The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1910-08-29

the signs that light the road.
MEN make haste to he rich, and
thew seek a sign. And they, too, snail
have no sign but that of the prophet
Jonah. Again the only road TO success
is that furnished by the nature OF
thinss-sobriety industry, honor, in
tegritv, economy, thrift, truth, justice.
Something for nothing is a wlll-o :
the wisp that floats only over the bog.
The short cut is short, and the end is
the quicksand and the mire. Nlneveh
is lust another way of spelling Homo
lulu. Honolulu can avert calamity and
earn success, as did its ancient Assyrlan
counterpart, by repentance of its sins,
by disinfecting its moral plague spots,
bv bringing its total life into absolute
obedience to the will of God. The open
mind. the sensitive conscience, the ODE
dent spirit. the ready will, the conse-
Grated life-these are the signs. There
are no others.
"Men want intellectual certainty.
They ask for a sign, q voice out of the
sky, a message written on the heavens,
an authoritative verdict from a papal
chair. And they can have no sign but
that of the prophet Jonah. Oh, you
can not have something for nothing.
You must pay the price of honest
search, eager striving, genuine strug-
gle, determined thinking. You have
reason. Do not despise it; use it; it
is from God and leads to God. You
have conscience; cultivate it. You have
the Bible; study and interpret it. You
have prayer; revel in it. You have a
heart; open it to the light. There is
no shorter road. There is no cheaper
way. These are the signs; there are
no others.
"And what of character' If, con-
ceivably, at every other point-health,
business, intellectual rest and peace
one might hope to get something for
nothing, when you come to the charac-
ter that fits one for heaven there, AMI
makes heaven here or there, it is a
case of thus far and no farther If,
conceivably, one might capture the
prizes of body, mind and trade by the
magic of some occult sign, character
presents an iron wall to the interloper
If you might possibly hypnotic flesh,
brain and fortune, character is sleepless
and can never be taken by surprise
Salvation is free; you can not buy it
get through with it--costs alertness
costs unf1inching courage, costs rigor
Gus denial and sacrifice, costs the fight
, for mastery, costs the toll of the ardu
Gus campaign, costs obedience, loyalty
calmness if you please; costs money
brain. Drawn. heart-costs everything
, 1t would be worthless if it did not. II
| is the costliest thing in the world, be
cause it is the best. The best comes
| high.
''You are seeking sign! All vel
and good, so long as you are after the
right kind of sign. But you have nc
need to seek signs. You Yourself are
full of them. Eyes and ears; use them
profit by experience. Common sense
actually follow it, and you II be amaz
| ingly uncommon; most men are play
ing the fool. Reason; stop trifling ant
/ begin to think. Conscience: listen tc
it, honor it, obey it, quicken it. Heart
follow its instincts and give it the Goo
for whom it thirsts as the deer pants
for the water brooks. Prayer; pray
/ without ceasing. make every deed {
! prayer. The cross-the cross on Cal
vary; in the heart of God, in your owl
! life of sacrifice and loyalty. By thi:
sign by these signs - conquer. By
these signs, and by these alone, shall
you enter into the character that gives
share IN the inheritance of the saint:
IN light. Work out your own saliva
ton; for it is God that worketh in vor
to will and to do of His own poof
| pleasure.''