The Penn's Grove record., 1915-06-11
OWNING ONES SELF
No Man Can Do That Who Has
Not Surrendered Himself to
the Perfect Master.

The man who owns himself Is the
worlds true nobleman, but it is not
everyone who can count himself as his
W possession. The Lord met with
some men and women whose condition
Is described in the suggestive words,
possessed by an evil spirit" The
whole secret of their misery was that
they did not own themselves; they
had become the property and slaves
of a power foreign to themselves, and
their master was of an evil, vicious
nature.
There d be no question that such
cases Of possession" exist today.
Some are slaves to their vices; they
are possessed by their own passions.
A drunkard may resolve against his
thirst, but even a faint odor of liquor
shelters his resolution. He is under
a tyranny that he cannot break. Es-
pecially is 1t true of him that 'he can
not call his soul his own" Every
n who INDUCES his appetites sur
renders himself to a master that will
override his reason, his will, his con-
science. He becomes the slave of the
most unreasonable tyrant-sin.
The very opposite of such a man is
the one we call sself-possessed." He
is e thrown into a panic; he re-
strains with a firm hand the lower in
chnations and emotions. He keeps
every power in its proper place and
order. He gives the impression of re-
serve power. Yet the "self-possessed"
man is not always the man who owns
himself in the highest sense.
Some men are slaves to their
worldly possessions. 1t is said of
some rich man that he has mills and
capital amounting to so many thou
sands or millions, when 1t might be
nearer the truth to say that the mills
and the millions have him. He is not
their master-he is their slave. They
drive him harder and give him less
peace and rest than any captive found
in the slave galley. He cannot say
what he would like to say, or do what
he would like to do, until he has con
suited them to see whether there will
be any conflict with their interests.
The condition of the man who is the
slave to his possessions is almost as
pitiful as If he were a slave to his
passions.
The only way to own ourselves is to
surrender ourselves to the perfect
master. Whoever makes self the goal
Of all his efforts thereby defeats his
W ends and ceases to possess him.
self. He that would save his life al
ways loses 1t, and he that would lose
his life for Christs sake will find it.
If we give ourselves to him, he gives
US back to ourselves, ennobled and
purified.
Most Enduring Possession.
Such a possession Of ourselves Is
the best possession because it is the
most enduring. The only property
which cannot be taken away from us
is that which has become a part of
US. Fire and earthquake may destroy
u buildings, a financial panic may
sweep away wealth, and at last death
comes and the grip of our fingers up
on every earthly thing is broken, but
the graces we have developed and the
ideals we have created are beyond the
power of anyone except ourselves to
remove from our possession. Them
we are we take with US, even through
the dark valley of the shadow.
The man who WINS only those
things which the world calls wealth
must view with alarm the loss of some
of the factors of his wealth. But if
he has vaults that are filled with sacks
of bullion he is not much concerned
about the loss of a few dollars. The
merchant whose warehouses are
stored with goods is not distressed if
the transactions of a day or two
should be improbable. The man who
has the better and enduring posses
sion of himself, because his Lord has
changed his nature and given him
back to himself, car look very quietly
on the going of all that can be taken
from him, and can submit ch~eerfully
to all the ills that flesh is heir to, be.
he can fall back on the wealth
within and knows that nothing can
touch that.-United Presbyterian.