Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1915-01-31

ness, even though It be hidden from
| your felloWmeu, Then watch and
pray for only divine strength and
! guidance can save you from that
which may be undermining and plot
ting disgrace to an otherwise good
/ character
~ Nalnritc Unto God"
This question OF personal purity is
happily receiving much more atten-
ton In this day and age than II has
in past generations. Not that there
are many pure, but people are begin
ming to realize the necessity and the
| possibility OF purity We have always
expected and required a great degree
| Of purity on the part Of the female
sex, and the failure OF that eNpecta-
| ton reaps It's own reward of ustracisn
and disgrace, but the idea that men
should be Just as pure as they re-
| Quire the woman TO be is principle
| that has been much overlooked, We
would be Mortified If our sons should
marry woman whose reputation Is not
| spotloss as the driven snow, yet we
usually fail to be as particular about
| the husbands OF our daughters. In
fact. we have been taught that all
| men, by the necessities of nature, are
more or less impure, aud that "A GER
tain allowance should bc made. Even
able and pious men have coutelded
| that purity i'm a man was not posi-
tive but a comparative trait and that
some men were accounted good he
cause they were not quite as bad as
! the majority. But that estimate Is
not at all in harmony with God
plan While all men have their faults
and fall short OF the divine measure,
yet we are eXhortcd at all times to
strive for higher and better plane
OF living. We are nowhere told that
a certain amount of nth In every
character mast be taken as matter
OF course. Neither is man justified
| i'm recurring of woman a greater de-
gree of purity than he has himself,
| only a sincere ConseCratiOn Of mind,
body and spirit can make of man or
woman "a Nazarite unto God
Total Abstinence.
The Nazarites were total abstain
ers" on the liquor question The
| drinking of wine or strong drink was
rigidly forbidden. We can surely turn
to them for an cnlightcning lesson on
temperance. 1t is beyond question
that If liquor was benefit or was
even as harmless as some claim, there
! would have been no unusual virtue
| in such abstinence. The very fact
that they regarded drinking as him
dranCe to fun conservation is evidehcc
enough that it is harmful. You may
say that many of our brightest minds
have produced their best work with
the help Of stimulation; yet you VIII
have TO acknowledge that 1t was only
a temporary aid to body and mind
already worn and jadcd by dissipa
! tiOn and that its passing effect lett
them in more pitiable condition than
before. The seductsons and the pen
alties of alcoholism were never more
ucidly and yet justly set forth than
bV Jack London in his John Bar
! leycorn". The mildest indictment OF
strong drink that can be made Is that
1t is the implacable enemy OF every
thing that is good and pure in human
nature But these Nazarites were pc
| culiar i'm another way Their vow
was a matter between the man and
his God, relating solely to his per-
sonal conduct and having no bearing
on the conduct OF others. We never
hear of their trying to coerce some
body else into accepting their views
or Of their pettioning the authorities
to compel all men to observe their
rules of conduct. We have often
thought that the enemies OF alcohol
were making a mistake In trying to
enforce sobriety by legislative enact
ment. 1t seems to us that every man,
being a free moral agent, must settle
such questions for himself. Real re-
| form must seek to win over the in
Idividual by persuasion, instead or
collectively reshaping human conduct
| by legislation. The Mohammedans
| believe in converting whole nations
to their faith at the point OF the
sword, but that is not Christs way
He dealt with the individual in love
and kindness, not with legislative
club. You never can hope to regulate
the morality of man by law; you can
only restrain certain phases or WICK
edness by which one man works
damage to the life or property or an
other The signs Of the times Indicate
that ere long public indignation
against the saloon will have driven
the LIQUOR power out OF many states,
N not the whole nation. Were that
10 be the end of King AlcohOPs reign,
we could praise God for the consum-
nation; but we know that the De
prayed appetites Of men will demand
and will get the fiery liquor to as
suage their thirst, If not openly then
by stealth. "Stolen fruits are sweet
est" and the average man Is all tho
more eager to get what he desires II
! the getting of ii Is forbidden. we
must have recourse, then, to the con
version of the individual man. 1t Is
only the grace of God that gives him
the wisdom to avoid the unclean thing
and the strength to overcome the ap-
petite. And, like the Nazartes, we
Should be mostly concerned about
keeping our vows to the Lord, in
stead of trying to make our neighbors
toe the line of our theological or
moral code.
Unto the Lord.
Manoah and his wife were gently
in awe in the presence of their heay-
enly visitor and were plainly disposed
TO do His reverence. This the angel
very explicitly forbade. He was not
there to be worshlpped. but as mes
senger from the God TO whom all wor-
ship Is due. III thou wilt offer a
burnt Offering, thou must offer 1t unto
the Lord" The first Of the command
ments tells us that there Is but one
God and that He will not tolerate the
Worship Of anything else. II would
soem unnecessary to call attention to
this command in an age and in
country where God is well nigh uni
yersally acknowledged. even II not al
ways Obeyed. Yet there are many OF
us who esteem other things more
highly than we do our Heavenly
Father Our chief concern in life may
be business, pleasure. fame, power or
tho velfare of loved ones, all Of which