The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1916-05-01

gregation that packed Broad Street
Church. Mr.. Chenault's talk was
most forceful one. and he held the
undivided attention of his hearers
throughout
He said, in part:
THE world has never lacked phil
osophy, but has always lacked life. 1t
is easy enough to teach others, but
IT is Infinitely, hard to live right. You
will find ever and anon men and wo-
men who think splendid thoughts and
who will agree with any. lofty ideals
that may be propouuded but who
somehow lack the courage of convic-
ton to put these thoughts and these
ideals into practice.
Jesus suggested this idea when He
said: II the blind lead the blind, they
will both fall into the ditch I think
1t Is a pitable thing TO see minister
OF the gospel trying to lead the peo-
pie. when the windows of his own
heart are not constantly open to
heavens light think 1t Is tragic TO
And Sunday School superintendent
or teacher, who are undertaking to
lead their pupils or their ossociates.
when in reality they stumble them
selves and continue Co put out the
light that Is In them. What Lan be
more deplorable than to see pro-
Tossing Christian, who, through in
difference or through selfish In
dulgefcies, or wro Is compromising
himself with the pleasures OF this
world, or who lacks that positive ag-
gressive spirit that Is 20 essential to
the propagation of the truth. ! say
what IL more deplorable than to find
a man or woman of this kind who has
hidden his or her light under bushel,
Jesus is ever saying TO us: You have
been entrusted with light, you must
bear It, It may not be a very great
light, but you must hold 1t aloft, you
must not snuff IL out, you must not
obscure its efrulgence with sin, for
We are the light OF the world. city
set on hill that cannot be hid
Have Some Degree of light.
The first thing | want to call your
attention to is this. that not every one
of lis have the same degree OF light
but ever. one of us have some degree
OF light, and are responsible In pro-
portion to the degree OF light that we
have The boys and girls that have
been reared In the slunls OF the city
or in country where their moral
standards are not as high ours, and
where their moral light Is indeed
darkness, are certainly not as respon-
sihle as we are. who have been born
and reared in the kind Of environment
that gives moral stimulus Our moral
responsibility la in proportion TO our
moral light. One man thinks thing
Ia no harm. another thinks the same
thing is a great deal OF harm. 1t de-
| ponds upon the viewpoint, It depends
/ upon what has been born and cul-
I tured into the man And as We pass
! higher and higher in the moral scale,
we will find the type OF man whose
standards Of right and wrong are so
high as 20 absolutely put to shame
those In the lower realms.
AT one stage Of our moral develop
ment we may think a thing is entirely
right. and at another stage we may
think the same think utterly wrong, II
depends upon the moral light that we
have. The standards OF right and
wrong are quite different through the
different ef4t4ts-!a$-The -thinGs-1hat
might have been considered right fifty
wears ago are not so considered now.
! For instance, II seemed all right fifty
years ago FOR everybody TO drink and
have their own cider press and their
own gins and 10 keep in every house
hold the demijohn and to pass the
glass TO all the visitors 1t all seems
entirely wrong now and out of keep
Ing with the moral tone of this age,
This is merely an example. II a
IMAM has bfSl 4'L bde44t up AA' tAiC SAtA4AlS
or In community where the moral
standards are not so high. while he
is Just as responsible to live up to
the light that is In him as any othe%
man. he is not responsible beyond sn~
light that he has. The man who has
had splendid opportunities and knows
what It is to have high moral sense
of duty and who has not taken ad-
vantage of his opportunity and who
has constantly crushed the bigger man
within and who has denied the life
that Is In him larger room, although
such a man may be living what we call
the life of good citizen. and may
be moral and decent and even gener-
Gus and kind. vet because he is liv-
ing so far below what he might live
and has denied his light the fullest
expression, the expression that ii ought
to have In the face of his larger OPP
portunities then that man who is
regarded as good type of citizen may
be condemned IN sight of God and by
the moral standards OF the ultimate
verdict of society. more than the man
who was reared under less suspicious
conditions, who had less light and less
opportunity While the latter man
may live in very much lower strata
of society and even be vulgar or a
drunkard or n thief or murderer,
and still he may come as near living
up TO his light as the respected and
honorea citizen who lives and has al
ways lived in a sphere OF much wider
moral opportunity. The man who IL
condemned as an outcast by society
may be no worse than he who sits IN
condemnation upon him and asserts
himself righteous
Live Up to Life Within Us.
The call to us Is to live up to the
life that is within us. We sin when
we deny life freedom. Raphael was
once asked how he painted his won
derful pictures and answered. I dream
dreams and I see visions and then I
paint my dreams and my visions. A
young man came to me from a college
the other day TO talk about what pro-
fession he should follow, and asked
mo to give him some advice. told
him that II is a very delicate and diff
ficult thing to give any man advice as
to the kind OF profession he should
follow; but I also suggested to him
that life Is a scroll unrolled a little
at a time. and that God has a way
OF giving us larger duty when we
perform, the present duty and mora
light when we have followed the light
that we have. It we want to know
what our work Ia. then do our work
today If we want to And a happy
end to life then discharge faithfully
the duties that present themselves to-
Hay