The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1911-04-07
SATURDAY NIGHT
NJ SERMONS
W. BY
q REESANlIJEL
q W.pUPvIS.DD
THE MYSTERY OF PAIN.

He leans back and views you as
though he were a visitor from another
planet "Why does your God allow
pain% says he. That sounds judicial.
Makes you blink. eff He is almighty
why doesn't He abolish itP Notice
his "If were God" air. "If He were
all loving would He permit it?' That's
squelcher. You wriggle and squirm
mentally. You cough and strangle
like dog that's swallowed a fly. Be
| fore you can stammer forth something
about the ways of Providence being
inscrutable he is gone and you feel
as though you had been caught burn
ing incense to your house cat. Then
you remember that you would have
liked to ask his theory Of why the
"blind impersonal force he believes in
pernits pain. His non-God is as cruel
as your personal God and doesn't
profess loving intelligence. But he's
gone and you're alone with your pain.
Come soon or late pain will get you.
1t ushered you into the world; 1t may
bow you out. However, the amount
between birth and death is curiously
exaggerated Three rainy Sundays out
of thirteen will tempt the preacher
(also his excuse making church men,
ber) to declare that sit always rains
on Sundayw Some Of our pain we
have earned honestly and ought to be
ashamed to mention it. Human wars,
oh nd shall htIf
posure and camp diseases, have hand
ed down quite a few to our human
credit or discredit. Modern psyche
therapeutics prove that envy, jealousy,
hatred and some other unenviable
traits are responsible for quite
brood. It's not very polite to blame
God for these.
Pain as Warming.
Pain is a signboard. Your physician
tells you, scientifically pain results
from or accompanies deranged. over
strained or otherwise abnormal action
of the body and serves as a warning
of danger True. Nature warns there's
something wrong. Don't hush the pain
remove the cause! flushing the pain
is removing the red lantern, the dan
ger signal, from a wreck on the road
instead of removing the obstruction.
Without pain practically every Ill
would be fatal, because the cause of
the pain would not be removed.
Ever see mother watching her year
old fodder? The button box, the stove.
the scissors, the steps, even "kitty's
claws" are unknown quantities and
qualities to baby-it doesn't know pain
hence mothers watchfulness. After
awhile 1.-The burned child breads the
fire" and some other things. Without
pain the race would be wiped out of
existence. Some babies of older years
would walk heedlessly in front Of troll
leys-fenders are needed even now;
others would wander over precipices;
some would cut hands and fingers off.
Pain is a protection.
Philosophy of Pain.
Your infidel friends questions start
ed from wrong assumptions. He has
many such. One is that what hurts is
necessarily evil. Another is that pres
ent immediate happiness is the chief
end of life. And his notion that God !
of love would not allow suffering |
shows he has a crude idea Of the ma
ture of love. He would train his son to
believe that boy scouts are best. de-
veloped on ice cream sodas and cake,
while his daughters basketball team
best builds muscle on pickles and |
fudge. Love is an unselfish devotion |
that seeks another's highest good.
whether for the moment 1t gives pleas
ure or pain. Life is not an entertain
ment; it's an education.
This world is Gods university. Death
is commencement day: pain has been
prominent on the faculty. The oak is
a tree plus some storms. A statue is
marble plus the chisel. A soldier is
man plus battle. The martyr is flesh
and blood plus rack and fagot. In
aviation the first rule Of fight is to
turn the machine against the wind.
Mankind rises through adverse winds
Of suffering The higher your nerve
the more you suffer. Tear
an arm out of crab. II will still live
indeed. may grow a new one. Tear
an arm from a man. he will die.
Mans body is a marvellous harp. But
do not subhuman creatures suffer-
Yes. but only relatively. Cut some of
the simplest forms of life in half and
they go on their way-two existences
now instead of one. Doesn't the fish
worm wriggle under the hook" Yes.
put it wriggles before the hook touches
L. "And the horseT' Yes. the more
highly organized he is the more he
suffers. But even he has been known
% hobble around on a broken leg. nib
bling grass In apparent contentment.
And the inferior racesT" have seen
IN one of the reservations a half dozen
indian boys with a playmate down
abiding pins in him to make him yell
"Our light Affections" says Paul
somehow the pounding is turning out
rome doors with beautiful designs.
The shearing and the weaving and the
Iyeing are bringing out beautiful
apestry. luke away suffering? That !
would take away the power OF the ,
oul 20 endure. -Twould rob us of pity.
VI r,-or,fH 1oaa osrr heroes and martyrs