The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-02-06

self first The serpent, with his law Look out for Number One" was Tn the Garden of Eden: and Ananias and Sap phira. ruled by the same law were In the early church.
 It would seem as if 1the hypocrite were an anomaly. Why should man go to such troublesome lengths to pre- tend to e piety which he does not pos sess? Why cloak wickedness by out ward reIigtousness? Would it not be more comfortable openly to join the company of seekers after pleasure whatever the sip involved? Why should Ananias and Sapphira have gone through the pretence of giving the price of their lands to the apostles for the benefit of the community, all the while holding back a part for them selves? Why should the Pharisee pray ostentatiously in public places, and do deeds of darkness in his inner office? Is not this an eternal tribute that wrong pays to right? Is 1t not again case of Satan borrowing Heavens livery? The instinctive sense of the superiority of virtue is in every mans heart. He knows that goodness is the supreme thing, and, therefore, he goes
 to such extraordinary lengths to se- cure at least it's outward seeming.
 Greed fm Religion.
 Two motives seem to have underlatd the conduct of AnaniaS and Sapphira. They loved praise. When big-hearted Barnabas sold his farm and turned the proceeds over to the church, everys body spoke in admiration of the act, and a warm glow of affectionate es- teem bathed Barnabas. Ananias and Sapphira coveted the same distinction. They wanted to be first among broth- CTS, and to be known as excelling in virtue. A distorted love of praise will lead anybody to extraordinary and even criminal conduct. The apish conduct and grab of persons whom one occa- sionally sees upon the street, sur passing the extremes of fashion, us- ually has its spring in this ancient and tneradicable human sentiment the love of distinction.
 { Unlovable as the truth it, 1t must be admitted that many persons1ove money
 for itself. The spirit of greed dwells deeply in their hearts. It is their
 master motive. Because of love of
 money they will, as each days news paper testifies, violate the most sacred trusts, prove recreant to all the claims of blood and honor, and yield to a vulpine selfshness in their dealings with their fellowmen. The spirit Of greed which revealed itself in the early church in the conduct of Ananias and Sapphira, had not long been ab- I sent InGfSITUHl. A IOW WCCN0 06O sweeping accusations were brought against many Of the leading profess
 sional evangelists of the country by Mr. William Moody. the son of the great evangelist, Dwight L. Moody. His charges were comprehended In two specifications of >sensationalism and commercialism. He definitely declar- ed that some men engage in the voca- ton of soul winning from love of khok a4u nNaf frTTFn all bounds of discretion and decency. There can be no doubt that one of the Iever-present menaces of the church, as of the society, is this old, old spirit of greed.
 A Desirable Judgment.
 Ananias, like a multitude since, had | not grasped the tremendous truth that
 in the realm of religion a man Is an-
 swerable directly to God. He thought
 he was answerable to the apostles and
 to the organized church. If he could
 keep right with the church authori-
 ties, he thought enough had been done.
 So when he pretended to surrender the | price of his land, having kept back part of it. Peter turned upon him with
 some blistering questions. "Ananias,
 why hath Satan filled thy heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back part of the price of the land? While | it remained, did it not remain thine
 own? And after it was sold, was 1t now In thy power? How is 1t that
 thou hast conceived this thing in thy heart?" Then came the accusation, that was followed by the utter col lapse and Instant death of the Offen- der: "Thou hast not lied unto men. but unto God" A vivid sense of the souls responsibility to God would save men from most of their shining.
 Simple, fraternal, loving as was that early Christian community, there yet was a real discipline. Wherever the sovereignty of the Spirit of God is rec ognized, 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 offenses. A lax government in the church is as likely to result in lax conduct on the part of her members.
 It is in conestion with this present in- cident that the word "church" is first applied to the company of believers in Jesus. They were an organized body. They cherished one another, and ohey cherished the teachings of their Lord. Especially did they obey that intunc- tion to love their neighbors as them selves, and this law must underlie ev- cry experiment in socialism that is to succeed Only brotherliness, animated by the controlling spirit of humanltys best Brother. can level the inequah-