Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1908-08-07
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SINS OF OMISSION.
BY Rev. Adam Reock.

1
BY Rev. Adam Reock.
Therefore do him that knoweth to do
good and doeth 1t not, to him It is sin.
| James 4 II.
In the presence of such a text all
sins separate themselves into two
classes like the sheep and the goats
In the Judgment. and sins OF omission
take the left hand, for they are worse.
Few people realize the gravity Of these
sins. See said the young man who
came running TO Christ, call these com
mandments have / kept from my youth
| up; what lack l yet?' He never
dreamed there were sins of omission.
/ 1t Is not impossible to keep the ten
commandments, at least in the letter
Thousands there are who do not wor-
ship false gods, who do not swear or
break the Sabbath, who honor their
parents and hold sacred the family re-
lations who would scorn to steal or
| lie, and IL possessed OF good health
are not tempted 10 coyet But, having
done this, have they fulfilled all right
| eousness?
When Jesus had a great truth to ut
ter He made parable and at the same
! time poured 1t full of vital truth, so
that the truth would keep the parable
alive and the parable embody truth for
ages; just as the soul vitalizes the body
and the body contains the soul We
have some of these parallels as fresh
! and pertinent as IL uttered for the
| hour If we balance the emphasis of
ali the parallels Of Jesus the over
| whelming weight rests on this very
polnt-the seriousness and danger of
| sins OF omission
Everyone knows well the poor fell
low with the one talent His sin was
sin of omission. He neglected to i'm
prove his talent. Five expectant vlr-
gins were shut out from the wedding.
What was their mistake? They took
no oil with them. 1t was sin of omis-
sion. In that scene of the judgment
those who condemned were turned
away because they failed to help their
unfortunate fellows. This also was a
sin of omission
While sins OF commission have slain
their thousands, sins of omission have
slain their tens OF thousands The
study of misfortunes and evils always
reveals the sin OF omission as the mn
derlying cause. Ii events could be re.
versed as easily as moving pictures
may be we would in every case dis
cover the place whore an ounce of pre-
vention would have outweighed ton
of cure
We can measure the results OF sins
of commission. and we often are greatly
impressed, but the sins of omission will
not plead their case until we all stand
before the Judge. There is no nremon-
itory lntimation aud the disclosures
will he astounding These seems one
dlscoverable reason why the attain
ments of present civilization should not
have been reached n thousand years
sooner. We say 1T takes time" 70 do
things. In nine eases out Of ten 1t is
simply an excuse for our unwilling
ness To act promptly M the call Of duty
and according 10 the light We have.
There is nothing the matter with
this world. except that 1t knows 10 do
good" but hesitates. deliberateS and ar
riyes too late by some circuitous route
We must teach our youth TO harness
knowleige. and doing the marvels q,
the present viii be eclIpsed by great
er. We must swing the whole fabric
Of modern life from the negative basis
in action, ethics and religlon-the
Thou shalt not" regime of the past to
the positive basis of life suggested in
one test "To him that Gnoweth to
do good and loeth II not. to him il is
sin"
Certainly M man or Institution can
achieve greatness or endure for any
length Of time who knoweth 10 do good
and doeth il not.