The midland journal., 1944-11-24
THE CHRISTIAN VIEW OF
INDUSTRY

no more. Dut Tatner let MIN iaDoFs WORKING
with his hands the thing that IL good. that ne
may have to give 10 him that needeth.--
Ephesians 4:28.
Work is blessing, and the proper
attitude toward 1t is an important
part of the life of Christian. Indus
try has found its best and most de-
pendable workers among those who
believe in Christ. It has also come
to realize that the strengthening OF
the faith Of its workers makes them
better workmen; hence we see all
over the land the interesting deveI
opment of chaplains In industrial
plants. That activity rightly planned
and properly conducted can be OF
great value to both the individual
and to industry.
Our lesson rightly deals with the
individual. Christianity Is person
al matter, a life rather than the
ory. It deals with the man rather
than the mass.
I. We Are Accountable for Oppor-
tunity (Luke 1919.
The king in this parable Is Christ,
who has now gone away, to return
when God is ready for Him to set up
His kingdom on earth. In the mean
time His servants have been given
that which they should be using for
Him.
Two things stand out In this story.
First, the fact that Jesus is coming
again. There are many scoffers who
deny that blessed truth III Pet. S:3,
A.. There are many believers to
whom the promise has become but
a formal truth in confession OF
faith or a creed. But the failure OF
men to recognize truth and their un-
willingness to hold it precious, do
not alter the fact. Jesus Is coming
again!
When He comes, He will have
many things to accomplish, but
and this is our second fact-one of
the most important is that there
shall be an accounting with His fol-
lowers (who are supposed to be His
servants) regarding the life they
have lived. What will your answer
and mine be in that day? It depends
on what we are and what we are
doing right now.
The basis of His judgment APP
pears in the following verses, where
we learn that:
III. We Are to Be Rewarded for
Faithfulness Uuke 19:16-26).
When believers stand In the pres
ence Of Christ to answer for the
deeds done In the flesh (olr sins
were judged at CalvaryD, it will
not be- a question of what church
you belong to, or what family name
you bear, or how much money you
have amassed. No, the only ques-
ton asked will be, 'Have you been
faithful in trading with the gifts, the
abilities and the opportunities Which,
God has given your"
Note that there are three different
judgments here, but all on the one
ground OF faithfulness. The first man
represents those who with all dill
gence and zeal seek to grow spiritu-
ally and to serve the Lord with glad
abandon. All that they have and
are they give to Him for His glory
and for the winning Of others to
Him. They will be commended by
the Lord and great will be their
rewardl
The second man, with equal op-
portunity, did accomplish something,
but not too much. He represents
those who do want to serve the Lord
but with no special zeal, no great
measure Of sacrificial endeavor-
just average" (what an unfortu-
nate standardi) Christians.
The Lord Is fair. He does not de-
prive them Of their reward. In the
measure that they have been faith
full, they too shall find joyous service
for Him. But observe that there is
no special word Of commendation
in this case, and there Is limited
reward.
The third man represents those
who profess to be in fear Of God.
He seems to demand so much Of
them and they are not ready to give
it. After all, they say, we want to
enjoy life. Why should the Lord ex-
pect so much Of us7 Not only do
they lose all reward, but the Lord
must take away even that which He
has already given.
III. We Are Commanded to Work
III Thes. 3:i0-12).
From The day that God put Adam
in the garden of Eden to care for it,
honest work has been the lot Of all
mankind-yes, and his honor. There
is no place in the economy Of God
for the man or woman who is able
to work but is not willing to do so.
"Jf any will not work, neither let
him eat" ". 10).
Apparently there were some In
the church at Thessalonica who per-
verted the teaching Of the Lords
return, who said that If Jesus were
coming any day there was no use
working. They had turned the truth
completely around. The point is
that sjrce Jesus may come at any
time, we should all be doing our ut
most to accomplish all we can so