El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1914-02-07

NJ HE incisive mind Of the new teacher
from Galilee, who was great in his
simplicity. thus lined up society
The only line he ever drew was yer
tical, between the gooC and the bad tbs
sheep and the goats. No horizontal line!
for him, separating men into upper classes
middle classes and lower classes He SCI
humanity into two camps, the wicked anc
Ana the test Of where one belongs is hi.
attitude toward Jesus himself He that
not Tor me is against me- Nobody car
dodge that classification; it is easier q
escape the incoUe-tax collector than this
inevitable grouping. Everybody must count
either for or against Christi which means
also. either for or against the things toI
which Christ stands Every life has a drift
a direction, a tendency let it be toward
The snarI of the Critics.
The particular day about which we are
studying had been busy one for Jesus
and his helpers. They had no time so
much as to eat
The one dramatic event Of the day was
the casting out Of a demon from dumb
man. so that his speech was restored The
lips long sealed were opened
The enthusiasm Of the liberated man was
not shared by some members Of the crowd
Of onlookers- They were the critics and
the bacEbiterss who always see the worst
in the better. the evil in the good They
belonged to that large group who always
look for the lowest motives IN the deeds
Of public men ANY reason but the true
and the noble viii serve them So these
wiseacres winked knowingly and leered-
aAh, he casts out demons by Beelzebub, the
prince Of demons" This was devil work.
they claimed. and one more proof that Jesus
The Bible and the Devil.
Nowadays 1t is dreadfully questionable
TO believe in the devil. Yet the bible which
IS strangely Indifferent to passing fancies,
insists that there is a deVil-an evil person
ality or power outside of man which be-
sets him and drags him down
Some folks who live in a clustered world
Of books, deny this. Not so those who are
at close grips with life. The latter must
choose between a diabolical human nature
or else an evil spirit OF power which is
mans worst enemy. To all who know life,
God IS real and the devil is real And the
issue Of all time is between these two.
The old Negroes definition OF election is
not far astray. Without the dialect the
story goes that the negro said, You see
there is an election being held to choose
who viii be king Of your soul Both God
and satan are candidates You are the
that is the way the election goes" Re
duced to its simpllcites, life is a choice
between God and satan.
COnfOUndinE the Critics.
The story was Jesus's favorite way Of
meeting criticism To the charge that he
was an ally Of Beelzebub, he answered in
terse graphic words, Every kingdom di-
vfded against itself is brought to desola-
ton; and a house divided against a house
falleth-" As heard a preacher in a rescue
mission-dOwn where they believe abundant
" in satan-say the other day. i'The devil
IS united; but the church IS divided"
Whatever oVercomes the evil Of life Is !
Of God. The friends Of God should stand n
together by all that stands for good There 7
has been a colossal failure here on the
part Of the church; her support has not al /
ways been an assured asset OF righteousness ]
Consider, for instahce, the publishers Of /
newspapers who have fought and suffered {
for common Righteousness; but the church 4
seems little to note or long to remember /
what they have done. To achieve the solid
arity Of the friends Of God is a basic need /
Of our time.
Emptying by Filling.
What keeps most men straight and use
ful? wife and babies. Responsibility
work, necessity, these are the cargo and
engine Of the ship Of a human life. The
law forever holds true that an empty life
ate newspaper space given to the misdeeds
Of the idle rich? Simply because empty
lives and empty heads inevitably produce |
Wickedness- 1t is not because he has so
much money that the rich mans son often !
goes wrong but because he has so little I
life
Our wise new program FOR social service
accepts the teaching Of Jesus in this lesson
md seeks to fiji every life full Of worth I
hospitality to all the devils in sight The
way TO get rid Of evil is to crowd in the
good Half our present social problems are
lue to the increasing leisure Of women and
children which has followed prosperity.
1--WE must empty by filling" cried one
Oul-physlcian confronting sin-laden lives
Another declares, Nothing is ever displaced
ntil IL is replaced" I'VE cannot pump the
out Of a room: we must enntv If
" filling it with light"
What DO You Stand Far9
In these parable-answers which he rnade I
0 the charge that he was a confederate OF }