Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1912-03-13
CHRISTIAN EHDEAvOR
Prayer Meeting ToPic For the Week
Beginning March II, 1912

Beginning March ", 1874
Topic Success worth having and not
worth having Dan iv. &-57. Edited by
Rev. Sherman H. Doyle. D D.
The ambition Of every one in this life
and especially Of the young is 20 sue
coed. But what is true SUGGEST To
this question there are many answers
all dependent upon ones conception Of
the purpose Of life itself Nor IS il any
easy task to define success. solomon.
the wisest Of men. displayed wisdom
and not ignorance or folly when he
asked. who knoweth what is good for
man In this nfeS@ The goal OF life TO
some is riches. to Others fame. TO 9th
ers power Some believe in utility as
the chief end of mans existence, and
others. again. assert that the supreme
aim Of mans existence should be to
attain happiness. however happiness
may be defined But however perplex-
Ing the answer TO the question. there
can be no real success in life that
leaves God and eternity out of con-
sideration. No philosophy of life is
worthy Of consideration that has no
place for God. Whatever its seeming
allurements and attachments. time will
inevitably prove, as Ii always has, that
it is but mockery and a sham.
No proper conception of worth while
success can be formed without remem-
bering that in this life we are the in
habitants of two worlds, the temporal
and the spiritual Undue emphasis
upon either one of these facts viii
make a complete, full rounded, sue
eessful life absolutely impossible. 1t
needs no demonstration that this is
true If all the emphasis be placed upon
the temporal life But the other side
have a work TO do in the temporal
world, and it is just as essential to
real success as the performance of
what are looked upon as the specific
spiritual duties The supreme difficult
ty arises when We attempt TO give TO
each realm Of life its proper place.
That the spiritual should have the su-
preme place is not seriously question
ed. but that the great temptation is to
oyeremphasize the temporal is just as
apparent Against this temptation we
must constantly battle IL we put first
things first other less important things
will generally adapt themselves to
their proper places. Seek ye first the
kingdom of God and His righteous
ness. and all these things shall be add
ed unto you" The world has no bet
ter, truer definition of real success than
Christ gave 1t in these words In His
Sermon on the Mount.
All history proves that no purely
temporal achievement or accomplish
ment is success. Nebuchadnezzar built
great Babylon, but who would say
that his life was success? Alexander
conquered the world, but was conquer
ed by debasing appetite. Is this sue
cess? Napoleon had brilliant career
upon scores of battlefelds, and yet in
the lonely hours on st. Helena island
he recognized what a miserable failure
he had made Of life. The rich fool en-
larged his farms and stored up his
crops and-died in night in the direst
spiritual poverty Was that success?
Solomon drank the cup of pleasure to
the very dregs. but he who had tast-
ed TO the depths all hfe's sensual pleas
ures in the end pronounced them wan
ity." Men have scaled the heights Of
knowledge, they have welded the
scepters of mighty power. they have
amassed colossal fortunes, but when
these things alone have marked the
achievements of life they have died,
bewailing their fate and failures. He
only is successful whether In high OF
low position, who to the best Of his
abilities and opportunities serves his
God and In his service of his God
serves his fellow man. 1t is to such
as these that Jesus says: well done
good and faithful servant. Enter thou
into the joys of thy Lord" And with
out this pronouncement at the end OF
life no life is a success.