The Newtown bee., 1907-12-13
The Newtown Bee.
 Newtown. Friday. December. n. leo7,
HOME NEWS.
LITTLE SERMON.
CovET0USNESs BY 0. 0.
 WRIGHT.

And he spake parable unto them,
 saying, The ground of certain rich
 man brought forth plentifully; and he
 reasoned within himself. saying. what
 shall 1 do, because have not where to
 bestow my fruits? And he said, This
 will l do, will pull down my barns,
 and build greater; and there 1 will be-
 stow all my grain and my goods. And
 1 will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast
 much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, be merry.
 But God said unto him, Thou foolish one, this night is thy soul required of thee; and the things thou hast pre- pared, whose shall they be? So is he
 that layeth up treasure for himself,
 and is not rich toward God"
 This little parable tells the story of
 many life. Body, Soul and Spirit
 he was of this world only. It was all for self. There was no thought for
 others. There was no sense of God /, nor of any hereafter for the soul. The one supreme idea and desire was simply to have more! He had no love for his fellowmen, or it would have occurred to him that he might distribute to the poor, suffering and unfortunate around him. How much good he might have done; and how happy he might have been because of the blessedness of giv- ing He could have made friends, indeed, with the great abundance which God had entrusted to him. He could have built a church to the glory of his Maker; he might have founded school for the higher education of children; he should have endowed hospital for the relief of the suffering of many. It is more blessed to give than to get, or to keep. But he had no sense of the truth of all that
 Foolish indeed, was he with his big barns bursting with the good things of this life, which were of no real use to him, nor of any value to others be- cause of his greed and selfshness in boarding them. For when the end came, and he Uust render his account with God, he could not take his grain and goods with him, and he had no treas ures laid up in heaven, because he had not invested in spiritual things. All that he had gained here was now the measure of his eternal loss. And so it is with every one "who layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."
 Now this rich man was fool, not because he was rich, but because he was covetous Neither was he con- demned because he wanted to be rich CT, but for the reason that he wanted it | all for himself, without any thought of God, or of the future. The gift of riches is from above, like all good. Job was rich, and righteous. Abraham was rich and the friend of God. Jacob was rich and prosperous, and the Lord blesses men in all ages who are veal thy and wise in the use of their rich es. sCovetousness is not confined to the rich. The poor are also grasping, selfish, and without religion. It is not how much, or how little we have, but does it make us rich toward God; Are we grateful, and generous with what we have?
 Covetousness isa blind, unreasonable desire which at last absorbs every other interest in life It is all for self, nothing for others-nothing for God in heaven, or on the earth. And he who seeks things for the mere sake of pos session, soon becomes miser. The more he gets the more he wants, and he wants it all for himself, alone. The craving increases with its qualification; and the more the covetous spirit ac- luires the poorer the miserly person grows. The sense of the real value of things is lost as the soul becomes per