Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1911-01-07
SATURDAY NIGHT
|22SEPMONS
,W-Ak@ BY
- RYSAMUEL
u W.pURVIS.DD
UNNECESSARY BAGGAGE.


xiv, 20.
Stuff has come to mean the value
less, the hardly worth while. Il won't
accept such stuff" says the housewife
to her storekeeper. Il won't eat such
stuff" sulks the spoiled child. You
can't tell me such stuff says the
knowing one. The mother emptyinS
her boys pockets of string, bits of
glass, horse chestnutS, nails, etc, says,
"Why, Tommy, such stuff When
YOU go to move you start bonfire in
the yard or call in the rag man. You re
not going to move all that stuff. Jo-
seph Is down in Egypt rich, powerful.
prime minister, sits next to Pharaoh
on the throne. He is going to send up
to Canaan for his father to come live
at Goshen, the rich country of Egypt.
The king is interested and sends Il
special message: Come down here
and live. Bring all that is worth while,
but don't bother with unnecessary
things; regard not your stuff; all the
good Of the land of Egypt Is yours.
Think of the load Of stuff Jacob would
accumulate in his long life-wornout
leather water bottles, old tents, thread
bare blankets, rickety wagons, house
hold equipment, broken down camelS
and such things. Gods in heaven.
Full of mercy, he sends his convcyances
and our elder brother to bring us to
the rich lands of heavcn-and, oh, the
stuff we would take along!
Heavens Values.
Here comes an earth pilgrim pufilnG
up the celestial road to the gate OF
heaven In his pack he has farm,
two corner lots, some gilt edge stock,
a fine bundle of mortgages and bonds
and some other valuablcs. what
stuff's that?" says the angel at the
gate. Stuff" gasps the astonished
pilgrim. That's my property-what |
was worth when l died down yonder.
spent fifty years accommodating all
that; many's the sacrifice l made to
do it too" Il don't doubt that re
plies the gateman, but it doesn't pass
current here. That isn't the coin OF
this realm. Here's another mortal I'm
afraid has made the same error. n
second pilgrim has pumped down his
pack with an air of confident assur-
ance. What have you there, friend:''
asks he of the shining robe. ITS some
baggage l thought | would need-my
good intentions, my excuses for sins,
my prejudices, my theology, my big
otry and my righteousness. | thank
goodness l am not as other men are
this worldly fellow, for instance, with
his vulgar material possessions" MY
good friend" replies the heavenly por-
ter, you've Numbered, like the Phari-
sees of old. Your error is as great as
your neighbours here. He brought ma
terial things instead of spiritual, and
you have brought only the shadow OF
spiritual things-rather, an imitation of
them That catechism under your arm
and that church letter sticking from
your pocket are good things, OF course,
but only as they stand for something
real possessed, just as your dollar
mark stands for dollar, but isn't Il
dollar. You've carried up husks-
stuff"
Excess Baggage.
The railroad company puts on your
ticket the amount of baggage you may
carry; beyond that is excess baggage"
Ever watch a travelling salesman
netting his trunks? We humans are
great baggage carriers. We're leaving
Sodom, OF course, but loaded down with
trinkets, like Lots wife and daughters.
Heaven knows we must carry burdens
enough with our responsibilities to the
state, to society, to our families. The
tasks of everyday life are large too.
When you add sickness and misfor-
tune the load is mighty burdensome.
Some smile bravely some go on in
logged silence, some go insane, others
take their lives. Society is busy trying
to equalize the load, and-God forgive
us-we frequently stand off and call
ugly names to those who are trying to
help. However if you think your end
Of the log is the heaviest glance to-
ward the other fellow, speculate as to
the size, shape and quality of the bur
den he carries. Honestly, would you
like to trade? If you could you would
be back tomorrow asking for your
own life again. God fits the back to
the burden. It's the unnecessary, the
excess load that Tags us. Society and
self sometimes put on the straw that
breaks the camels back.
The "stuff" Of Sin.
Society women sometimes tell US
frankly Of the unutterable WEAKNESS
of walking the vain show. Million
aires tell us of ruined nerves and that
"millionaires don't laugh" Mere pleas
ure seekers tell with a blase tone of fol
lowing a will-o'-the wisp A certain am
bilious king cried when there seemed
no more worlds to conquer. And still
another who had touched the heights,
depths and breadths of human enjoy
ments cried, VANITY Of vanites, all is
vanity" stuff" don't you see. OF
all the unnecessary baggage we carry
the STUFF of sin is the most so and is
the heaviest. We get so little out of
1t here and nothing hereafter Adam
and Eve were to "be as gods"-you
know the result. Achan buried his
stolen gold; 1t buried him. Gehazi
hoped to be covered with a scarlet robe,
but found leprosy instead. Judas re-
celved his thirty pieces of silver; all it
bought was Il grave. AnaDiaS and
Sapphire lied about their land and
weren't even buried in it, Like grab
bling for your hat when it blows off
froci your canoe. Our sense of value is