The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1910-06-21

BY WILLIAM Z. ELLIS.
There are hypocrites. Plenty of
them. The world abounds in hypo-
crites-hypocrite BUTTERFLIES, hypocrlte
bugs. hypOcrite worms, hypocrlte
birds. hypocrite reptiles, hypocrite
beasts. Nor has the realm of lower
life a monopoly; there are hypocrlte
statesmen, hypocrite business men.
hypocrite lawyers; hypocrlte DOCTORS,
hypocrite editors, hypocrite authors,
hypocrite CRAFTSMANSHIP pretending
to be what thew are not. There are
even hypocrite sinners; persons pre-
tending to be worse than they are. so
long as human sight and understand
ing continue poor, hypocrisy will re.
main a factor in life. 1t may as wen
be admitted as such and dealt Win
frankly.
No Hypocrite Worries About 1t.
Some folk are troubled over this
question Of hypocrites. There always
have been such anxious ones. Peo-
pie outs d. the church profess to be
very much concerned over the hypo-
critics who wear the cloak of religion
although often, it may be feared,
this attitude itself is hypocrltlcaI. Ihat
many church members are church
for appearances sake IS
probably true, although the evidence
would be Ia I'd for mortal to collect.
That il may be true, is a source OF
worry and weakness to the church.
Yet perhaps after all it should not be
worried about
There is a pointed story told by
Jesus on this subject, and the applica-
ton of it seems to be that hypocrites
should not be fretted over by the ser
wants of the Kingdom. Indeed. there
is no need for anybody to worry about
the hypocrites. Some tender con-
sciences are disturbed lest they should
belong in this category. No one who
is SO troubled is In any danger of
hypocrisy. Those who are afraid of
being hypocrites have the least need
Of being afraid. Herein hypocrisy is
like the "uD pardonable SIN" no one
who - concerned over it is in any
danser from it. one may be a weak,
bungtlng Christian, but that Is a far
different matter from being a hypo-
critic. The h~ypOcrite is one who de-
lfberatety serves the enemy in the
guise of a friend. He is ~designedly
making use of the outward appear
ance OF religion in order to serve his
own base purposes.
Tie Wheat and the TareS.
This great teaching Jesus put in
story form. The Kingdom Of
Heaven is likened unto the man who
soWed good seed in his field, but while
men slept, his enemy came and sowed
tares also among the wheat and went
away. But when the blade sprang
dp dlN4 lOIil Il lIlSf1 ~
peared the tares also And the SER
wants Of the household came and said
unto him: Sir. didst thou not SOW good
seed fn thy field? Whence, then. hath
1t tares2 And he said then unto
them, An enemy hath lone this. And
the servants said unto him, Wilt
though then that we go and gather
them up? And he said. Nay: lest
haply while ye gather up the tares.
ye root up the wheat with them. Let
both grow together until the harvest,
and in the time of the harvest l will
say first to the reapers, Gather up
first the tares. and bind them in
bundle to burn them; but gather the
wheat into my barn"
Worrying Over tine Lords Business
In this graphic story, which is the
clearest picture of hypocrites drawn
by Jesus. we find Old Satan at his
planting. Some people would elimi-
nate the devil: but that does not get
rid Of his work. No man who knows
very much about real life old pretty
little theories which have no place for
old Satan If anybody's faith in the
existence of the devil needs
ening. he has but to read the days
If there he does not find
him, he will find that some other
power which might as we'll bear his
name is doing devilish work In the
world. All good must reckon with
IVY va 6AA VINO Is sent
out into life with no knowledge of
this darker side of existence is un-
armed for a real conflict. Let us
face the act Of active, ceaseless and
ingenious by the forces Of sin.
The subtlety of the enemy in the
story consisted in the fact that the
tares or darne!, as they are called.
look quite like wheat at the begin-
ming. 1t is not until the wheat be-
gins to rlpen that the darnel shows
us true nature. There Is an opti-
mistic note in the point that the tares
We're sown in the grain field, and not
the grain In the field of tares. The
good predominates, despite the exist
ence Of the bad. Life is not all i'll.
Whle 1t Is unwise to ignore the ma
lgn, 1t IS greater unWisdom to think
only the things that are evil. The
distrustful, suspicious person, who re-