The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1917-11-08
The Habit Of Looking Up

lhelp. Psalm l2l-1.
1t is the most natural thing in
the world to look when we think
of God. Perhaps one reason for it
is that great blessings come down
from above. They are the sun
shine, the rain, the snow, the wind,
the air! Without them we could
not live on this planet. We asso-
ciate with these blessings the
Divine Giver. We look up when
we think of God, we can't help it.
The habit is as old as man is old.
The hills have had a long history
of help to man. There the pre-
historic man found refuge from at
tack. There he made his home in
the cave. There he gathered herbs
for medicine, there he dug out
minerals for his war weapons as
well as his agricultural implements,
then he found pasture for his flock.
To him the hills were the great
store houses, filled within and COW
cred with the things essential to
his comfort and his needs.
Then in later days the hills were
regarded as the symbols of bless
ings other than material. As the
hills were everlasting, so God was
everlasting. As the hills we're de-
fences against the attacking foe, so
God was mans defence.
l will lift up mine eyes to the
hills whence cometh my help, ma
terial help. / will lift up mine eyes
to the hills whence cometh my help,
Spiritual help. Both helps coming
through Gods wisdom and love.
| An artist painted two landscapes.
Both were alike as to the hills and
the valleys and the trees. But the
pictures differed in one respect. In
one picture he painted sky. In
the other he did not paint one. The
contrast was marked. The picture
with the sky in it was a master
piece. There were many who would
buy it.
The picture without the sky no
one wanted. It was untrue to ma
ture. It was failure. The artist
hung them both side by side on his
studio wall. The picture with the
sky in it he called optimism" the
one with no sky he called 'pessi-
mism." The sky is always the
making of the landscape.
Here are two brothers; they
were brought up together in the
same home. They have had equal
educational advantages. They have
Jared alike as to wages and things
in general. On the surface they
are very much alike. but when we
get to know them, we learn there
is great difference between them.
One of them shuts himself up in
his own little world and lives a
selfish life. His motto is take care
of number one. That is he puts
himself first. He lives for self.
Other people don't count with him.
no matter how much they need
sympathy or friendship, or help,
he has none to give. If you talk
with him you will find that he is
out of tune with life's harmony.
He is master at grumbling. Dis
content shows itself in his manner,
speech, his opposition. Like the
soldier in the regiment he is, who
complained because all the other
men were out of step with him. As
we get to know him still better, we
make further discoveries, he is of
the earth, earthly. The things
that have special value to him are
the things tnat have a money val
ue. His look is downward. Muck
rakeing has been a long standing
habit with him. His life is typical
of the picture pessimism. There
is no sky in it, nothing that sym
bolizes high hope and broad chari-
(ty and brotherly love. He is a
pessimist.
The other brother has trained
himself to see good everywhere.
He is an apostle of good cheer, of
hope, of helpfulness. If there is