The evening world., 1920-09-02
The Business Men
of the Bible
BY Rev. Thomas B. Gregory
No. abraham, the OrigiHd
RdnchDlan.
Copyright. 1910, TIE Press Pub ishina 90.
the NeW York Evening World.

Abraham represents the secOtl
stadium In the advance toward civil
ization.
1t was as a hunter that man Deg1h
his march toward the light. VITA
club, stone-aXe, OF whatever other
weapon he could lay hold Of, nun
knocked down his dinner In the shape
OF the animal>he was to eat uncoobed
and unsalted.
The hunter stage lasted for we
know not how long a period-a iona
one certainly, reaching through LA,u-
sands of years-and then began the.
nomadir stage, when, instead OF de-
pending upon the hunt for their SUI
sistence, men got their living from
their flOcks and herds, with wnlcn
they moved from locality TO localltN
following the grass upon which the
life of their cattle depended.
Along toward the close Of the
hunter stage men had sense enough
to begin to see that IT would be bet
| ter, instead of killing the animals, 10
tame them. multiply them and use
their flesh and milk as a means OF
support. This would be much easier
than hunting and, in addition, would
make their living less precarious and
| uncertain.
1t was in this stage-the nomadic,
the pastoral-that we find Abraham,
the Father OF the Faithful"
Having forsaken the woods, men
now lived on the great plains, in tents
| that could be easily and quickly taken
! down or set up, with their tiocks and
herds grazing about them. until such
time as conditions forced them TO
seek fresh fields and pastures new"
| 1t was an idyllic mode OF existence;
and II is a great shame that II could
not have endured forever. AS COM
pared with the life of the Jungle, or
with life in great cities, 1t carries off
all the honors and advantages when
II comes to the things that are really
worth while. The freedom, the per-
petual boon OF pure air and glorious
sunshine, the brilliant stars over
head by night, ? the wide horizons
calling to you My day-was there
ever a more delectable form Of
human society? The great nOmad
and ranchman, Abraham, was a pro-
nounced success. He knew his bus>N
ness and if he were here to-day he
could doubtless give valuable points
to the ranchmen of Texas, Montana
and Australia.
There were no wire fences in the
East in those far distant days, and
! Abraham's slogan might very well have
been, mo pent up Utica contracts our
powers. The whole unbounded con-
tinent Is ours! / am creations heir.
The world, the world is mine!"
We read that Abraham was VERY
rich in cattle, in silver and IN goid.
1t Is well to notice the word very"
He had sheep and oxen, and he-asses.
and men-servants, and maid servants.
and she-asses, and camels"-probably
By the thousands, If not by the tens
Of thousands.
| And the grand old Patriarch amassed
all this wealth without sacrificing his
finer manhood. Beyond doubt bust
ness was business" with the great
| ranchman, for had he not operated on
| business principles he could never have
built up his princely fortune. But he
did not permit his business to brutal
i've him. His cattle did not stamp out
his chivalry.
Witness his treatment of Lot, than
which nothing in all literature is more
beautiful: And the land was not
able TO bear them. that they might
dwell together, for their substance
was great so that they could not
dwell together. And Abram said unto
Lot, Let there be no strife, pray
thee between me and thee, and be-
tween my herdsmen and thy herds
men, for we are brethren. Is not the
whole land before thee? Separate
thyself, pray thee, from me. II thou
will take the left hand, then I will 60
to the right, or II thou will take the
right hand, then / will go to the lSSr
So Lot chose him on the Plain Of Jor-
dan; and Lot journeyed east, and they
other"
Who could quarrel with a man like
that? If ever a man deserved success
in business It was Abraham.