The Farmville herald. (Farmville, Va.) 1957-current, 1961-11-10
What We Have
Lesson for November z. 1861

Will tWO CANCPtAOAo GA WAY
columns from now till Christmas
in these Bible studies will be
concerned with one question and
its several answers: BY what
means does a Christian grow?
Up to now we have been think
ing in what parts or activities
or attitudes of his life Christ
ian grows; now we try to see
what makes that growth pos
Sible, how it is done.
We must remember always
that it is God who is the Giver
of every good and perfect gift,
that it is God who works in us
"both to will and to do" what
is pleasing in his sight. But we
must remember also that
Grow" is used in the impera-
tive. as command. in the New
Testament. These next few weeks
before the New Year will give
us a chance to think how we
can obey that command. If you
want to keep it, use it!
Some people, reading Jesus
parable of the Talents, are
bothered by it. Why was the
mans poor little one talent tax
en- away from him, and why, oh
why was it given to the man
with ten talents already?-May-
be Jesus parallels are not all
to be taken literally, but they
all mean something. The mean
ing Of this parable is two-fold.
positive and negative. Positively !:
If you what to keep it. use it!
Negatively: What you do not
use, you may not keep. It is
pretty plain that Jesus cannot
be taken literally and make
sense. 1t is not true that if you
want to keep a skyrocket. set
it off. 1t is not true that if
you want to keep a dollar you
must spend it. But it is certainly
true in the mental and spiritual
realm. Do you have a good head
for mathematics. If you want to
keep it that way, don't give up
your math. keep with it right
on through school. Do you have
gift for friendship? It will
grow in proportion as you make
friends. Do you have faith in
God? If you want to keep it,
use it..
Hindrances
The Christian word for using
what you have, in Gods service
and for the help Of your fellow
man. is Stewardship. That word
has come to have, in many peo-
pie S minds, the sound of money
A good steward, we are told, is
one who tithes his income, is
generous with the less fortunate
and so on. But while that is
good, it is not the only kind OF
stewardship. Time, gifts and
aptitudes, skills of any good
kind. are equally the concern OF
the good steward of the gifts of
God. And Of all such things. il
is true that what you do not use
you may not keep.
Take the Pharisees, for ex-
ample. They had everything
learning, leisure, the Word OF
God in the Scriptures of which
they thought so highly. They had
enough to be what they thought
they were, but were not: the
spiritual leaders of Israel. They
became enemies of the Son Of
God. His most outright attacks
on any class Of persons were
aimed at the Pharisees. Why
with all their opportunities, did
they sink so low? The reader
of Matthew q will find more
answers than one. Hypocrisy
Self-righteousness, pride, posses
are all there.
Day.by-Day Choice
SO-unlesS we wish to follow
the Pharisees' tragic road-il
we want to grow as Christians
then We shall have to use. as
Christians responsible to our
Father in heaven, whatever gifts
and opportunities He sends us
in a Christian spirit and fol
Christian ends. This cannot be
done by one great effort of deci
sion. It is rarely in a lifetime
that we make tremendous. dra.
matte, crucial choices. Most OF
the time we just go from day te
day making small decisions all
the time. The importance OF
these day-by day decisions and
choices is greater than some oil
us think. A minister begins his
course as minister by a great
decision to spend his life in
Gods service through the
church. But it has happened
sometimes that the mans day.
by-day choices were sen-center-
ed and self-indulgent. until like
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