The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1910-05-18
Why Take Ye Thought?

When Christ said, Take no
thought of the morrow" He laid
down a rule that applies to spiritual
things as well as to material ones.
Our bodies grow just as well when we
do not spend our time in weighing
and measuring, and our ailments are
not cured by our thinking Of them.
Certainly the body demands some
care, yet not much thought and still
less anxiety. The proper mixture OF
work and rest and food will have fs
effect just as surely If we go on with
our work, leaving health to care OF
itself. Our souls demand even less
attention than our bodies. The man
who is always watching and bewail-
ing his shortcomings is a spiritual
hypochondriac, and the man who is
always counting and glorying over his
Christian triumphs Is a boasting
Pharisee.I Consider the lilies Of the
field. If God so clothes the grass,
shall He not much more clothe you?
But did not Christ teach that we
must seek the kingdom Of God and
His righteousness? Does not this
imply that we are to make the king
dom of God the object of our care?
It certainly does, but the kingdom
of God is something too great to be
shut in by one little life. He who
spends his time training his OWL soul
is not anxious about the kingdom OF
God, but only about himself. y.
It is not often that a man starYes
on account of his anxiety to feed his
family. While he, is earning a living
for his household he incidentally
earns something for himself as well.
It is not likely that any man ever
lost his soul on account OF his anx-
iety to secure for others the blessings
of Gods kingdom. If he feeds 9TH
ers, God will not let him staEye.
The disciples were very hungry when,
at the close of a long day, during
which the Master had not seemed to
even think of Himself or them, but
only Of that very unpromising threng
Of people, they came to Him and
said: "Send them away. Let them go
to the villages and obtain food. There
is here hardly enough bread and
|. dried fish for our own supper" But
the Master would not have 1t SO. That
little. wretched provision must be sac
rifced on that great multitudeG It
was done, and 10! a miracle. The
people were fed, and so were the dis
ciples. .
~"These things are an allegory."
|. They are written for our instruction.
The soul that spends its time feeding
/ itself starves itself. The disciples are
fed with the fragments Of the feast
they have furnished to others.
ole that will saw his, life shall
lose it," There Is no surer road to
spiritual bankruptcy than that OF
spiritual avarice.
But has not Christ taught us to lay
up treasures in heaven?
Yes, lay them up in heaven, not in
your own soul. 1t is the cup of water
you give, not the n you drink, that
God counts.
If we take care of Gods kingdom
He will take care of our souls. If we
give the cup to the thirsty, He Will
slake our thirst.
Neither the spiritual egoist nor the
spiritual egotist is rated very high In
the kingdom of heaven. God thinks
most of those who think of other peo-
pie. "The wretch ~concentered all IN
self" misses everything that is worth
having in this world, and has no
promises for anything better In the
next.-Christian Advocate.