The Farmville herald. (Farmville, Va.) 1957-current, 1961-11-03
Grow In Concern
Lesson for November 5, 1861

Lesson for November 5, 1861
The noticing reader, or one
who goes to Sunday school and
looks over the topics Of the
whole quarters lessons, will
have observed that the study this
quarter (Oct. l-Dec. 81 is all
about Christians growing. First
we had a study about how Jesus
grew, then one about how Chris
tianS grow, in general. then a
number os studies this being
the LAST asking the same ques-
ton. GrOWing-in what respect,
N what ways? In what may a
Christian be expected to grow?
We have seen that a Christian
can grow in the knowledge OF
God. in his Christian relation
ships, in his life and activity in
the church; and now we shah
think how a Christian can grow
in christian concern. If any
body prefers to substitute ''love"
for concern, all right, only re-
member that Christian love is
concern, not emotion alone.
Christian Materialism
There is bad materialism, or
rather, bad materialisms, and
there is good one as well. With
the bad materialism Christians
should have nothing to do. With
sacred obligation, laid on us by
the Lord himself.
One bad kind of materlaliSm
is the theory that nothing is real
except matter. stuff whether
visible like water or invisible
like electrons or chemical en-
ergy) which can be weighed and
measured. This is the kind Of
materialiSm preached and prac-
tlced in communism; Christians
understand that it is false. An
other bad kind is very common
in America; it is the notion that
material things are the most inn
portant things in the world
When you hear some one argu-
ing that things. or property, are
as important or more important
man people. you may know you
are listening to a materialist, not
OF the Christian kind. The Chris
tan materialism declares that
things are important, though not
the most important, still less the
only kind of real things. But the
Christian goes on to say that
part of our love" that is, con-
Germ for our neighbor, must in
clude his material welfare. That
is to say, Christian will be
concerned about wages, housing,
education, culture, in his com
munlty. He is not content to
want a square deal himself, he
wants it for all others. Jesus
parable of the sheep and the
goats brings out this Christian
concern in unforgettable fashion.
If we could get a world at last
in which every one would have a
JOB he enjoyed, everybody would
receive a decent wage, nobody
would go cold or hungry. every
body would have comfortable,
safe and beautiful homes in
which to live; a world in which
there would be no more war but
only peace and prosperity-would
that lovely world be one in which
there would be no need for
Christian concern? You know it
wouldn't. To be sure. there
would be no beggars, prisoners.
SICK or helpless people in that
world. But alas! there would still
De evil IN the brave new
world Paul covers a good deal
OF territory in his word of coun
sci: If any man be overtaken
IN fault. you who are spiritual
restore such a man :" If
every one, in the world were as
rich or as lucky" as some
people are now, it would lust
open more peoples eyes to a fact
That should be well known as it
is: the rich and the lucky have
their troubles too.
How We Grow in Concern
Our Christian concern for the
welfare Of others must grow, if
II is to be Christ-like, until we
are distressed by spiritual need
not less than by physical need.
A man with a starving soul is
an even more tragic sight than
man with a wasted body. But
only quite mature Christians can
see this. How does Christian con-
Germ grow in us? 1t grows in
somewhat the same way as con-
Germ grows for note ~. w.; ,