The Topeka state journal., 1909-02-06

I
| secure at least its outward seeming
Greed in Religion.
Two motives seem TO have underlaid
| the conduct of AnaniaS and Sapphira-
They loved praise When big-hearted
Baruabas sold his farm and turned
| the proceeds over to the church, every
body spoke in admiration OF the act,
and q warm glow of affectionate es-
TEEN baIhed Barnabas. AnaniaS and
/ SappF1fra. coveted the same diStin ction-
They wanted TO be first among broth
ers and to be known as excell1ug in
virtue. A distorted love Of praise viii
lead anybody to extraordinary and
even criminal conduct The apiSh con-
duct and garb OF persons whom one
occasionally sees upon the street, sur
passing the extremes of fashion. usual
" has its spring in this ancient and
fneTadicdble human sentiment. the love
of distinction.
UnIovely as the truth is. it must be
admitted that many persons love
dweIIs deeply in their hearts. It is
their master motive Because of love
of money they viii, as each days
newspaper teStffies. violate the most
claims of blood and honor, and yield
to a vuIDine SeIfiShneSS in their deal
ings with their fellOwmen- The spirit
OF greed which revealed itself in the
early church, in the conduct of Ana
MAS and Sapphira, has not long been
absent therefrOm. A few weeks ago
sweeping accusations were brought
against many of the leading profeS-
Mr. William Moody, the son of the
great evangelist, Dwight L. Moody.
His charges were cOmprehended in the
two specifications OF sensattonaism
and coumercialism- He definitely de-
clared that some men engage in the
vocation of soul winning from love of
money. and that their greed outruns
all bounds of discretion and decency.
everpresent meuaces Of the church, as
Of society, is this old, old spirit of
greed
4 DesidabIe Judgment.
Ananias, like a multitude since, had
not grasped the tremendous truth that
in the realm OF religion a man is an
swerabIe directly to God He thought
he was ansWerable to the apostles and
TO the organized church. If he could
keep right with the church authorities,
he thought enough had been done So
when he pretended to surrender the
price of his land, having kept back
part Of il. Peter turned upon him with
some bLstering questions -AnaniaS.
why hath Satan filed thv- heart TO lie
to the Holy SPIRIT. and to keep back
part Of the price Of the land? While it
did it not remain thine own?
And after il was sold, was IL not in
thy power? How is it that thou hast
this thing in thy heart? 20
Then came the accusation, that was
by the utter collapse and in
slant death of the offender: Thou hast
not lied unto men, but unto God" a
vivid sense of the souls possibility
to God would save men from most OF
their SHINING
Simple, fraterual, loving as was that
early Christian community, there yet
was a real discipline. Wherever the
Of the Spirit of God is rec
0gnized, there must be law. even
though liberty reigns- The present
day church has lost much of her power,
largely because she has lost much of
her purity. Members are not cast out
or disciplined because Of oEenses- A
lax government in the church is as like
ly to result in lax conduct on the part
OF her members
It is in connection with this present
incident that the word Church is first
applied to the company Of believers in
Jesus. They were an organized body
They cherished one another, and they
cherished the teachings Of their Lord
Especially did they obey that injunc-
ton to love their neighbors as them
selves, and this law must underlie ev-
cry experiment in socialism that IS to
succeed Only brotheriness, animated
by the controlling spirit Of humanity's
best Brother. can level the inequalities
of modern seff-ceutered society.