The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1914-10-30

E$;:$:%%$$s#s# not amusement, Is
HI the chief end OF
man. Let us not
zzz3zsz::az:.za miss this point
work, not amuse-
ment, is the business Of life. God has
laid upon every man the necessity OF
work, and for this reason has distrib-
uted "to every man his work" Is it
not just in this connection that we
may be justified in finding fault with
the professional sport, the man who
gives up his whole life to pleasure?
When the main thing in college and
university life is athletics are we not
justified in protesting that life's main
purpose is being lost sight Of? Play
and amusement is but side issue in
life; when 1t becomes the whole
thing. then it Is harmful and sinful, no
matter whether the amusement in
question be in the forbidden category
or not; then even innocent amusement
becomes morally bad. Amusement is
to work what whetting the scythe Is to
harvesting; he who never stops to
create an edge tolls hard and cuts but
little, while he who whets the scythe
all day cuts none. II the mother en-.
joys amusements more than she does
her children, the wife more than her
domestic duties, the husband more
than his home, the man more than his
labor, and the student more than his
books, then amusements are harmful
and wrong.
2. The true Christian will see to 1t
that his amusements are really recre-
alive, and not dissipative.
A man may lie so long in bath
that he comes out of it all exhausted.
or he can take plunge or shower and
come out all the better prepared for
the duties of life. So is it with amuse-
ments; it may be just the opposite.
The amusements Of the Christian
should build up lost tissue, rest the
tired body and rejuvenate the faded
mind, they must build up the whole
man physically, mentally, morally
and spiritually.
recreate physically. The body Of the
Christian is the temple of the holy
ghost. 1t is incumbent upon him
therefore that he keep his body in as
good, clean, pure, and healthy con-
dition as possible. The body needs
relaxation; 1t needs rest from the
strain and tension of life; it needs
new blood, new nerve tissues; it needs
by means Of recreation, to be better
fitted for the real tasks that lie with
In its sphere Of labor. Bad thinking
often comes from lack of exercise.
Some people do not have enough body
"to cover the mind with decently."
There may be a time when 1t Is my
duty to play rather than pray. to
romp rather than read, to take a good
brisk walk rather than prepare a good
talk.
The test the Christian must apply to
his pleasures is this: do they recreate
body? Excess in athletics Is not rec
reation. Young men have died from
overstrain in running; girls have
been ruined for life by excessive rope
jumping. Many pleasures dissipate
the powers Of the body instead of re-
creating them. Apply such test to
certain forms of popular amusements
prevalent today: the theater, the
dance, the card party. Do they recre-
ate, or do they dissipate? Do they
violate the laws of physical health by
their late hours, their impure atmos-
phere, their mode of dress and con-
duct, or are they perfectly consistent
good health and hygiene? If these
amusements violate the laws of
health, then, until such times as they
can be brought within the realm of
recreative pleasures, the Christian
must place them on the forbidden list.
2. The pleasures Of the Christian
should recreate mentally. The physi-
cal must not be developed at the ex-
pense Of the mental. Giantism must
by no means supplant intellectualism.
Mind is greater than body, as Glad
stone and Bismarck are greater than
John L. Sullivan or James J. Jeffries.
The Christian must ask himself, there
fore. What effect do my pleasures
and amusements have upon my mind.
my thought, my thinking? Do they
build up, ennoble, purify, sanctify; or
do they debase, befoul, besmirch. de-
bauch? Is my thinking higher, nobler,
more God-like because of the pleas
ures in which I engage?"
All things are not to be judged by
Shakespeare speaks of the man "who
hath body filed with a vacant mind,
gets him to rest crammed with dis
tressful bread" The Christian is to
Judge his amusements by this stand
ard. Andy this principle to litera-
ture. What books do we read? II
the Christians master should inquire:
What readest thou?" what would be
our reply? Beware lest our minds be.
come diseased by the reading of light
and trashy literature.
Judge the theater by this standard
Someone has said: "The laugh of the
theater is the laugh that speaks of
the vacant mind" "The leaf1ess desert
Of the mind; the waste of feelings I'M
employed byron. Are we purer in
thought, more virtuous in our dreams,
sweeter IN our imaginations; have we
more earnest views of life; is the
mind sensualized or spiritualized by
attendance upon the theater?
A Prayer.
o Lord, bless our country and our