The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1911-08-05

and individual; stock solutions will not
serve. The best help thet can be offer
ed one in trouble is a respectful sym
pathy, an appreciation Of the sacred
ness of sorrow, and q. frank interest
and readiness to stand by in any
way that offers.
The professional advice-giver. with
his perfunctory and conventional plati-
tudes is one of the most aggravating
consequences of trouble
Job could lose all he possessed, and
still be Job. His real wealth was not
in his docks and herds eud other ma
teria1 possessions, but in the character
which could withstand all kinds of ad-
versity. He could say with modern
poet:
''It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishment the
scroll,
I am the master of my fate.
am the captain of my SOUL
Gods testings, Satans wiles. and the
mistaken counsel of long-windedl
friends, could not shake the soul OF
this man. Therefore he has become
one of the immortal figures of litera-
ture, and a true counsellor and COM
forter of the afflicted through all the
ages since.
Satan was right in his proposition
that the man whose service OF God IS
for self-gain is an unworthy servant.
But he was wrong. as the world ever
since has been wrong, in assuming that
the gains of godliness are the primary
goal Of the godly. doth Job fear God
for naught2" he sneered. and that
sneer has been echoinS through the
ages since, from the lips OF persons too
selfish or cynical themselves to recog-
nize the quality of sincere goodness
and pietv when they see it. To them 1t
means rothing that myriads of Gods
friends have sacrificed all for his sake,
and that the number of those whose
heart-cry is Though he slay me yet
will 1 trust him is beyond all human
computation.
Job had riches. but riches did not
have job"
Real gold, in metal or in character.
can stand all testings.
Not all sorrow is due to sin, but
all sin leads to sorrow.
Gods ways are past finding out
except by those who have walked with
Him to the end OF the Way.
There is always an afterward The
Italian proverb has it, God does not
pay every Saturday, but he always
pays The wise man looks toward the
inevitable end. He would rather have
his trouble at the beginning for the
sake of peace at the end Many young
people are sacrificing a serene, strong
and successful maturity for the price
of a little pleasure in youth. Job lived
such a life that after his trials had
been undergone he was the more roy
ally able to enjoy the tranquility and
prosperity of life's eyentide.
The strength which comes through
sorrow and failure nobly borne is in
itself high form of success.
The note of certituda has departed
from modern theological thinking Men
used to be assured of all Of Gods ways,
in heaven and in earth. az were Jobs
foolish friends They had a simple and
sufficient explanation for everything.
Now they know more and are sure of
less. The modern religious teacher is
more Of Jobs mind; he is not certain
of Gods reasons for what he does, but
he is certain of Gods character. He
knows that God is good and means
only good for His children. So he is
content to look up, amid every expert
ence, and say confdingly, Even so,
Father, for SO it seemed good in Thy
sight"