Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1908-01-31
! be destroyed" In Gods sight the per.
petual pleasure seeker is fool
Another Kind Of Fool.


Another Kind of Fool.
But. turning from the mere fun lover.
we enter into the busy, crowded marts
OF trade. There. among the hardworlS
Ing merchants and Ia the offices OF
some of the most noted lawyers and
physicians and In the studies OF some
of our greatest authors, scientists and
statesmen. we may find another kind
of folly, against which King Solomon
warns us in the words of my text.
The man who lives merely for what
he can accomplish In this world Is a
fool The same biting. cutting, with
ering Technology Of four letters,
"fool." which is applied to the one is
also applied to the other.
Here we have the characterization
from the lips of the Lord himself
Turn to the parable which Christ
spake to his disciples in Luke xii,
1920. There in his wonderful word
painting Christ takes us to the home
OF a great eastern landowner. This
wealthy man takes US out upon the
veranda of his house and begins to
point out the advantages of his prop
erty. His land not only seems TO be
endless, but he has quality of soil as
well as quantity. Then he seems to
say to US: II started a poor boy, but
by close application to work l made
ell this property by my own labors.
have no thought or hope beyond the
money / am amasSing. Now, the great
question before me is, What shall
do? My incoming crops are larger
fhon o,.fo h0fI
In ChriSt's own words we have the
story: And he said: This will do.
will pull down my barns and build
greater, and there will bestow all my
fruits and my goods. And | will say
to my soul: Soul, thou hast much
goods laid up for many years. Take
thine ease; eat, drink and be merry.
But God said unto him, Thou fool,
this night thy soul shall be required
Of thee. Then whose shall those
things be which thou hast provided?"
Friend, are such men, of whom this
rich man Of the parable is the symbol,
to be counted among your best friends?
Brother, when Christ spake this para
bic of the fool who was giving up all
his life to amass little silver and
SOiN wac hC tAiQNlnS W yOus AIC
you in Gods sight the covetous fool,
surrendering eternity in order to lift
your head little higher in the world?
A Strange Sermon.
Oh. how quickly shall come the eter-
nal doom which awaits the covetous
| fool of Christ's parable, who has vast
ed his opportunities in order to bow be
| fOrsa tho chrina % for
was never more impressed with this
fact than when, some years ago, one
bleak November day was sitting upon
the banks of the Hudson rivtr and !
had the strangest of preachers talk to
me. / know not whether | was asleep
or awake. but this is the sermon that
came TO me at that time: While was
sitting there, suddenly n cold sharp
blast OF wind slapped me in the face
and then leaped up and struck an over
hanging beugh until the bough creaked
and groaned with pain. Then. seeing
the uselessness of trying to break the
backbone of the old forest monarch,
the wind ruthlessly disrobed the tree Of
irs glories, scattering the leaves far and
wide, and seemed to sport and laugh as
I ~ NOoSCN OAAC " ACtl. ANU us Il sat
there, watching the poor little leaf
bleeding and dying. with its arteries
slit by the sharp teeth of the blast, it
told me this tragic story: 81 was born
OF bud. At my nativity the gentle
spring breathed life into The. The re-
freshing showers nurtured me. The
sunbeams soothed me and coaxed me
Into smiles. The birds warbled and
told me their secrets. The summer
breeZes rocked me to sleep. The rising
sun kissed away my dcwy tears. Life
was such continual happiness that
throbbed with gladness and tried to
awaken the weary Traveller as he hid
from the noontide sun under my shad-
ow. But then i commenced to grow
old. Something told me had to die,
and, though I nestled closer to the
branch and tried to shake of the cold,
yet on every hand the likelihood flowed.
Every morning when ! awoke ] saw
hundreds OF leaves drop, covered with
the white shroud OF frost, antSnow as
lie there, incarnadined with my life's
blood. you admire my beauty and my
colorings. but am dying. My sun has
set. 1t is eventide and time for me to
sleep the last great sleep. And you,
too. o man, must diel Younger men
will jostle you. You must some day
become Il back number Your heirs
may now be getting ready TO squabble
over your WILL" 'It is appointed unto
men once to die, but after that the
Judgment" Does the dying leaf preach
that message to you today?
Lives of the Leaves.
Our lives are like the lives OF the
leaves. Some of us have just budded
INTO boyhood and girlhood. 1t is
springtime. Endless life seems TO be
stretching out before our eyes. The
edge OF the horizon where our graves
shall be dug seems TO recede as we
advance. Oh, how happy is Mayi Sor-
row has not yet stabbed at the heart
and persecution has not yet snapped at
the heels. The hardest work the boy
or girl has to do is to get up In time
for breakfast. Some of us have left
the old homestead and set up house
keeping for ourselves. IT Is summer
We have all the worriments and vexa-
lions OF life. From selfish standpoint
1t does not pay. But God never meant
you to live for yourself alone, so one
morning you awOke to find a babe
sleeping In the cradle at yur side.
Now you sit at one end OF the table
and your wife sits at the other end
or the table. while between you is
growing up a family of whom any
man might be proud Oh, how happy
Is the summeri We may have our
days OF rain as well as of sunshine, but