The Sunday telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1914-1927, 1914-11-29
By the Rev. Charles B. Mitchell
: strated that with God all things are
Condemned Also the Poor


Condemned Also the Poor
Upon the other hand, Jesus one
day turned upon a great crowd OF the
common people, or poor people, who
were said to have heard Him gladly
and plainly told them, Verify, verify,
i say unto you, we seek me, not be-
cause ye saw signs, but because We
ate Of the leaves and were filed"
That was the extent of their inter-
est In Him. Another time He added,
speaking to people, many OF whom
did not know where the next meal
ives coming from, or where they
were going 70 sleep that night, Work
not for the meat which perisheth,
but for the meat which abideth unto
eternal lily"
This Is the complete plan OF Jesus.
let us never forget that He does
not stand for classes but for quali-
ties.
lie Refused to Settle Disputes
In an industrial strife in our own
country two parties are arrayed
against each other. Here are the
employees on the other. What would
employees on the other. What would
Jesus do or advise. We cannot mag
inc that He would be Indifferent:
but We cannot be so sure that He
would take hold Of the dispute direct
ly to try to settle It. There was a
case once in which His interest was
solicited. Master" laid a young
man to Him one day, speak to my
brother that he divide the inherit
ance with me-" There wa a man
who felt that he had been defrauded,
that he lad been cheated out of his
dues by an over-reaching brother.
Jesus did not deny the truthful
ness OF his assertion, nor the justice
OF his claims. 1t seems pretty fair
case. One rather expects that Jesus
will interfere. Certainly we should
not be surprised If He had done SO.
But He did not. He refuses to be a
Judge or divider. He will not settle
the dispute.
Warned Of Coyetousness
He turns to the gathered and ex-
pectant company an says, Take
heed and beware OF covetousness,
for mans life consistent not in, the
abundance of the things which he
possesseth." Would any modern re-
former have handled the dispute in
that way.
(? (? {?
Rout out the grasping and prejudice
on both sides of the controversy. Both
sides are wrong. The one has more
than his share, and the other wanted
more than his due. Both thought
that a mans life consisted in the
abundance OF the things he pos
sessed. Both needed to know that
life meant more than possessions.
That was all that Jesus had to say
about 1t.
But the lesson remains. That truth
needs to be preached to all men
and from the head of the firm to the
humblest drayman Employer and
employed alike need that gospel. He
searches and cleanses the heart. But
He is not judge Of Industrial dis.
putes or divtder of property.
His Great Ideal
The object Of Jesus was expressed
liz the prayer, "Thy kingdom come,
thy will be done on earth as 1t is in
heaven
In His thought God would reign
at last in the hearts of the people and
when He sat enthroned in all hearts,
justice would be done and wrong
would perish.
This was His great ideal-God en-
throned. How many modern REFORM
ers who talk about the kingdom of
God have this conception and this
ideal? They want the kingdom, but
they want it upon some plan or
scheme of their own. They want the
Kingdom, but they want It without
God, on whose life, power, holiness,
justice and love, that kingdom must
be built.
Methods of Jesus We're Indirect
| think We can now begin to see
why Jesus in His own person did not
attack specific wrongs. He did not
say, Down with slavery" But He
said, "The slave is child of God"
He waited a seed into the cement of
that institution that in its growth,
loosened and overthrow the massive
masonry. That principle, the worth
of man, will lay in ruins at last every
structure of injustice and oppression
in the realms OF government indus
try. 1t was better to give a great
principle and trust men to find spec
ific applications. So, it was no lack
Of sympathy with the poor that made
Jesus decline the role OF reformer.
His method does not imply denial of
social wrongs, or minimize their i'm
portance. 1t mVrcly places first
things first. God and the human
heart-God in the human heart. His
method was one of indirection, but
all the more effective. 1t dealt with
the roots and the soil-trusted the
fruitage.
Platform for the Future
Another principle that enters into
Christ's ideal Of the kingdom is the
brotherhood of man.
/. This principle lays a basis for
Cancellation in all disputes between
men and nations. "All things, there
fore, what sooner we would that men
should do unto you, do We even SO
unto them" That will be the plat
form of the future, II the days Of
peace which shall come to stay.
ii. 1t lays the obligation upon the
strong to do nothing by which ones
brother stumbleth or is offended, or
is made weak. Set the example at
the top. There is selfishness and
greed at the bottom. Is there no
selfshness and greed higher rnf
There are violations OF the law
among the poor and ignorant: are
there none among the prosperous