The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-09-20
INTERNATIONAL
SUNDAY SCHOOL
LESSON
BIT WILLIAM T. ELLIS.

1A0~A |
i BIT WILLIAM 7. ELLIS.
For September 22 isy Fruits of the
Christian Life."-Matt. 2s:14-30:
5:1-12.
Getting Down to the Root OF Things.
Greatest themes are simplest. Pr
foundest philosophy 10 SO elemental
and clear that to the unlettered 1t
seems like the plainest of good sense
The really big factors in this war are
well within the understanding OF the
most ordinary man or woman. Jesus
hardly seems like the other philoso-
pliers. with their big words and hair
splitting subtleties. yet He is admit
teddy the master of them all.
His great gift for laying bare the
elements and essentials of life is
needed now, as almost never before.
We should sit close to Him, at His
feet. to learn what is wrong with our
world in these mad days. and how
the wrong may be made right. Every
issue of almost every publication in
existence teens with discussions of the
| war. in some of its phases. but most
| Of the articles leave US as uninformed
as an official military communique
And there Is an astonishing lack of
clear dealing with the character of
4
lead tus out of this tangled jungle
after the war has been won.
| What was wrong with Germany,
that she. above all other nations,
sinned the sin that precipitated this
| cataclysA? ''Milikarism," we make
glib answer. But that Is not casse.
| but an effect. "Prussianism" and
thing. they are but consequences.
"Materialism" Is the suggestion of ain
other; and that is nearer right, but
the word itself is book talk. In the
speech of every day. what is material
ism. and what is its origin? All; now
we are getting there. Materialism is
the love and cultivation of things,
rather than OF spirit. 1t Is born of
common, old-fashion. Garden Of Eden
selfishness. It was simply the spirit
of Number One" that set Germany
off on this world-upsetting. heaven
defying rampage.
Number One or Number Two?
i Recently I heard a brilliant Scotch
American chaplain In the British
army. the Rev. DR.. John Robertson,
deliver a sermon on the soldier spirit
in the Shepherd Psalm: and he stress
ed this thought of letting the Lord &c
first. or as Number One. and falling
into step behind Him. rs Number Two
Il
Ono himself, and tries to thrust God
and Gods laws into second place. that
things go wrong. Civilization is out
OF gear today because the divine order
was reversed. The supremacy OF the
Eternal and of His laws was chal'
lenged. and chaos ensued.
i Now the fruits OF self will are OBJ.
vious-pride, lust. greed, cruelty. ava
rice, oppression and irreverence. Lei
humen nature go its own way ant
it VII go to the devil We neet
scarcely marvel at German atrocities
there are no limits to unreined sell
fishness. If We had the German view
point, and the German state of mind
we might do the same things. Re-
Gently Mr.. Kipling made an address al
the opening Of a T. M. c. A. hut In
England, in the course OF which hi
said:
Hpling ON the Devil.
I'VE have been a long time over oul
present job, and We may be Ions
time yet. 1t has been a little bigger
than we expected. because this is thu
first time since the Creation that al
the world has been obliged to unite
to crush the devil. You remembel
that before the war one of our cas-.
theories was that the devil was almos
| extinct. that he was only the child o
misfortune or accident, and that w
should soon abolish him by passini
ringing resolutions against him. Tha
. has proved an expensive miscalcula
tom We find now that the devil f.
|, very much alive, and very much wha
,, he always was-immensely indus
!. trious. born organizer. and better q
quoting Scripture for his own end
than most honest men. His industr!
, and organization we can all deal with
: but more difficult to handle is hi
: habit OF quoting Scripture as soon a
1,A to- = n NJ
J begins to realize that her defeat i
: certain, we shall be urged, in the nam
: of mercy. liberation. loving-kindness
! for the sake of the future of mankind
: or by similar appeals to the inextin
guishable vanity OF man, who delight
in thinking himself holy and righteous
, when he is really only lazy and tired
say we shall be urged on those higl
/ grounds to make some sort of com
t promise with, or to extend some recog
E milton to- the Power which has for II
one object the destruction of man
, body and sohl.''
Roots OF Right and Wrong.
Does all this seem a hit remove,
I from the present Sunday school les
son? Far from it. That we shout,
have a clear view Of the essentia
t principle involved in . lesson is ia
more important than that we shout,
i nave a. FerSe-Dy-VSTSS S4pOSlllOn o
: the text which might miss the them
in its bigness. And our lesson today
which all the wide world Of Sunda.
schools il studying. deals with tn
fruits of the Christian life; and. b.
contrast, with the fruits OF the un
: Christian life. This latter. as MI
E Kipling points out. is born of tn
4 devil. and of the spirit which put
self in the place of Number One. A
present, civilization Is engaged IL
a mighty struggle to get things re-estab
lished In right relationships, 80 tina
!, God and His unchanging truth ma
! have the right of way with mankind
"Righteousness'' is a big word tina
has found new popularity in the vo
| cabulary of the race. We have naile
+ | it aloft as . flag for which we fighi
: Nations have solemnly covenan.e
: with one another to pursue it afte
the enemy Of all right has bee