The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1915-08-03
THE WORLD AT A CROSSROADS.
The International Sunday School Les
son for August 8 is 1.-The Kingdom
Torn Asunder"-I Kings 12:1-24.
(By WILLIAM II. ELLIS.)

(By WILLIAM r. ELLIS.)
This is a day for looking backward. |
in order to be able to ook forward |
iutenigently. Wise folk are studying
history. and especially the history of
great crises. Even the man with half
a brain knows hat today the world
Is at a crossroads, confronting the
most momentOus choice Of all time. |
Therefore the light Of the past is need
"a upon the present. What men have
done in times gone may help us in
the time now here. This is human
ity's decision day.
In lesser degree. the Jews of old had
come to the same sort of crisis.
Though they knew it not. their ma
tional destiny hung in the balance.
Either they could go forward as a
united people. growing in power and
prosperity, and rivalling Assyria and
Bahylonia and Egypt, thus profound
~ sha ping the future course of man
kind. and perhaps dominating the
world by their peculiar religious teach
Ing Of the One True God; or else
they might give way to j~ealOusies
and pride and local ambition and
split up as a nation, and finally be
wiped out of national existence by
their more powerful neighbors.
Mas. they chose the way that has
EItflith ltotSdIIoS VI YEARS O1 IIlISeTy
for their descendants. Solomon's
san had not Solomon's sense; and
the people. too. were partisans. be-
fore they were patriots. So RehO-
beam ~ known only as the foolish
young king who tried to sweep back
the tides Of democracy, and who
went down under the flag of absolute
autocracy. Given a choice between
serving the people and seeking his
own selfish COlrSp he chnSa tho LAT
ter.
The World issue Today.
Boiled down to eiementais. that is
identically the issue which the great
war has put up to our country: and
to every other. Shall this country
accept a world mission of service and
of human welfare: OF shall it seek
self-aggrandizement? On the choice
now made hangs our future fate
Unless a noble vision of world minis
try be given unto our. leaders at this
time-and by leaders / mean our edi.
tors and public speakers and teacher!
and preachers. as well as Offce-hOld'
ers-we may fall into the terrible mis-
take Of utilizing the condition OF world
chaos and world-fiux for our own sci
fish enrichment. to our eternal disas
tor as q naiOn Only a nOble pur
pose to be a ministering nation, at al
costs. can save us now. Lacking this
we too shall go. along with Israel
into tho great scrap-heap Of tragi
national might have beens."
No Sunday school class is too younl
or too obscure to have driven int
its consciousness the parallel betweel
the present times and those OF Reno
beam. New forces Of democracy an
observation-disclosures have been re
leased among the people. Old idea
and institutions which most me
thought to be permanent are in tn
melting pot. Whatever and wheneve
the end of the present war. huma
rights are going to emerge NOR
claimant than ever. a socia
changes are inevitable. Ancient isC
latiOns have been engulfed. Challene
ing questions. far greater than thos
which confronted Rehoboam. will b
put to every nation and ruler an
system.
What shal the answer be? Shor
sighted and selfish. like RehObOam'!
or far-visioned and fraternal? Ths
day marked the apex of Israe'S hi!
tory: Ivy an unwise choice. She mao
II so, and entered upon a declin
when she might have gone on fro
strength to strength.
The Fathers Fault.
Although he was the wisest Of me
Solomon was not altogether wise. N
body is wholly perfect. so we may n
expect too much, ever Of SoloinO
Still. knowing as much as he did.
should have known too much to
many Of the things that marred h
reign. There were the seven hui
dred wives and three hundre conc
bines. for instance. Ever worse we
those idOlatrous affairs set up to plea