Hills From the Twentieth
Century New Testament.
] do not want many of you, my broth
ers, to become teachers, knowing. as you
do. that we who teach shall be judged by
q more severe standard than others. we
often make slips, every one OF us. Any
one who does not make slips with his
tongue is indeed a perfect man. able to
bride his whole body as well. When we
put bits into horses mouths to make them
obey us we control the rest Of their bodies
also. Think, again, of ships. Large as
they are, and even when driven by fierce
winds, they are controlled by very small
rudder and steered in whatever direction
the man at the helm may determine So
with the tongue. Small as 1t is, It is a
great boaster. Think how tiny a spark may
set the largest forest ablaze! And the
tongue is like spark Among the mem
bers of our body It proves itself very
world of mischief 1t communicates the whole
body; 1t sets the wheels of life on fire. and
is Itself set on fire by the flames OF the pit
For while all sorts of beasts and birds, or
Of reptiles and creatures in the sea, are
tameable, or actually have been tanned by
man, no human being can tame the tongue
1t Is restless plague! 1t is storehouse of
deadly poison! With 1t we bless our Lord
and Father and with 1t we curse men who
are made in Gods likenessl From the very
same mouth come blessings and curses! 1t
is not right. my brothers. that this should
be SO. Does a spring give both good and
bad water from the same source? Can fig
tyaa hna, n1i hrnt 6Aro NV rfy,ah haas
figs? No; nor can brackish we'll give good
water.
Where are the wise and intelligent men
among you? Let them show that their ac-
lions are the outcome of a life lived in the
humility of true wisdom. But while you
harbor envy and bitterness and spirit Of
rivalry in your minds, do not assert your
superiority over or give the lie to the truth.
That is not the wisdom which comes from
above; it is earthly, animal and devilish
For where envy and rivalry exist there you
will also find disorder and all kinds of mean
actions. But the wisdom from above is, be-
fore ANYTHING else pure Beyond that it is
peace-loving. gentle. open to conviction, rich
In comparison and good deeds, and free
from Partially and insincerity. And risht-
eousness, which is the fruit of this wisdom,
Is the crop that Is sown in q peaceful life
and which will be harvested by those who
work for peace
The Lesson.
iiSAAiS "hFu beeCner once said:
There are many persons who think they
are Christians because they have had ex-
perience; but they do not feel II to be their
Christian duty to use their tongues ac-
cording to the laws of kindness. Nor do
they think, In the confession Of their sins,
to confess that day in and day out, they
are making somebody unhappy by the man
ner in which they use that member"
And
of us which stood most in the way of our
perfection as Christians was that little
member the tongue 1t Is SO hard to keep
back the fretfui word, the angry word the
chilling word We think we are pretty good
Christians we feel that we are really do
ing our best in every way. we are deeply
interested In the salvation of souls. we
spend much time in prayer and Bible read
ing perhaps. we give untiringly of our Ia
Dor to church work. and yet that tongue
of ours goes on its scathing way. We
even talk much about following our Mas
ter In every act of our lives and ask
What would Jesus do?" about this thing
and that, and yet in spite Of vigilance
somehow the willy little tongue Sins
through the scrutiny without our noticing
and keeps at its troublesome wagging And
1t seems strange, but somehow we will no
uoe almost any fault quicker than the
faults of the tongue. We come home from
church and deliberately pull to pieces the
clothes and the characters of our fellow
church members-a few of them Of course
not all of them-and then we discount the
sermon ana smooth off the sharp points
which were meant to be darts of the Holy
Spirit for piercing and arousing sleeping
consclences All this and more the tongue
does. Then goaded on by wearied nerves
the Itte tongue throws singing words
into the face of the kind and loving father
or mother the petulant sister or the way
ward brother. and even to the touchy
neiGhbor. And all this we excuse most
easily. Yet can you think of Jesus utter
ing such words we often do and think
no blame to ourselves? Can you think of
Him saying to a member of His household,
who has made some mistake and is be vail
ing the consciousness. Serves you right, I
told you so!' or telling delinquent sister
who has forgotten to do some little favor
for you. Yes, that's the way. II you want
thing done. do 1t yourself. You never
think of any one but yourself Nellie II 1
were you I'd try not to be so selfish!''
Space forbids the attempt to set down
here all the nameless little ways in which
that tongue of ours sheds its bitterness by
shrink from the sharp words of your
tongue as you would shrink from the
surgeons knife. They may be deserved.
and they may not; that has nothing to
do with it. In most cases you are not set
as q Judge. and your words, except in re-
buking sin. should never be bitter nor
sharp.
We need all Of us to remember the story
OF the woman VINO QuaFreleu SO terrlbiy
with her husband. and one day in talking
Il over with her physician friend he told
her he could give her some medicine that
would prevent any further quarreling be-
tween herself and her husband, II she
would promise to take it. She readily prom
ised, and he gave her vial OF pure water
and told her to take three drops and hold
them upon her tongue for an hour when
ever her husband began to irritate her in
any way. The cure was complete. We
need to take upon us the vow of silence
whenever we come into the neghborhood of
those whom we know aggravate US. We
need to follow the example of Jesus who,
when He was reviled, reviled not again And
II is not an inlpossibility. There have been
men, just plain common men. who have fol-
lowed the example of the Son OF Man and
held their peace when angered. George
Washington was notably such an example.
and yet Washington was by nature any