Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1906-02-01

aty, he was in bad odor. The community
VIII STAND good deal, but there comes
tlme when even the glamour of
wealth cannot hide a mans true char
acter-when his success can no longer
Dhnu mems eyes, when his splendor
becomes an offense that cries to high
! heaven. There are houses and estah-
Hshments In our day that make men
snasn their teeth, that stand in the
community as an exhibition of what
fraud and trickery and legal stealing
ana preach of trust can do With
wealth honestly earned and nobly used.
the legitimate reward of real service
10 the community, there is and should
De no quarrel; but with ill gotten
gains, gains got at the expense Of the
community, gains which aranat the pay
OF honest work, Of brain, OF body. but
the loot of cunning. of fraud. the hootv
nlched by the strong or the clever. or
the high placed from the weak. or
foolish, or 1owly; with such wealth
there is and ought to be quarrel eter-
AS the peopn 81 + 5erici6 1sshfsRS psssda rs
gates It was with a sneer. PERKINS y
curse. He is rich; yes, but he is q
sinner; his glory is his shame His
splendor is the measure Of his turpi-
tude, he has made his pile, but it is
the result OF extortfon and false accu-
sations. He is not only renegade. in
that he is publican, and the chief of
them, but he is a standing. living
monument of what conscienceless
greed can make Of man.
Fourth-Now, With this Judgment Of
ms Fellow citizens, Jesus seems to
agree, for when the people protest
against His being this mans guest
Jesus says: ''The Son of man is come
to seek and to save that which was
lost That word lost seems to
concede the justice Of the peoples
Judgment. Zaccha Gus is son OF
Abraham, indeed; TIT is. one Of the
chosen people. But he is none the
less lost man needing to be sought
and saved
Now, if that was his true character;
If the Jerichoan estimate of him was
correct, how are we to understand the
words: Behold, Lord, the half of my
goods give to the poor; and If have
taken anything from any man by false
accusation, restore him fourfold."
How can man who shows such gem
erosity to the poor; who restores four
fold to all whom he has injured. be so
mistaken his character? Is he a mis-
judged and unappreciated man?
Not so do I read the story. The
words which we are thinking of are
not meant to describe hi; past, but his
future. They do not set forth what
! has been his habit, his manner of liv-
ing; they are the announcement of a
suddenly formed purpose And that
purpose, as we shall see presently, is
the natural reaction from what have
been up to this time the motive and
method Of mis- life.
Though he has done all these bad
things, justly won the odium that he
enjoys. none the less Jesus sees in him
poss1M lrles of amendment and nobil-
ity and calls hin down from the tree
on which he has perched himself to
become his guest. This condescention
involves an interview and an influx OF
the personality ct Jesus upon his soul.
This brings about tremendous revul- |
sion. The revulsion MY perhaps be
the end Of long, slow process. Has !
he not found that his riches after all |
did not pa him for the loss Of his own |
speace OF min. and f. the hate OF the
community in which lie lives, for the ,
scorn OF a whole city? Has he not |
found that fter all his wealth did not |
satisfy OF make him happy? That t.
sin or its acquisition was like canker |
at it's heart?
More than this, when the light comes |
It brings out the dark lines. Like a |
fash Of lightning. the presence of !
Chriet illuminates his past; and just as |
Peter, when he realized. the divinity |
Of his Lord, cried: depart from me.
for / am sinful man. o Lord" so !
Zacchaeus feels all at once the enor- !
NIFTY Of his sin. It stands up in strong |
relief against what has been his mas
ter passion, his greed. In an instant |
he sees the turpitude, the ugliness of
what he has been doing. What he has /
seen before dimly is now emphasized, !
stands before his mind in clear, strong |
lines. He is in the light and all at |
once mighty resolve seizes him. He
will break with his past, will give up |
his besetting sin: yea. will With all his !