The Ward County independent., 1920-02-12

any price you want to pay from $15
up to the sky, hand-me down suits
$50 and calico 35 cents yard. Have
you ever heard this kind Of story,
or heard anyone give it as an excuse
for forgetting missions--instead of
doing the very best possible? Well,
now, let US see what an interest in
missions presupposes. Does it mean
GIVING to missions? Some peoples
ideas of missionary interests are as
hazy as their idea Of the fourth di-
mension or better still as hazy as
their ideas Of figuring the income
tax. Having an interest in missions
presupposes several things, one of
which is Giving; but there are sew
eral others quite as important. Were
you ever possessed by an undying
something - :, ANYTHING about which
you knew absolutely nothing? Just
think minute. Suppose you had
never tasted an orange? Do you
think that /, who have eaten many
oranges, have enough words in my
vocabulary to describe to you The
taste of an orange SO that you could
taste it in your Imagination? / know
my limitations better than you do,
and know | never could do it in a
Thousand years. You have to know
something about missions befor eyou
will be interts-ed to any degrea How
do you get that interest? How learn
Of the great need in this world to-
day, not only along the line of saliva
tion, but in the things that go hand
in hand with salvation in the newer
and accepted idea ofthe true mean
ing Of Observation-Disclosures: tie
gospel of physical clealiness, physical
perfection, industry, of safe, sane
and pure society, of brotheriy love,
of good works, of intellectual devel-
J,ment, o. justice, equa%ty and COM
mon rights, as well as the gospel Of
II, an sin and cf redemption for the
ertire man.
The earliest m:ssionar,,.., carried
the message of immortality to a
world hungering for some assurance
that man is not like the beasts Of the
fields or like the flowers which bloom
in the morning but fade and {! be-
fore sunset To a world stepped in
ressimism and almost complete de-
sp;,ir there could be brought no more
welcome news than that of the res
direction, with it's assurance of cter-
nal life. Likewise to world hard
ened by almost perpetual wars and
by oppression, the gospel Of peace and
love was highly welcome.
1t was different when the gospel
%o hn 6A {0 nd
barbarians. Here the message had
to be supplemented with the princi-
Piles of civilization. These people
had to be taught not only to be Chris
tians, but to live decently and in or
der. And so we find a changing en-
phasis on new factors. The mission
aries now lay stress on the arts of
government, on education, on agri-
culture, on proper housing and cloth
ing, and other features of civilized
life. They begun to lay emphasis on
the blessings of peace and the evils
of war. Still later, the missionaries
applied themselves to look especial
ly after the sick and afflicted. With
this stage we enter into modern
times with its hospitals, medical
staff and nurses. It is still neces-
sary in many cases to have farmers
and blacksmiths, carpenters and gar
deners connected with we'll equipped
mission stations among barbarians
and savages, while hardly any sta
ton can afford to omit some provis-
ion for healing the sick and improv-
ing the health and sanitation.
Is this change merely an accident
or is it part of the modern concep-
ton of Christianity It is more and
more recognized that good health is
the foundation of good morals and
sound mentality. Our best mission
aries have not been slow to recognize
the Importance of this fact, and their
endeavor is more and more directed
toward improving the health of their
charges, as preliminary to improv-
ing their morals. The fact is COM
ing to be recognized that religion
which springs from fear of death
is not of the highest type. It is the
religion which is born Of the power
to do, to cooperate with God in the
bringing about of the Kingdom of
God here upon earth, NOW, and to
raise the social level, that is true to
the spirit Of Jesus. The missionary
who is satisfied merely to repair dam
age after it has been done no longer
represents the best type Of Chris
tainty. Is it better to let man 20
astray and acquire all kinds Of bad
habits during times Of low vitality,
or to keep him in good physical CON
dition and have him acquire good
habits right along? Is it easier to
have q tree grow straight, or to
straighten out crooked one Atten-
tion to health is prevention Of the ut
most Importance. It does not mean
abandoning the saving Of souls, It
means the saving Of souls which have
not gone as far wrong, because there
was greater vitality to support good
intentions. The work Of the Flor
ence Cl,ittenton Home has absolutely
been a wonderful thing if some Of US,
instead Of feeling very well satisfied
with ourselves when we had given
$500 to that institution, could only
have seen the Importance Of being in
terested in some Of those same girls
q year or two or three ago, and
thrown open our homes to them, been
in them and have seen
that they were having Ehe right kind
Of fun for girls are bound to have;
fun-it ID an inex0rable law Of life