The Norfolk weekly news-journal., 1911-07-28
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THE PENNY IN THE CHURCH col
LECTION


LECTION.
Text. "of oil thou shalt give mo l will
surely give tho tenth unto thee."-Gen.
xviii. .22.
The state makes us pay taxes, the
lodge its dues, the club Its assessment
and the rest of the world Its bills.
"Pay that thou owest' It demands, and
we must pay or get out The church
alone let's our contribution be volun-
tary. And because the screws OF COM
pulsion are not put on us we dodge
and hedge Rasult-the church has to
go llmping through the world with a
staff In one hand and hat in other
With an apologetic cough she timidly
asks n little aims. When the collec-
ton plate is passed men and women
weighted with excess OF luxury, sur
feited with plenty, indulgently and
patronizlngly give the smallest coin
Of the republic-a penny-in n day
when the most colossal gifts in hui
manity's history are being presented,
millions for education, for institutions,
for libraries and memorials. millions
for universal peace and the arts Of
peace. The Joke of the age Is that
after one has spent his dollars for
luxury he must save penny for
church" II the Lord loves only cheer
full givers there is going to be some
vacant mansions in the sky. IL every
member Of church were to give as no
gives to the world the devil would
soon begin to pull down his flag.
Means Defeating Ends.
When man talks Of economy 1t
must begin at the church. He spends
So for a stag spread at the Buzzards
and gives his wife a dime for the
church. possibly cussing her Church
extravaganza" Every time an ungodly
man curses his wife for her church
stir. In an especially good humor he
fancies he buys Gods gratitude when
he buys bazaar ticket At the church
supper, which is mans meanness spell
ed in woman's work. woman serves
her Lord with salty sweat mingled
with torrid tears. Feeding the sheep
in green pastures and at twenty-five
but her altar is the cook stove, and
there she pays her vows. The record
ing angel will have trying time to
write the final eulogy or anathema Of
that church kitchen. BY its knife
many a long friendship has been sew
cred; on its gridiron many reputa-
ton has been roasted; Its teakette has
-, In, hpk tnr
the fate Of numberless sermons have
been preached. The kingdom Of heav-
en- Is not meat and drink, but mems
present system Of church finance seems
to make the church supper necessary.
The plea IS to make the outsider help
to contribute-that Is. 1t Is a device to
make worldly goats pay for the pas
turage Of the sheep. Christ ate with
publicans and sinners, but not to get
their money. 1t would be interesting
to know his opinion Of men who think
paying the preacher in things they eat
Is religion.
"Thus Saith tho Lord"
Whatever may be ones theory con-
corning social and amusement features
in his church, one thing is certain
the Scriptures seem to know nothing
Of 1.-The feed and show" business as
support for the kingdom of God. Only
one way is recognized-straight, un-
qualified giving. When the widow
gave to the prophet the barrel became
bottomless and the cruise inexhaust-
Bile. The angels have standing orders
to open wide the windows Of heaven
when all the tithes have been brought
in. VIII God lie? There was one act
of worship in the old Jewish church
that was power for holding 1t to-
gether-that was the offering Modern
money raising methods were unknown.
The people gave The law was very
definite ''They shall not appear before
me empty" The Offering was a part
Of the worship Wouldn't hurt us to
go back 1000 years in some things.
Today prayers outnumber dollars.
Thrift Is smother name for avarice.
Christ was once weighed against thir-
ty pieces Of silver, and the silver won.
Many modern Judas sells for less.
Not possession Of money, but posses
sion by money Is to be feared. Only
the rich poor and the poor rich can
enter the kingdom Of heaven. The rich
must be poor in spirit; the poor must
be rich In spirituality.
Gods Arithmetic.
We owe God much. Some debts are
beyond price. Last year in central
Texas a rich drover whose son had
committed murder engaged the best
criminal lawyer that money could pro-
cure to defend his boy. He was ac-
quilted. The lawyer presented his bill,
1t was staggering. The attorney said,
~ hope you do not think 1t too large"
"Oh, no; not at ALL" he responded.
you have saved my boy. | should
gladly have given you twice as much"
Last winter a faithful pastor won the
boy to Christ and has saved him from
a continuance Of drunkenness and sin.
When the pastor asked the drover for
contribution for his church the thank
Offering was-a dollar! How much do
we owe? A tenth anyhow. We give
that 1.-THE In tipping those who serve
us. God asks q tenth of our money