The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1907-06-20
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A SERMON %<sss -,
pY TAE REV M<S9pssg
'IFAWHtNDEeSoNWfli'-
subject: Covetousness.

eNltGNt Ol tue Nutliit SVNtlVushtH0t
the Rev. l. w. Henderson. pastor,
took as his text Elk. 20:17, Thou I
shalt not covet." He said:
Timothy tells us that the love OF ,
money is a root of all kinds of evils.
Covetousness is part of the soil in
which the tree of evil is nourished I
and out of which it grows. The child .
of darkness and of the brood OF 4
greed, covetousness Is a canker to
the soul. Born of blackness, II /
makes dark the life that Is under
its control. Where greed is and
covetousness abides are no more
found peace, purity, contentment
quietude of life. Before its evil
presence happiness is destroyed, Un.
der its goddess influence Joy and
peace are impossible. 1t will fill
quiet life with turmoil and discon.
tent will rule.
Covetousness is greed let loose. II
is selhshness compounded and the
handspring of energy in the grab
ber's life. Its fruit Is sin and its
consequences are appalling.
Covetousness must not be con.
founded with honest desire to emu
late good example. Covetousness
and righteous discomfort are not one.
Covetousness and manly ambition are
not similar. The man who looks
with greenish glinting eyes at his
neighbor's we'll deserved reward is
no brother to the soul who longs to
follow in the path of those who have
achieved success. However wrong
envy may be adiudged to be, the man
who wants to do and to become and
10 earn a higher place in life, is wor-
thy of all praise. To look upon the
ruao1fh and ppuar and an1iuanpa Of
others with the evil eye is wrong, but
it is no less reprehensible than is
that unmanly, self-stultifying lack of
pure ambition and of noble aim
which is characteristic of so many.
Discomfort with our lot in life may
be a blessing or a bane. Dissatisfac-
ton with self and with success at
tained is a motive to larger and con-
tinued effort. Satisfaction and stag
nation are not far removed Righte-
GUS discomfort incites to progress.
Unrighteous discomfort makes the
soul sick. The history of the world
is the record of the discontent-good
or godless-of individuals and ma
tions. The unrighteousness discon-
tent Of a Bismarck-that is to say,
the covetousness-gav to the world
the sc,urge of the Franco-Prussian
war as the price of Prussian predom-
nance and of united Germany. Rus
sia wishes Asia for a province all
her own and our news is full of war.
Napoleon is covetous of empire and
Europe is bloody as a shambles. The
wretched thief is envious of money
and your gold is gone. The well
dressed speculator on the street mad
dened with the lust for wealth plum
ders a host as hungry for shekels as
himself. But opposite Napoleon
stands discontented Washington
fighting for his country's veal Kos
ciusko, Garibaldi, Wycklif, Huss and
Luther, all rise up as discontented
men. The exalted dissatisfaction of
our forefathers finds expression in
the country that we love so well.
Covetouqness is contrary to the law
God and the commands of Christ.
vhteous discomfort is a boon to
lanity for without it men would
ar move ahead. But let us not
ess too much. Covetousness is
subject of the tenth command for
and sufficient reasons. 1t is
,eless; it brings distress; it is a
c, Sc
Covetousness Is senseless, It is un.
wise. No man by taking thought
can annex his neighbors property tc
himself. The highroad to unhappi
ness is founded, as much as it Is
built upon anything, upon envy OF
the other fellows fortune. Envy is
silly for il makes us sick with jeal'
ousy and disappointment, the while il
offers no relief. The fact that your
nelghbor is undeserving of his for
tune or has no real appreciation Of
his benefits neither alters your posi-
tiOn nor remoulds his state of mind.
That other toilers place will not be
yours whether you are covetous or
no The other woman's clothes
might not become your style at all,
although they do look well on her.
But grit and go may put you in a
higher place and make you peer with
him whom now you wish you were;
and taste with sense and little cash
may keep you In becoming clothes.
Coyetousness of the other person g
clothes or place or wealth is sense
less and it certainly is, sin.
Then, too, to coyet is to undergo
distress. Think Of the heart aches
and the head aches of those who for
get their present blessings in jeal-
GUS contemplation Of the other peo'
ple's Joys. The pleasure Of the hour
lies unused. The opportunities fol-
immediate happiness lie unnoticed
The Joys of the fields and the skies
and the hills and the wales all are
forgotten. Life with its many un
priced happinesses is a thing uncaret
for and unknown. The soul, tn
heart. the mind, the every facult
of being, all are distressed and dis
eased with inordinate desire for tn
other mans possessions. Woe be
tide the man or the woman int
whose heart the devil of envy enters
For to eoyet is to be afame with sin
Covetousness is curse. Th
courts are calendared with cases o
unholy lust for land Love lies slail
in many a home because of mar
riage ties undone. The jails are full
of men who coveted the property o
the other man a little bit too much
The business world we'll knows tn
necessity OF thou shalt not cove
thy neighbor's man servant" To
often the surest way to down a riva
has been to lure away some truste
employe who could draw away h
. old employers trade. But in II
ethics OF many business house tn
is sagacity and not sin. The she
girl is greedy for the ribbons and tk
trinkets of the moneyed maid aboV
her and she sells her body. viii
she damns her soul to crafty ht
whim. Coyetoasness is a curse.