Weekly Watertown leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1908-1909, 1909-01-15
YOUR WORK AND YOUR WORLD.

Inc LORD lath neeu OF Dln. --Luho
10: 81.
You are never worth much until some
one needs you. Happiness depends on
being useful, or, at least, believing
that we are The superfuous person is
always In danger. He is out Of place
in a universe so ordered that its per-
lection depends on each one taking his
place and doing his work. There never
was normal life Of which it could not
be truly said that the world had need
Of him.
1t is better to make the vain mans
error Of thinking that the fate Of the
world hangs in suspension, dependent
on your existence, than to fly to the
opposite extreme and to lie inert, be-
lieVing that it makes no difference
whatever whether you are alive or not
whether you do your work or rot. The
value of any life depends much on its
Bense Of being essential to al lives.
This is a saving sense. IT makes ear
nest souls. 1t gives life purpose and
80 gives It power. The men who go
wrong are those who have no sense Of
wide responsibilities. The young man
without this belief that the world
needs him drifts and easily becomes the
prey Of baser purposes and passions.
Give him work, awaken sense Of him
self as essential TO the welfare of 9TH
ers, and you have taken a long step
toward his salvation.
This bfuI, faIfh hot ba
tho whole order Of earth and heaven
need us Is something we all need. There
has been a type Of theological think
Ing, custom of speaking as though a
man was altogether an insignificant
and negligible factor, as though the in
finite being could do all things without
our aid. No wonder we have learned
to call ourselves worms Of the dust
and to act agreeably thereto.
You cannot attain to high character
without high purpose. If we are the
helpless dust Of the ages, then we can
not rise above the level Of the dust. 1t
is the sense of divine work that gives
the dignity Of o divine character. The
order Of this rational universe is such
that the father of all cannot fulfill his
high purposes without the service Of
the least Of his family, so that even l
am essential to its fullness.
The least life has its place in the
plan of the great all. High heaven has
need Of you your fellows have need of
you, your times need you. 1t may seem
that IL you dropped out none would
note your going; but if you do not live
your full life all life will be the poorer
and If you do not do your full work
the worlds will halt in their ways
Few Of us have any intrinsic i'm
portance in the world; many fail be-
cause they forget this. But all have
potential Importance and more fail be-
cause they neglect this and lack the
energy of the vision to take up their
work, develop their powers, ana play
their part In the affairs Of their time
and SO in all time.
We are too easily contented with
visions Of an angels dignity In the fu-
ture and an angels work to do then.
We feel that over there we will amount
to go on as obscure nonentities But
greater far than anything we have
dreamed OF for angels is the honor and
Importance of a mans work here.
There can be little hope of development
in the future for souls that have re-
NAMED dwarfed In dull content here.
Every life Is an essential part of all
life. This makes my life applicable !;
1t makes 1t more than endurable. en-
joyable. | begin to see life, not as a
chance to suck the orange of expert
ence dry, not as a chance to get or gain
alone, but as chance to serve. to do
n mans work in the world, to become
co-operator and partner with the most
high.
mothers greatness comes out
through her childs dependence on her {:
the man finds himself as he finds how
others need him. New high resources
of idealism and noble endeavor show
themselves in us all under the stress
Of necessity's call when great issues or
events await our endeavors.
All the sacrifice the heroism. the de-
votion of the past have sprung from
this sense in men-that others needed
them. The best thing that can happen
to us might be some burden of respon-
sibility To make our lives worth
while, high and holy, TO give life pur-
pose and power. we need to see ever
how true it is that the Master Of all
has increasingly need of the least of
lis all