Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-09-22
GREAT ACHIEVEMENTS ARE THE
RESULT OF SOMEBODY'S VISION

| vision in the direction of the Affairs
Of their lives, physical and spirit
ual, Rev. Mr.. Sunday yesterday
morning delivered a splendid ser
mon on the theme, where there Is
no vision the people perish.
Among other things he said:
The text will be from the Prov
CRIBS. 29th chapter, 18th verse.
Where there is NO vision, the
people perish"
That is where there is no appre-
citation of Gods plan That is
where everybody becomes law
unto themselves. That is where
you don't stop 20 consider or care
whether your action or conduct
will make it easier for anyone else
to do right or wrong. You do that
because you personally want to do
it.
The only law you recognize Is
the law of your own desire, ana
you are actuated by the desire to
crafty your one ambition or in
clination, irrespective of the infu-
ence upon others through the graft
fication.
They run riot. The restraining
influences today are due to relig-
ion. There is many a man To-Day
who doesn't care about God. He
doesn't believe in God. Yet he lives
passably decent life, and the TACT
that he does, isn't due TO his unbe-
lief, but it is due to the restraining
influences of Christianity. You do
away with religion and you will
sound the death knen of morality
Morality will never stand, my
friends, and survive the death Of
Christianity.
The fact that a lot Of people live
as good as they do, and yet have no
use for God isn't due to anything
which they develop through con-
tact with each other but it is due
to the restraining influence of the
religion which they sheer and blast
at.
Therefore, you take that religion
away and then see what will be-
come of your morality. So: Where
there is no vision. the people per-
ish," and the hope, my friends. of
the world is to get people to see
that God is good and that He is
concerned for their welfare.
1 think it is damnable and
sneaky to give your life and inf1u-
ence to the service of the devil and
just before you die ask God AL
mighty to take you to heaven, when
you never served God a day as long
as you lived!
Not All People Bad.
And yet there are lots of people
that that's just exactly the way
they live. But. l am very glad to
say that they are in the minority.
Most people are decent. Most peo-
pie are honest. Most people are
truthful. Most people are on the
square. Most people believe in
God. Now and then you find one
who doesn't believe in God. The
bible says he is a fool if he doesn't,
and the man or the woman who
lives disregarding Gods plan for
their life is as big a fool as the
captain who steered his ship by the
clock instead OF the compass.
So every nation must have a Wis
ion. Every great achievement that
has moved this old world Godward
or brought beneficence or blessing
to the world has been brought
about by the fact that somebody
had a vision, no matter what. No
matter whether it is commendable
or not.
Everything you see is the express
sion of thought, whether it is the
clothes on your back, the seat upon
which you sit, the tabernacle in
which you worship, the automobile
in which you rode here or the home
in which you live. Everything you
see is the expression Of thought,
whether it is the watch by which
you tell time, the ship upon which
you sail. the railway train. Every
thing you see is the expression of
thought, that is, the tangible, Wis
ible results of a mans meditation
in the world. And so the electric
ity blazing above my head, the tel
of the thought of somebody, but
Where there is no vision, the peo-
pie perish"
Please don't go through the
world acting as though God AL
didn't understand human !
nature when he provided human |
nature for them. He understood |
it as well as we. He provided |
sound for your ears, and food for |
your bodies, and rest for your
frame, when he made the day and |
the night.
God knows His business. Don't |
sit there like an ass as though GEO |
Almighty is trying to cram some
hing down your throat that you |
can get along without. And when /
God wants you to be Christians
and serve Him it is because, my |
you are better with it than
you are without it, or God never |
would ask you to do it, and you are |
! fool If you don't do it. You are
better on IL you will obey the Lord.
Every community has got to have
4 vision, or it will go down. We
nave to realize that there is q bet
.er way for the people, and so the
preachers and the church people of |
his city had a vision that they
would be better IL they had a great
moral awakening, and if the peo-
Die. my friends, only had some
great common meeting place where
hey could come and hear OF God
ind His truth. So they erected
his tabernacle and men and wom-
N are pouring their money to help
Jay the expenses. What for? Oh,
here was a vision of the fact that
his old city needed just such an