The Washington herald., 1921-09-12


Manhood was ungripped by any
high and holy purposes. womanhood
was dwarfed and degraded. Chill
hood was despised and neglected.
The coming OF Jesus brought a tang
into the feast of life.
But the big service of salt is to
preserve 1t is the great foe of
disintegration. 1t stands like an
armed sentinel In the doorway,
keeping out invading rottenness.
When Jesus said, "Ye are the salt
of the EARTH" he simply meant that
the saving. salt of Christ-like men
and women the individual and
society tend inevitably to moral rot
tenness. He meant that the pres
ence of Christ-like character in the
world was necessary in order to
keep this world from absolute
wreck. Now, IL I had made this
statement a few years ago there
would have been possibly vast num-
bers who would not have agreed.
We thought the world was on the
way to self-salvation. We thought
that civilization had been made per-
fectly safe by science, by culture,
by progress.
Culture I'm Vain.
But suddenly something haHpened
to upset all these calculations, War
broke out. And one. nation after
anothr slipped into the abyss of
blood and tears till more than a
score of, nations were involved.
And We discovered that al our cul-
ture and all our progress and all
our science were absolutely power
less TO tame the tiger within our
sous. We discovered the fact that
war was an altogether more savage
and barbarous something because
OF that very progress and culture
OF which we had once boasted.
And. my friends, IL Is little short
Of madness not to face the fact
that these gods that could not save
us yesterday will not be able 10
save us tomorrow. The next war
says one of the greatest and keen
est historians of the day, will no,
be battle between armies, al
previous wars have bent will be
a battle between civil populations
| We have already airships that can
be loaded with a deadly liquid anG
timed, and made to spray that poi.
son wherever desired. One smalles
drop of the poison means certain
death. A few such airships turned
loose in the direction Of New Yorl
City would make it into one grea
mausoleum in a few minutes. i
our great scientific knowledge Il
not salted with the saving salt O
the gospel of Jesus Christ, this oil,
world will one. day rise up an,
commit absolute suicide. There Il
but one chance of saving civiliza
tion, and that is through the saw
ing power of Christlike character
We must Christianize the worl,
or II is doomed.
Protected by Christians.
And declare to you, 1t is m,
solemn conviction this day that tn
world is not protected by its bat
tleships and by its standing arm
les. 1t never has been. 1t neve
will be. It is protected. in so ia
as 1t Is protected, by the Godlik
men ad women that live among us
Washington is not what 1t Jough
to be today. But how much wors,
IL would be without the church
You are far from being the mar
that you ought to be, but how
| much worse you might be were Il
not for the restraining influence oi
the gospel and of good men upor
| your life.
1t Is your task then, and mine
| to be the preservers of whatever Ii
pure and noble and good in human
life. We are to put ourselves a.
armed sentinels between the church
the home. society and II ruin. We
are to be the worlds protectors, the
worlds conservers. the world,
| savers.
Our Sphere.
And now hope you will notice
last of all. the sphere in which yor
are to exercise this high vocation
| You are not to exercise II in HEAVIER
so far as We know. You are moi
to exercise 1t in some ideal situa.
| ton I know that is what we Otter
promise ourselves. I am not count
ing for anything here, but am go.
ing to count for something when
get home. or when / get some othe
| where. But IL you are salt. ant
light, where are you going to ex
ercise your powers7 o heart. ther,
Is only one place. "Ye are the sal
of the earth" On this dirty, dusty
sin-scarred planet, in this prosai,
place that we call "here"-that Il
where you are to exercise your gif
II at all.
Try sailing your community ,
little. See IL you can not max
1t harder for folks about you to sil
and easier for them to pray. Yo,
tremember the old miner that tol,
Brooks that he was not drunk to
day "just because you are in town.
Brooks was saltihg the earth.
Then suppose you try to sal
and keep sweet that commonplace
spot that We call home. "Ye ar
the salt of the homs." Can God ss,
that about you? By your pure an,
holy life, by your fidelity, by you
faithful maintaining of the fam
lily altar you are building a wal
around your children that vii
make itimpossible for them ever (
forget and never go utterly in sir
In other days when sorely temple
they will think of their godl
father and his prayers. They vii
think of their sanity mother SA'
her patient and quiet devotion.
When the strain 10 hard
Her voice is heard through roar
ing drums,
That beat to battle where he stand.
Her face across his fancy comes
And gives the battle to his hands.
Salt vour citv Salt vorr homt