Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1914-02-27
DON'T BROOD TOO
MUCH, SAYS ELLIS
Many Foolish Persons Do Not Ac-
cept Christ Because Of
Petty Squabbles
Uhe International Sunday School Les
son For March 1 Is "Trusting I'm
Riches and Trusting in God" Luke
12.13-31
(By William T. Ellis)


Riches and Trusting in God" Luke
12.13-3i.
(By William T. Ellis)
We smile when we read of the un-
balanced man who tries TO enter the
White. House to have some fancied
wrong to himself redressed; or who
attempts to get a hearing for his
grievance from King George. Any
body who broods too much over his
own wrongs is likely to lose his bal
ance Some bereaved parents spend
all their time in grief, forgetting
the nobler uses of sorrow. Persons
who have lost property become soured
love so far loses his sense of relative
values that he commits suicide.
Such figure emerges in this story.
The great Teacher was addressing
crowds east of the Jordan. His
theme was the highest that could en-
gage mortal mind. Suddenly, man
from out of the multitude claimed
his attention with, Master, bid my
brother divide the inheritance with
me-" All that Jesus had said about
inheriting eternal life had gone clear
over his head. He was Interested
only in the little inheritance left by
his father, wherein his brother had
meant more to him than all the af-
fairs Of the kingdom Of heaven.
How human and up-to-date 1t all
is. This man won't become q Chris
tian because he does not like one of
the officers of the church. The other
is outside the fold because he thinks
that the rich men inside are hpyo-
critics. A neighborhood feud splits a
congregation. AS in the case of this
aggrieved man Of old, the ocean Of
divine truth is measured by tin
cup Of personal interests.
A Religion OF Rules
This rather pathetic figure of the
man who was thinking about prop
erty when he should have been
thinking about his soul; because his
life was in the grip of goods be-
came the occasion for a great enun-
citation. Christ plainly declared that
He was not a legal adjudicator,
maker or enforcer of regulations.
He does not usurp the functions Of
the civil courts
Despite many current attempts so
to interpret Him, Jesus is not class
Christ. He does not take sides in in
dividual conflicts. He is not arrayed
against the poor or against the rich.
His is a religion Of spirit, of prin-
attempts to reduce Christianity to n
set of rules have been failures. The
Christ teaching would settle the
mans property problem; but he him
self must apply 1t. Else the next
case, somewhat different in its facts,
would draw wholly erroneous con-
clusions from this judicial ruling.
Because Jesus enunciated principles
that hold true everywhere and for
ever, His gospel fits the twentieth
century as readily as the first, and
America as naturally as Asia. The
Koran, on the other hand. is full OF
minute prescriptions, which cannot
ha aithar f,,Ia f,,
modern urban civilization.
The example of Jesus in this in
stance is good one for preachers
and teachers. They should avoid
siding with parties or factions. The
minister is not a meddler in temporal
affairs, but he is the messenger If
vital truth which has an immediate
bearing upon every one of life's social
problems. Thus, Christ's teaching, if
accepted, can settle every labor dis
pute; but Christ's ministers should
not become partisans therein.
A Father Confessor's Confession
The incident served Jesus as a text
for discourse against covetousness,
which is one Of the sins of good peo-
pie Francis Xavier, the famous
missionary, reveals a striking tend
ency from his long experience as
father confessor. He writes:-"I
have had many people resort to me
LUZ COHleSSIOn. Inc CONFESSION NI
every sin that / have ever known or
heard of, and of sins so foul that 1
never dreamed of, has been poured
into my ear; but not one person has
ever confessed to me the sin of covet-
ousness." Bishop Wilmer says:-l
"One man anly has ever expressed to
me the fear that he should become
covetous; and 1t is a suggestive fact
that he was the most generous man
that i had ever known"
The New Testament does not
mince words in dealing with covet-
BUSINESS. 1t calls the sin idolatry.
The love of money--which Paul calls
"the root of all evil"-is a peril
threatening all classes. This is no
occasion for railing at the rich. A
person with but ten cents may be
as covetous as one with ten million.
Covetorsness is a state of mind.
While it is a danger of the day, 1t
was also q peril two thousand years
just as truly as malice and lust and
drunkenness. Thrift" and "pru-
dence" are the fair words under
which covetousness oftenest hides;
but love of money is covetousness,
and sin.
Having and Being Had
Some people have money and
money has some people. The mirror
has not yet been invented which will
really amount to II stripped of his
wealth and all that wealth brings.
There are many pauper souls living
in palaces and waited upon by but
Iers. The latest cut of evening
clothes often covers a soul of atomic
dimensions. The notion that wealth