The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1915-02-01
TOO MUCH SPENT
FOR AMUSEMENT
aEv. Il. v. CARSON SAYS MONEY
SPENT IN WORLDLY PLEASURES
IS ALARMING.
MEAN BETTER REAPING
PARAMOUNT PASTOR DECLARES
PEOPLE SHOULD SPEND LESS
TIME AT THEATERs AND
MORE WITH FAMILIES.

MORE WITH FAMILIES.
Before n congregation that practf-
cally filed Paramount Avenue. Meth
odist Church last evening, the pastor.
Rev. f. V. Carson, delivered an in
teresting sermon OH "Worldly Pleas
ures." He said In part;
There f. a class Of men and worn-
en- we come in close touch with every
day--a very large class-hundreds and
thousands. tho number increasing.
They are to be pitied, they need help,
warning and sympathy from the
church. They have been deceived.
Ask any one of them How did you
lose out? How did you come TO this
unfortunate condition? Social posi-
ton has been loSt--means gone; bust
ness wrecked character with good
palne gone. Ask any one Of them the
cause. You Will hear them say:
never thought 1t would come to this.
l did not mean to so so far. / was
fooled. In other. words. The God Of
this world did II l WIS deceived by
the world. the flesh and the devil
was deceived. The God of this world
has blinded the minds OF them that
believe not. The sowing means bit
ter reaping now. He that soweth to
the flesh shall reap corruption. but
he that soweth TO the spirit shall reap
life everlasting,
This world IL a beautiful world
80 many things In il We ought to en-
JOY. They are for our pleasure, but
set your mind and heart on earthly
things. seek to satisfy the inclinations
of your lower nature TO the neglect Of
your spiritual welfare and you are
gone. How quickly and easily young
people can get tied up. fascinated
With. led off into sin and ruined. Let
us have fun--when II is too late
Ia N heif.
and humiliation that they have made
a mistake. they have been fooled
Socially they are down. Financially
they have nothing and they find them
selves without friends-sometimes
without a good name and character
There are things most valuable,
In your hands my hands, given every
one of us. II Is sad that we should
waste these In following after the
things of the worid that will mean
cur injury in every way.
First. Time, how dear, but so
often wasted by the young In having
phat they call fnn--often the bes,
years of young manhood and woman
hood when every nerve is tingling with
activity and energy Oh. II this pre-
e5@as time was used in usefulness for
themselves and others The young
naau In mt college His father paying
his hills, anxious to fit his boy for
N6f11sfsN%S ilI bbH now EFp8H III
years, ought to use the golden OPP
foTtlsntty. The tu1e has passed. lie
y now thirty years old. He went
the way Of worldly pleasures. The
dance hall. card table-~anywhere he
conld have fun. Now the drink habit
has hold of him-~what will become
q. him, his mother antf father being
gone. miracle OF grace saves him
He IS called 10 the ministry of the
gospel at this late day--sec him stud
ying the arst principles Of grammar
and arithmetic that he ought to have
gotten years ago. VIII he succeed
He may do, even yet, much good but
never can he redeem the time lost
Take care that you do not throw
away your time.
Second Don't waste your money
In worldly amusements. The most OF
US have been taught that 1t was
wrong to frequent the dance hall the
aters, card table and saloons If your
pastor. your organist, choir. your Of
ffciai board, were to go, they would
be asked to step down and out-~you
would ask IL. We can't go to these
places without being hurt and hurt
ing the church we love. The uneon-
verted outside the church is calling
on the church for IA higher standard
Come out from the world and be We
separate The money that fs spent
in worldly amusements is alarming
lust think of the need at our doors
The money has not been wasted
every time In places OF amusement.
but we all know often It has. People
Will become so fascinated with these
things that they will spend the last
dime for these things and charge the
grocery bill We had visitor last
week. He said: I hear you are n
friend TO the poor working people l
told him that / was, as well as every
gospel minister that l know. and the
church offers to do more for the
working people than any other insti-
tun!on under the sun. said the WIS.,
itor: When will the better day come
for the hard working peopie?' In
answer ! thought and said: Many
things ought and viii be done for the
class you mention. but one thing this
great crowd can do for themselves,
stop throwing away their hard earn
ings in worldly pleasures. The day
VIII be glad day when all classes
will try to find their pleasures with
their loved ones at home.
Third. The good name and char
acter Is worth more than all the
: money Go with the world, yield to
its evil tendencies and it VIII freeze
out or you every idea you have ever
had Of God and every inclination you
have had To follow the Bible. Go in
The ways OF the world and before you
are aware Of ii you will find yourself
on a downwardly inclined plane that
will sweep you to most woefui ruin.
In Billy Sundays meeting a few
days ago a good woman, though
handsomely dressed, was seen 70 go
Ia poor red-faced man who showed
every sign that he had been degraded
and dehauched at the fountain of the
worlds sin. She LED him to where
the evangelist could take him by the
hand. She then took seat by him
10 tell him how to get back on his
feet. This Is the work for the church.
Go after the lost. Christ came to
save them. but why not sound the
gospel trumpet, lift the danger sig
nal, sop The great crowd before they
are deceived before they are fooled,
before they are caught?"