The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1921-05-26
SOME DYNAMIC FORCES IN
ACHIEVEMENT


The following address was deliver
ed at Phi Delta Banquet in May, 1919,
by the Rev. Elmer +. Gabbard, now
a trustee of Berea College.
Except for the Introductory para
graph, which has especial reference
to the occasion Of the address, IL is
printed in full.
In view Of the approaching Com
mencement, we believe it is especial
ly timely and valuable.
/ realize, young men and women,
that your faces are 10 the future and
that your eyes are uplifted. II is
right that this should be so. Your
hearts should beat eagerly and pas
sionately as you think Of the future
when what you achieve or fail TO
achieve will count in the vital issues
of life. / know you are interested in
achievements because it is charged
with the thought Of that hour when
your success will be made OF lost.
This hour for you may be a moment
as it was with Dewey at Manila Bay.
1t may be for short period as it
was with Christ. 1t may be for the
years Of a long and fruitful service.
The point is that that hour for you
is coming when your contribution to
life will be made. When il comes,
there are certain great forces that
will, consciously or unconsciously,
play a prominent part in the out
come Of your life. You cannot bus
be interested in these forces so dy-
manic in life, and / ask you to think
with me for little while about them.
Let us pause for a moment to rec
ognize that the practice Of these
great life principles may not put our
names in the catalog Of the world
heroes. There are different stand
dards Of greatness. When God sent
his angel to herald the birth of John
the Baptist, it was announced, "He
shall be great in the sight Of the Lord.
This did not mean that the world
would count Him great. The achieve
ments that win the approval Of the
world are not always the achieve
ments that count for most in life.
Young men and women in college are
told that they are to be the leaders
Of men. They believe this and right
ly so. But going out in life their
leadership is often rejected by the
world and they find tasks awaiting
them that are coarse and common.
mystified, they wait for
the world to recognize their ability
and give them a worthy position.
This recognition never comes. We
often fancy that prominent people do
prominent things. A glance at their
daily schedule would likely show that
for the most part their time is spent
on matters no more alluring or ro-
mantle than those that fall to most
men. Charles Kingsley, in speaking
Of his daily work said, it usually
consisted I'm visiting few poor cot
tagers, in sitting beside one or two
sick people. in talking with farmer
across the hedge" We hear much
ak Of "a mans job" and the phrase
has come to mean something that is
big and snowy. Very often mans
Job is to do something that no one
Else will do because they think it is
,eneath them. Thru the imagery of
he prophets people were looking for
yreat things when the Messiah should
,ome and were bitterly disappointed
when He came to engage in what to
hem were such commonplace things.
am not sure that the people Of our
,wn day are unlike the people Of old
n this respect. II ought to cool the
'everish ambition Of men when they
remember that Christ's life was a re-
Duke 10 those who feared that they
would be belittled by common tasks.
The great need of human life today