The Washington herald., 1918-01-14

the nISI DlDlC CLASS Idlly III IHt
building at the head of a class oil
pie at church; they've just got enough
religion to give them goose-pimples.
Haven't got religion enough to get
away out into the fanthomless depths
Of Gods great ocean of love. Haven't
faith enough to do what God wants
them to do in this world. Oh! 1
am almost afraid to say something
that might make some Of them laugh
for fear l might be arrested for wan
ton destruction of rare, antique bric-
a-brac. My. goodness alive! You'd
think that IL some people laughed
it would break their faces. To see
some, you would think the essential
of orthodox Christianity is to have
a face so long you could eat oat-
meal out of the end of a gaspipe.
Why, that isn't religion, that's cramp-
collie. I want to tell you. this happy,
smiling religion will win more peo-
pie to Jesus Christ in a month than
your miserable, old cramp-colic vari-
ETY. will in ten years.
1 pity anybody that can't laugh.
There must be something the matter
with their religion or their liver. The
devil can't laugh-poor devil! Some
people are just like him. Poor folks
my goodness!- One reason why you
don't weigh more for God, you talk
about religion as though it were qui-
nine. My! My! God likes to have
a little fun. as seen by the fact that
He made the parrot, and the monkey
and the donkey and some of you
folks.
Religion With a Smile.
Religion is not a Bible under one
arm and a tombstone under the
other dragging a hearse-no, no!
Religion is joy, joy!
"Oh, laugh and the world laughs
with you,
Weep and you weep alone"
Ella Wheeler Wilcox said:
TT is easy enough to look pleasant,
When life goes along like a song,
But the man worth while is the
= man who can smile
When everything goes dead wrong"
Seven times and that is complete
ness, out and out for God. Sancti-
fication. Whenever you begin to
talk about somebody that is clean
cut for Jesus Christ, as a cameo,
you think of some long-haired
piker with a pair of cellulofd collar
and cuffs, that never shines his
shoes or has his clothes pressed,
never went to a dentist, you don't
think of somebody that can get UP
and go for Jesus Christ like a Twin
Six. No. that's the great trouble.
Completeness, and when he went
under the seventh time, 1 am told
his flesh became again as a little
child. Why? Why, he did what
God told him. Now his first thought
was:a
What about the fellow that
brought this blessing to me?"
See? So back they. hurried to
the prophet of God, old Elisha, and
he sends the servant in.
The servant enters and the old
prophet of God 1 can imagine seat
ed up here with his pen. He comes
in and says:
Great and mighty Naaman, cap
tain of the hosts of the King of Sy-
ria, has become the recipient of the
curative power and of your bless
ing. He wants to know how much
is the price, and he has brought
plenty of jewelry, clothes, franklin
cense. and myrrh. What is the
price?"
The old prophet looked at him
and said: Nothing. 1 am not ask
ing goods from Syria. Nothing at
ALL"
He couldn't understand II: They
went out. So they started back and
Gehazi was a sort of a private sec
retary for the prophet and he got
his eye on all this and so as Ma
aman started back home with his
retinue of servants, he chased after
him and said:
"Oh, General Naaman, wait a min
ute" He came painting up and said /:
My master has changed his mind.
He has sent me to tell you that he
would take a few of those wedges
of gold and Babylonish garments,
frankincense and. myrrh. Also a
few of those bolts of silk"
Naaman said: Certainly. Certain
Iy! Give them down. Throw him
down another wedge of gold, make
it three. Come on!- 1 am well. Ny,
1 feel so goodT
Naaman dumped a pile of It on the
ground, and mark this, the leprosy of
Naaman infected Gehazi He was the
first CRATER. mentioned in the Bible
and he got his. Trying to put it over
on God. God said: You are q liar,
take that"
So Naaman is going back home and
the report had reached there ahead
Of him and I can see the old king and
old Mrs. Naaman and all the little
Naamans coming out to meet daddy,
and he rides up and he leaps on and
runs into her arms and says:
Hello, wife. My that's wonderful
God they've got down there in Israel
Herr we've been down here and let
ting these fellows pull the wool over
our eyes, and those fellows are WON
derful. Don't you remember how sore
was?, Now, look there. Remember
the great big sore had there? Fine!
oh, my muscles were like big bicycle
tires, feel of it."
So he said to Elisha, before he left:
Can 1 have two mules burden of
earth?'
They had mules and they had bas-
kets on them like the Indians out
West. and he wanted enough dirt to
I'LL these two baskets Two mules
burden was as much as two mules
could carry back and so when the
mules came staggering along they