The Newark star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1909, 1909-10-25
Discomfort THE
ROOT Of ALL EVIL,
DECLARES PASTOR
The Rev. R. S. Inglis breaches
Stirring Sermon in Third
Presbyterian Church.

The Rev. Robert Scott Inglis. D. d.
pastor of the Third Presbyterian
Church. preached last night on Dis
Content He took as his text. Phillip
r1ans iv.. IL, II have learned in what
soeVer state l am therein to be con-
tent" He said in part:
The day is full of discomfort. This
gospel one hears On the street corners
is frequently a gospel Of discomfort.
The out-of-ofice politician is ever
preaching n gospel OF discomfort. Too
often it finds ready hearers. Discon-
tent is chronic, Sometimes it becomes
acute. The fallen angels kept not their
wrst estate because of discomfort.
Adam and Eve kept not their Edenic
home because they listened TO the
tempter's voice of discomfort. Discon-
tent never helps solve the problems of
society. it only aocentuates them.
1.-THE infelicities of life are sad
enough without intensifying them by
the fretfulness of discomfort. 1t Is the
mother of petulance, peevishness, envy,
jealousy, revenge. rapine n murder.
Against 1t We preach the gospel of
Christian content. 1t is not a natural
virtue. 1t Is supernatural. 1t has to be
learned. st. Paul said, / have learned
to be content a man learns content
ment by belief, in Coda sovereign
God, Tho prevailing philosophy is the
philosophy of necessitarianism The
difference between this and the philos-
ophy of st. Paul is that the former
believes In an impersonal sovereignty,
while the latter believed In a personal
sovereignty, directing all things, MAX
ing Welcomes its w worst enemy
and bringing virtue to victory. This
belief mad Paul n man of hope, who
hoped for the things that he desired
but did not see. 1t gave him a proper
valuation of the things of this world.
His treasure was not stored in earthern
vessels. The Discontinued man who has
little Is discomfort because ne has not
more. When he has much he Is still
discontinued because more Is attain
able. Contentment Is as necessary a
virtue for the rich as for the poo and
Is s more frequently lacked by them.
Contentment is a matter of character
and nor of estate.
sRaul said, Il have learned in what
soever state / am therein to be con
tent The authorized version reads,
Herewith TO be content The more
correct Interpretation Is in the use Of
The other preporsition. This points cut
the fact that Christian conteutment il
inconsist ent with the efforts to bet
ter our condition. A man can be on
tent in a state that he is not content
with. The Christian doctrine Is that a
man who fails to do the best he can
for his family is worse than an infdel.
The word translated. content means
self-suffleient. The man who himself
is doing right and doing all he can to
right every wrong can be content. The
times are not right, but he is doing
the best he can to make them right:
being right himself, then helping
TO rectify the wrong about him, and,
doing this, content in a state that he
to better. Contentment means
happiness n happiness heaven.
contentment, practise content
nient, not contentment with wrong but
cohtentment In spite of the wrong that
we strive earnestly to right"