Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1917-11-04
SUNDAY SCkQ0G.
~
BY BY11, TEMSolE

Lesson November II. Nehemiah q:
Ill.
The test of a mans real greatness
may he found, not in what he brings
to pass for his own betterment solely.
All capable men are competent to do
that much. Sefshness is easy ana
natural and Is not trait to ennoble
a man or qualify him for great things
in the progress of humanity. You can
better judge a man by the interest he
takes in other people. The less claim
those other people may have upon
him and the greater sacrifice of per-
sonal welfare II takes to help them,
the more noble and praiseworthy is
this interest. Tell us not that any
man Is great tho he has conquered
worlds and received the homage Of
millions. If he has not conquered his
one greatest enemy, selfishness. But
he may he esteemed really great who
Is interested in the welfare of others
to the extent Of making an honst eff
fort to better their condition. even at
great sacrifice to himself Such a
man was Nehemiah. He was cup
bearer to the Babylonian king, a posi-
tion of honor and trust, and position
involving a life of comfort and lux
ury. From n selfish viewpoint he had
no reason to bother himself about the
brethren of Judea, who were in sore
straits because of the scorn and oppo-
sition of their enemies. Their welfare
did not affect the peace and comfort
of the royal servant many miles away.
Most of us would have been contented
with saying how sorry we were for
these people down at Jerusalem and
then Have promptly forgotten all
about it,
But Nehemiah was deeply grieved.
He tasted and mourned. In the emo
tional oriental life weeping was n
common expression of sorrow We
have almost come to believe 1t un-
manly to weep. and many of us have
forgotten how to weep when we really
want to. Weeping is a good thing
when II really means something. Just
as an emotion it is transintory and can
be valuable only as it affects our CON
QUOT. If we stop with weeping there
is little good accomplished. II thin.
fas come to the pass that we weep,
Il Is time that we bestirred ourselves
to remedy the cause of our sorrow.
Some people weep because OF over
flowing emotion or depth of feeling,
and the act mHs be as well caused by
great Joy as great sorrow. There arc
others who weep because they expect
in some way to get n moral credit
mark TOT l1ltI StlSlblIltN, anu ilieS'
have to feel very little in order to
start tears flowing. But it is not is-
noble to weep If the cause is worthy;
in fact the absence Of tears may be
the result OF n hardening OF heart
long practiced with the delusion that
of all men the stole is most manly.
Yet the only worthy tears are not the
tears of affectation, of oVersensitive-
ness or of tender sympathies, but
those which in flowing nerve us TO
help those we are sorry for in a prac-
teal way. Weeping over the sorrows
of others does not help them in the
least, and genuine sympathy will dry
its tears and set to work to mend
lithings that have gone wrong. And
should the remedy be one that Is be-
yond human power our tears should
| he taken to the throne of grace and
| the author of all good petttioned To be
gracious.
The unselfishness OF Nehemiah Is
evident not only by his concern for his
! brt thren, but that when he goes 70
confess the sins OF his people when
brought upon them this penalty he be-
gins by laying bare his own heart and
| the hearts of those near and dear 70
| him This Is reversal of our usua
! habit. In most all things We are dis
| posed 20 first find out how somebody
| else In to blame for our grief, or why
II Is that mysterious providence
has singled us out for martyrdom. We
| often think the Lord Is hard on US
and that we might have much bet
ter time II somebody else did not ds