The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1909-07-03
A SATURDAY SERMON.


And why beholdest thou the mote that
| the beam that is in thine own eye? St
Matthew vii:3.
These questioning words in the text
were among the utterances of Jesus of
Nazareth in his famous sermon on the
mount. They set forth a condition
which has existed pretty generally in
all of the habltations of mankind since
the world began. It's the failing of the
savage and the heather quite as much
as it is that of the civilized man and
the Christian to be forever looking for
the notes that are in their brothers
eye and disregarding the beam that is
in their own. Some persons are more
fragrant offenders in this regard than
others but it would appear to be an
almost universal human weakness.
Much of the trouble. the unpleasant
ness in the world. in all of the walks
of life is due to it. There is no diff
Guilty to find l. in the field of business;
in all sorts of social avocations; and, Of
late years, in this country at least
and probably in every other it has oc-
cupied a prominent place in political
snd public life. Reformers have sprung
up on every hand. They would reform
the methods of all businesses. They
would reform the many alleged short
comings of society. They would reform
the public schools, the Sunday schools
and even the churches. They would
reform politics in every conceivable and
possible way to suit their own whims
and fancies.
No doubt there is a chance for the
reformation. the betterment in many
ways of all of the activities of life. If
there were not, the future of humanity
would be a dark and dismal one, for
things are far from being perfect now
adays. But the trouble is that the re-
formers who are ever and anon shout
irg their criticisms and plans of re-
formation from the house-tops are after
all nothing but mere human beings, |
although many of them fail to recog-
ME that fact. They have their own |
frailties and foibles. And they pay no |
attention to them. No, indeed It's |
the other fellows ways that they are |
after. They do not appear to be able |
to recognize their own imperfections. |
Chey can only see the faults in others |
So they go around minding other peo-
pies business and stirring up what |
fuses they can. They generally offer
fine theoretical but decidedly impracti-
cable suggestions for the correction of
the wrong doing or mistaken ideas of
others which they have found, or think
they have. They seldom accomplish
much Of anything. even if the power to
90 so is actually placed in their hands
If every man who sees faults in his
neighbor would stop for a minute. be
honest with himself. and discover his
own shortcomings, it would not be long
before many of the reforms that are
being sought would be accomplished.
It's actually futile for a man to at
tempt to reform a fault in another. if
he himself suffers with the same fault
or worse one as is most always the
case. Like charity, reforming should
begin AT home. Then there would be a
great deal less hypocrisy in the world
And that would be a magnificent con-
dition Of affairs to prevail for every
one.
AS Christ said Immediately after he
had spoken the words used for the
text: Thou hypocrite. first cast out
the beam out of thine own eye; and
then shalt thou see clearly to cast out
the mote out Of thy brothers eye"