St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1910-03-12

yours Again say: blood Is thick
er than water" To these and to
every other you are debtor. What
do you owe them? ALL the category
of kindness marked out In the Golden
Rule: do unto them as ye would be
done by" Lend hand! Be not an
over-reacher, like Jacob; buy no mans
birthright for mess Of pottage; give
Laban the benefit of the square deal
Say never: Honesty is the best pol
ICY" for honesty is right, whether it
pays or not. Take shame to yourself
IL ever you get the better of another
man. And if he fall, what then? Lend
hand! Help him up!
Are you living that way? Are you
paying your debt to the community?
Are you dealing fairly with your fell
low-men? If not, give an ear to your
conscience which is saying: Thou
art not an honest man."
But there Is third reckoning, not
with God nor with our fellows, but
with ourselves. owe it to myself to
be a clean man. In view of the COM
mon sensitiveness as to physical
purity, 1t is difficult to understand the
common Indifference to purity of soul.
have slight birthmark, the size
of penny, on my cheek; and, once
and again strangers have volunteered
to wipe it off. 1t was only yesterday
that conductor on surface car. as
he took my fare, drew out his hand
kerchief and graciously said: Permit
me, sir; you have slight smudge on
your cheek" To me this seems a fine
tribute to the courtesy of the average
man. But Is it not marvellous, then,
that we should be so willing to con-
tinue In sin? For what Is sin but de-
Element of the soul? 1t is the only
thing in the world that robs us of self
respect. We are, therefore. under
bonds to rid ourselves of it. But how?
At 1.-The fountain filled with blood" I
know no other way. Let us, therefore,
wash and be clean. Here is the prom
Use: Though your sins be as scarlet
they shall be white as snow: though
they be red like crimson they shall be
as WOOL"
l owe 1t to myself, also, to be the
best possible man. This means char
acter. l am bound to add grace to
grace, as when one lays stone upon
stone In building a house to live In.
Whatsoever things are pure, whatso-
ever things are lovely, whatsoever
things are of good report: If there be
any virtue, and If there be any praise.
think on these things" A man with
out character is defaulter to his own
life and destiny. But he who makes
the most of himself is like Stephen of
Colonna, who, when his castle had
been RACED. his fields ravaged, his
army destroyed and himself made
captive, on being asked: Where now
wilt thou seek refuge?" laid his hand
upon his breast saying: Here is my
fortress!"
What We Owe to Ourselves.
l owe it to myself still further to
make my life tell. The waste Of time,
the waste Of privilege and opportunity,
the waste of vital energy; this makes
men poor indeed. Oh, the frightful
waste, the robbing of ones self. the
dishonesty of it, The alternative is
to invest ones energies in the profita-
BILE pursuits of life, not in mere self
qualifications or sordid ambition, but
In the building of character and In do
Ing for others and for the glory of
God
There is place for you, my friend,
in the eternal plan of God. He wants
you, and surely you have need of him.
If you would be an honest man. you
must find that place and do your best
to fill it.
The Divine Ideal.
AS was said at the beginning of this
discourse, the definition Of honesty
goes further than we think. For where
in the world was there ever q man
who thus ever paid his honest debts?
Diogenes with his lantern goes up and
down, peering into all faces and say.
ing: There is none honest, no, not
one" But once there lived an Honest
Man. THE Best of Men that e'er wore
flesh about him" was an honest man
He met his obligations, every one; to
God, to his fellows and to himself. He
was true to his commission: he fin
ished the work which had been given
him to do. The measure of our hon
esty will be our imitation of this Ideal
Man, Christ Jesus. To follow in his
steps, this is to come up to the full
ness of the measure of the stature of
a man.
And here, in last word, is the
prayer of honesty. Would that 1t
might be written In our hearts and
that we might constantly offer it:
Lord make me like thyself!
Lord. make me be myself!
Seeming as one who lives to thee.
And being what seem to be.
The Laymen's Movement.
lrr NHL1