The child should be taught to restrain his anger; but he can not restrain it if he has not got it. Anger is like fire — a good servant and a terrible master. Without capacity for anger Luther could not have fought the battle of the Reformation; nor our fathers the war of the Revolution; nor our reformers the war of Emancipation. — LYMAN ABBOTT.
Righteous Anger
The spirit which flushes with resentment at an oath is infinitely better than the spirit which listens with indifference, or which laughs with pleasure.
"Abhor that which is evil," says the Divine command; no man is safe unless he does. — LYMAN ABBOTT.
Anger at Sin a Duty
Every great sin ought to arouse a great anger. Mob law is better than no law at all. A community which rises in its wrath to punish with misdirected anger a great wrong is in a healthier moral condition than a community Which looks upon its perpetration with apathy and unconcern. — LYMAN ABBOTT.
Showing posts with label duty. Show all posts
Showing posts with label duty. Show all posts
Friday, April 18, 2008
Readiness in Activity
"The work of men" — and what is that? Well, we may any of us know very quickly, on the condition of being wholly ready to do it. But many of us are for the most part thinking, not of what we are to do, but of what we are to get; and the best of us are sunk into the sin of Ananias, and it is a mortal one. We want to keep back part of the price; and we continually talk of taking up our cross, as if the only harm in a cross was the weight of it — as if it was only a thing to be carried, instead of to be crucified upon. "They that are Christ's have crucified the flesh, with the affections and lusts." — RUSKIN.
Holy Duties
The question is not merely what we can feel, but what we can do, for Christ; not how many tears we can shed, but how many sins we can mortify; not what rapture we can experience, but what self-denial we can practice; not what happy frames we can enjoy, but what holy duties we can perform. — JOHN ANGELL JAMES.
Holy Duties
The question is not merely what we can feel, but what we can do, for Christ; not how many tears we can shed, but how many sins we can mortify; not what rapture we can experience, but what self-denial we can practice; not what happy frames we can enjoy, but what holy duties we can perform. — JOHN ANGELL JAMES.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Christians and Life Insurance
1900
The People's Forum
Do you think it is wrong, from a Christian point of view, to carry a life insurance policy? — L. B. J., Peterson, Minn.
To answer such a question depends entirely on the point of view. If a person sits down and figures on life insurance purely as a lottery game and considers that he is betting on his length of life with a life insurance company, then life insurance to him is nothing more than a Monte Carlo. If, however, he looks at it from the standpoint of mutual helpfulness, is willing to share with others the care of widows and orphans, then it becomes a Christian duty. The world has small pity for the man who, for the sake of a few dollars which may benefit him, neglects to join others for mutual protection of his wife and children when he is taken away. Many times the widow goes to an untimely grave in seeking to support her little ones, and the children are thrown upon society to live stunted lives. Or the aged father or mother, depending on the strong arm of the son or daughter, is driven to the poorhouse to be given grudging support by the state. Many excellent people we know refuse to have anything to do with life insurance, because they look upon it as a lottery. To the others, and the number is growing, life insurance is a privilege and a Christian duty.
—The Ram's Horn, March 17, 1900, p. 8.
The People's Forum
Do you think it is wrong, from a Christian point of view, to carry a life insurance policy? — L. B. J., Peterson, Minn.
To answer such a question depends entirely on the point of view. If a person sits down and figures on life insurance purely as a lottery game and considers that he is betting on his length of life with a life insurance company, then life insurance to him is nothing more than a Monte Carlo. If, however, he looks at it from the standpoint of mutual helpfulness, is willing to share with others the care of widows and orphans, then it becomes a Christian duty. The world has small pity for the man who, for the sake of a few dollars which may benefit him, neglects to join others for mutual protection of his wife and children when he is taken away. Many times the widow goes to an untimely grave in seeking to support her little ones, and the children are thrown upon society to live stunted lives. Or the aged father or mother, depending on the strong arm of the son or daughter, is driven to the poorhouse to be given grudging support by the state. Many excellent people we know refuse to have anything to do with life insurance, because they look upon it as a lottery. To the others, and the number is growing, life insurance is a privilege and a Christian duty.
—The Ram's Horn, March 17, 1900, p. 8.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Duties We Perform
1900
The Nashville Christian Advocate says: "It has been said that duty is an angel with a sad face, and the saying contains at least an element of truth. Some duties it is easy for us to perform. We take them up with a sense of joy and delight. But some are hard and difficult. The sight of them makes us shudder and draw back. None the less must we look them squarely in the face. It may be that the very things which we regard with most repugnance have in them just the discipline that our souls most surely need."
—The Ram's Horn, Nov. 17, 1900, p. 21.
The Nashville Christian Advocate says: "It has been said that duty is an angel with a sad face, and the saying contains at least an element of truth. Some duties it is easy for us to perform. We take them up with a sense of joy and delight. But some are hard and difficult. The sight of them makes us shudder and draw back. None the less must we look them squarely in the face. It may be that the very things which we regard with most repugnance have in them just the discipline that our souls most surely need."
—The Ram's Horn, Nov. 17, 1900, p. 21.
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Doing God's Work
1905
We are to live in the world pouring into it the fragrance of the love of Christ. There is a legend which says that when Jesus arose and walked out from the tomb in the garden white lilies blossomed where he stepped, so that wherever he went there was beauty and fragrance. So should it be wherever we go, if we are Christ's. We are not to shut ourselves indoors, but are to go out into the world to carry blessing and good among its many needs.
Live for To-day
We are writing with a diamond on a rock. We are writing the Rock of Remembrance with invisible ink. We are accumulating for the future. What we do is done forever. The thoughts we think, the words we speak, the kindly and unkindly acts of daily life, we must face them again. Take heed, therefore. Live for eternity. And the way to live for eternity is to concentrate all the energies of life upon the discharge of present duty. Therefore, live for to-day. — D. J. Burrell, D. D.
We are to live in the world pouring into it the fragrance of the love of Christ. There is a legend which says that when Jesus arose and walked out from the tomb in the garden white lilies blossomed where he stepped, so that wherever he went there was beauty and fragrance. So should it be wherever we go, if we are Christ's. We are not to shut ourselves indoors, but are to go out into the world to carry blessing and good among its many needs.
Live for To-day
We are writing with a diamond on a rock. We are writing the Rock of Remembrance with invisible ink. We are accumulating for the future. What we do is done forever. The thoughts we think, the words we speak, the kindly and unkindly acts of daily life, we must face them again. Take heed, therefore. Live for eternity. And the way to live for eternity is to concentrate all the energies of life upon the discharge of present duty. Therefore, live for to-day. — D. J. Burrell, D. D.
Saturday, June 9, 2007
Watch!
1874
There is no period in a Christian's life without peril of sin. A wily foe attends his steps, watching with sleepless vigilance for opportunities which may be made occasions for his fall. The only security for the child of God, therefore, throughout his entire pilgrimage, is in unrelaxing watchfulness. As the citadel is only secure against surprise and capture, when faithful sentinels, with pauseless step, pursue their steady tread along its walls and before its gates, so, the soul, the temple of the Holy Ghost, is alone impregnable against the Prince of Darkness when all its powers, clad in Gospel mail, guard every avenue, with incessant vigilance, against the entrance of evil.
But there are seasons of peculiar jeopardy, when unusual perils beset the Christian, and so insidiously, as to threaten his safety with more than ordinary promise of success. We are passing through such a season now, and there is need of the note of warning which we sound from the head of this article. We have seen and heard enough already to satisfy us that without great caution, the Adversary will gather rich spoils from the present "panic." The scarcity of money will be a strong temptation to many to disregard the sacred obligations by which they are bound to support the cause of God in its various departments. The pressure is so great, the future so threatening, the necessity for retrenchment so imperious, and "withholding more than is meet" so much more consonant with natural inclination, than the self-denial which enhances the gifts we lay upon God's altar, that, without weariness, many good people will be seduced into the sin of "robbing God" who would shrink from wilfully bringing upon their souls so grievous a crime. This is the supreme peril of the times; let Christian people guard against it. Be sure that you are personally cramped by the prevalent stringency, before you make it a plea for withholding your dues from the Church or the claims of charity.
If really straightened, see to it that personal gratification is postponed to the claims of Him whose steward you are. It is right to be provident, but it is safe to give when the cause of God presents its claims, so long as there is anything with which to respond to its demands. The widow of Sarepta passed a "crisis" incomparably more trying than any we experience or are ever likely to encounter; and passed it safely, by dividing her scanty store with the prophet of the Lord. There is infinitely greater danger of damaging your soul by treacherous dealing with duty, than there is of impoverishing yourself by excessive contributions to the Lord's treasury. "Take heed then, and beware of covetuousness," which has a powerful ally in the present monetary stress. There is blessing or disaster for us in these trying times, according as we use them. Let us watch against the evils they threaten, and enrich our experience with all the spiritual benefits they are capable of yielding.
There is no period in a Christian's life without peril of sin. A wily foe attends his steps, watching with sleepless vigilance for opportunities which may be made occasions for his fall. The only security for the child of God, therefore, throughout his entire pilgrimage, is in unrelaxing watchfulness. As the citadel is only secure against surprise and capture, when faithful sentinels, with pauseless step, pursue their steady tread along its walls and before its gates, so, the soul, the temple of the Holy Ghost, is alone impregnable against the Prince of Darkness when all its powers, clad in Gospel mail, guard every avenue, with incessant vigilance, against the entrance of evil.
But there are seasons of peculiar jeopardy, when unusual perils beset the Christian, and so insidiously, as to threaten his safety with more than ordinary promise of success. We are passing through such a season now, and there is need of the note of warning which we sound from the head of this article. We have seen and heard enough already to satisfy us that without great caution, the Adversary will gather rich spoils from the present "panic." The scarcity of money will be a strong temptation to many to disregard the sacred obligations by which they are bound to support the cause of God in its various departments. The pressure is so great, the future so threatening, the necessity for retrenchment so imperious, and "withholding more than is meet" so much more consonant with natural inclination, than the self-denial which enhances the gifts we lay upon God's altar, that, without weariness, many good people will be seduced into the sin of "robbing God" who would shrink from wilfully bringing upon their souls so grievous a crime. This is the supreme peril of the times; let Christian people guard against it. Be sure that you are personally cramped by the prevalent stringency, before you make it a plea for withholding your dues from the Church or the claims of charity.
If really straightened, see to it that personal gratification is postponed to the claims of Him whose steward you are. It is right to be provident, but it is safe to give when the cause of God presents its claims, so long as there is anything with which to respond to its demands. The widow of Sarepta passed a "crisis" incomparably more trying than any we experience or are ever likely to encounter; and passed it safely, by dividing her scanty store with the prophet of the Lord. There is infinitely greater danger of damaging your soul by treacherous dealing with duty, than there is of impoverishing yourself by excessive contributions to the Lord's treasury. "Take heed then, and beware of covetuousness," which has a powerful ally in the present monetary stress. There is blessing or disaster for us in these trying times, according as we use them. Let us watch against the evils they threaten, and enrich our experience with all the spiritual benefits they are capable of yielding.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Counting the Cost (Luke 14:25-35)
1916
By G. H. Morrison
The fact is, that in all the highest courage there is the element of quiet calculation. The truest heroism always counts the cost. The bravery of passions is not a shining virtue. I think that any ordinary man could storm a rampart, if he were a soldier. They tell us there is a wild forgetfulness of self in that last rush that would fire the blood and thrill the most timid. The test of courage is the long night march, under the fire of invisible guns; it is the sentry duty in the darkness, when the shadows and silence might shatter the strongest nerve; I think that the man that deliberately faces that, who goes through it quietly because it is his duty is just as worthy of the Victoria Cross as the man who has won it in some more splendid moment.
Do not forget that when Jesus says, "Count the Cost," he is really sounding the note of the heroic. He does not want any one on false pretenses. He will not issue any lying prospectus. He comes to you and says, You are a thinking man, with powers that will take eternity to ripen, look life in the face. Look death in the face. Sum it all up, measure the value of things. And if you do that quietly and earnestly, with sincere prayer to God to enlighten you, my claims, Christ means, shall tower above all others.
I have been struck too, in studying the Scriptures, to note how the great men there learned how to count the cost. They were not suddenly dragged into the service. There was no unthinking and unreasoning excitement. God gave to every one of them a time of silence before their high endeavor. It was as if He had laid down His hand upon them and said, "My child, go apart for a little, and count the cost." Moses was for forty days alone. Paul, touched by the finger of Lord whom he had persecuted, took counsel of no flesh, but departed into the loneliness of Arabia. Moses, Elijah, Paul — yes, even Simon Peter going out into the night — were learning the deep lesson of our parable.
And whenever I read of the temptations of Jesus and how the spirit of God drove him apart, and how Satan came and showed him all the kingdoms, and taught him a less costly way to sovereignty than by the sweat of Gethsemane and the water and the blood of Calvary — whenever I read that and recall how he stood fast, I feel that our Savior has counted the cost himself. We shall never understand the calm persistence of the glorious company of martyrs and of saints until we go back to that quiet hour at the beginning when they faced every difficulty, weighed every cross, forecast the future, looked at life whole, and then, having counted the cost, like reasonable men, took up their stand upon the side of God. — Western Recorder.
By G. H. Morrison
The fact is, that in all the highest courage there is the element of quiet calculation. The truest heroism always counts the cost. The bravery of passions is not a shining virtue. I think that any ordinary man could storm a rampart, if he were a soldier. They tell us there is a wild forgetfulness of self in that last rush that would fire the blood and thrill the most timid. The test of courage is the long night march, under the fire of invisible guns; it is the sentry duty in the darkness, when the shadows and silence might shatter the strongest nerve; I think that the man that deliberately faces that, who goes through it quietly because it is his duty is just as worthy of the Victoria Cross as the man who has won it in some more splendid moment.
Do not forget that when Jesus says, "Count the Cost," he is really sounding the note of the heroic. He does not want any one on false pretenses. He will not issue any lying prospectus. He comes to you and says, You are a thinking man, with powers that will take eternity to ripen, look life in the face. Look death in the face. Sum it all up, measure the value of things. And if you do that quietly and earnestly, with sincere prayer to God to enlighten you, my claims, Christ means, shall tower above all others.
I have been struck too, in studying the Scriptures, to note how the great men there learned how to count the cost. They were not suddenly dragged into the service. There was no unthinking and unreasoning excitement. God gave to every one of them a time of silence before their high endeavor. It was as if He had laid down His hand upon them and said, "My child, go apart for a little, and count the cost." Moses was for forty days alone. Paul, touched by the finger of Lord whom he had persecuted, took counsel of no flesh, but departed into the loneliness of Arabia. Moses, Elijah, Paul — yes, even Simon Peter going out into the night — were learning the deep lesson of our parable.
And whenever I read of the temptations of Jesus and how the spirit of God drove him apart, and how Satan came and showed him all the kingdoms, and taught him a less costly way to sovereignty than by the sweat of Gethsemane and the water and the blood of Calvary — whenever I read that and recall how he stood fast, I feel that our Savior has counted the cost himself. We shall never understand the calm persistence of the glorious company of martyrs and of saints until we go back to that quiet hour at the beginning when they faced every difficulty, weighed every cross, forecast the future, looked at life whole, and then, having counted the cost, like reasonable men, took up their stand upon the side of God. — Western Recorder.
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Luther League Topic: The Ten Commandments
Davenport, Iowa, 1903
The Luther League topic for March 8 is a continuation of a study of the Ten Commandments. Those are found in the 20th chapter of Exodus.
The commandments, together with the sermon on the mount, form the basis of Christian duty. These require self-sacrifice. He who finds it easy to excuse himself from all service requiring self-sacrifice may imagine that he enjoys religion, but he is mistaken. What he fancies to be a religious experience is an emotional delusion.
We cannot be truly religious without the spirit of Christ. A selfish soul would be utterly miserable in heaven. Its society would not be congenial to him. Each of us will find hereafter the home for which he lives here.
The Luther League topic for March 8 is a continuation of a study of the Ten Commandments. Those are found in the 20th chapter of Exodus.
The commandments, together with the sermon on the mount, form the basis of Christian duty. These require self-sacrifice. He who finds it easy to excuse himself from all service requiring self-sacrifice may imagine that he enjoys religion, but he is mistaken. What he fancies to be a religious experience is an emotional delusion.
We cannot be truly religious without the spirit of Christ. A selfish soul would be utterly miserable in heaven. Its society would not be congenial to him. Each of us will find hereafter the home for which he lives here.
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