The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1915-07-15
The PEOPLES FOURM.
Deadly Sins.

for gain; greediness after wealth. A
desire for money for its own sake in
order to hoard it up. 1t may be an in
tense desire for any supposed good. 1t
is coveteousness. stinginess, cupidity.
On one occasion when a man appealed
to Jesus to speak to his brother to
divide up with him, He answered, BE
ware of coveteousness." This iDjunc-
ton is timely because it is 50 easily
aroused When Paul cast the evil
spirit out of the damsel who brought
great gain to her masters, they were so
indignant that they had Paul and Silas
arrested. Greed of gain! How many
evils and crimes of history are due to
this cause. The love of money is the
root of all evil" One nation lusts for
the wealth of weaker one and forth
with proceeds to subdue it, though
sometimes they overreach themselves
and fail.
The powerful pilIage nowadays we
must say swipe the goods of the weak.
With such, might makes right"
The hire of laborers is kept back.
The rich Cypress the poor. They can
easily find ways OF doing this. Yet
ofttimes the poor are as guilty, for
they defraud the rich whenever they
can. They do not hesitate to beat them
out of money due them and flatter
themselves that it is all right.
Avarice quickens the ingenuity of the
thief; gives courage to the highway
man; whets the knife of the assassin
and nerves the hand of the murderer.
1t sold Jesus to his enemies and sent
Him to the cross. 1t adulterates goods
nowadays and necessitates pure food
laws. What a comment these laws are
on the honesty of the people. 1t puts
the hand of the clerk into the till of his
employer, leads the lawyer to defraud
his client, sells out the Legislator, cor
rupts the courts, defeats justice and
swindles in stocks which are watered.
Its principle is get money honestly if
you can, but get money.
One of the daughters of Avarice is
gambling and her influence is always
demoraIizing. 1t springs from covet-
BUSINESS which is idolatry. While the
poor may be as guilty Of this sin as the
rich it is distinctiveIY sin of the old
and it IS this that makes the curse so
hopeless. We get to thinking if we
have money we can dispense with the
blessings of God and the sympathy Of
man. Money is good thing, but there
are other things better than money.
Health, love, a sympathizing heart, a
cultivated mind, a clear conscience and
many other things, cannot be compared
with money. Money is only means to
an end. 1t is a good servant but hard
master. Some can think of scarcely
anything else. David Livingston gave
all his money to Foreign Missions. He
became so interested that he gave him.
self and the world knows what he has
done for the cause. Africa reioices be-
cause of his great work. Many give
literally with the best of effects on
themselves. They are glad Of the
chance to help others. You have to
ring it out of some. You might as we'll
try to get milk out of gate post as
money out of some people for benevo-
lence. Ayarice seems to think it can
keep the stuff always. The best plan
by far is to lay up your treasures in
heaven, for where your treasures are
there will your heart be also. If your
treasures if your money is in an oil we'll
your heart will revel in grease. So it
goes. An old miser who was diving,
called for his bags of gold He put one
on his heart but presently pushed it
away saying, it will not do. No, 1t will
not do, in the swelling of the Jordan.
One of the charges against the Romans
was they were filled with all covetous-
ness. Let it not once be named among
YOU was Paul's advice to the Ephesian
church, while to the Colossians he said
mortify covetousness which is idoltrv.
1t is often used as cloak The folly
of it is seen in the case of Dives. 1t
begets falsehood and lying as was the
case with Ananias. 1t overreaches it's
self as seen in the case of Laban. 1t
becomes oppressive, for as Amos says
they buy the poor tor silver. 1t pro-
duces unhappiness. Look at Ahab and
Judas. 1t led Achan to disobedience
and to destruction. 1t was this that
made Felix so cruel and Lot so incon.
slderate. 1t led Gehozi to fraud as it
will all his successors. 1t is in the
church today and that is why she with
holds the tithes and so brings weakness
and failure on her efforts. 1t is not
only forbidden of God but is abhorred
bv Him. 1t is harder to keep the COM
mandments if we see others with more
money, lands, possessions than we have.
1t is hard not to wish for some of it.
Yet Avarice is never satisfied with
money anymore than the grave is with
bodies or hell with Its prey. A rich man
WAS q Gkod for charity &C q loan fO the