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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 1, 1907)
V ' k FEBRUARY 1,1007' The Commoner, 3 half. Some Imve even reached the point where' they find difliculty in getting people to accept tlieir money; and I know of no better indication of the ethical awakening in this country than the increas ing tendency to scrutinize the methods of money making. A long step in advance will have been taken when religious, educational and charltabte institutions refuse to condone immoral methods in business and leave the possessor of ill-gotten gains to learn the loneliness of life when one prefers money to morals. Some have sought peace in social distinction, but whether jJiey have been within the charmed circle and fearful lest they might fall out, or out side and hopeful that they might get in, they have not found peace. Some have thought, vain thought! to find peace in political prominence; but whether - oflice comes by birth as in monarchies or by election as in re publics, it does not satisfy a selfish ambition. An office is conspicuous only when few can occupy it. But few in a generation can hope to be the chief " executive of their city, state or nation. I am glad that our Heavenly Father did not make the peace of the human heart depend upon the accumulation of wealth or upon the securing of social or politi cal distinction, lor in either case but few could have enjoyed it, but when He made peace the re ward of a conscience void of offence toward God and man, Ho put it within the reach of all. The poor can secure it as easily as the rich, the social outcast as freely as the leader of society and the humblest citizen equally with those who wield po litical power. To those who have grown gray in the faith I need not speak of the comfort to be found in the belief in an over-ruling Providence. The Bible is full of assurances that our lives are precious in the sight of God, and poets have taken up the theme and woven'it into immortal verse. No uninspired writer has expressed the idea more beautifully than William Cullen Bryant in the Ode to a Waterfowl. After following the wanderings of the bird of pas sage as it seeks first its northern and then its southern home, he concludes: Thou art gone; the abyss of heaven Hath swallowed up thy form, but on my heart Deeply hath sunk the lesson thou hast given, And shall not soon depart. He who, from zone to zone, Guides' through the-boundless sky thy certain flight, In the long way that I must tread alone, Will lead my steps aright. He has brought peace by giving us assurance that a line of communication can be established between the Father above and the child below. And who will measure the consolation that has been brought to troubled hearts by the hour of prayer? And immortality! Who will estimate the peace which a belief in a future life has brought to the sorrowing? You may talk to the youug about death ending all, for life is full and hope is strong but preach not this doctrine to the mother who stands by the death bed of her babe or to one who is within the shadow of a great affliction. When I was a young man I wrote to Colonel Ingersoll and asked him for his views on God and immortality. His secretary answered that the great infidel was not at home, but enclosed a copy of a speech which covered my question. I scanned it with eagerness and found that he had expressed himself about as follows: "I do not say that there is no God, I simp ly say I do not know. I do not say that there is uo life beyond the grave, I simply say I do not know." And from that day to this I have not been able to understand how any one can find pleasure In taking from any human heart a living faith and substituting therefor the vcold and cheerless doc trine, "I do not know." Christ gave us proof of immortality and yet it would hardly seem necessary that one should rise from the dead to convince us that the grave is not the end. To every created thing God has given a tongue that proclaims a resurrection. If the Father deigns to touch with divine power the cold and pulseless heart of the buried acorn and to make it burst forth into a new life, will He leave neglected in the earth th,e soul of man, made k in the image of His creator? If He stoops to give to the rose bush whose withered blossoms float upon the autumn breeze, the sweet assurance of another springtime, will He refuse the words of hope to the sons of men when the frosts of winter come? If matter, mute and inanimate, though changed by the forces of nature into a multitude of forms can never die, will the spirit of man suffer annihilation when it has paid a brief visit like a royal guest to this tenement of clay? No, I am as sure that there is another life as I am that I live todav! I 'am sure that, as the grain of wheat contains within an Invisible germ which can discard its body and build a new one from earth and air, so this body contains a soul which can clothe itself anew when this poor frame crumble3 into dust. A belief in immortality not only consoles the individual but it exerts a powerful inlluenco in bringing peace between individuals. If one really thinks that man dies as the brute dies, lie may yield tq,the temptation to do injustice to his neigh bor when the circumstances are such as to prom ise security from detection. But if one really ex pects to meet again, and live eternally with those whom ho knows today, he is restrained from evil deeds by the fear of endless remorse. We do not know what rewards are in store for us or what punishments may bo reserved, but if there were no other punishment it would be enough for one who deliberately and consciously wrongs another to have to live forever in the company of the per son -wronged and have his littleness and selfishness laid bare. I repent, a belief in immortality must exert a powerful influence in establishing justice between men and thus in laying the foundation for peace. Christ has given us a measure of greatness which eliminates conflicts. When Ills disciples disputed among themselves as to which should be greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven, He rebuked them and said, Let him who would bo chlcfc.il: among you bo ihe servant of all. Service is the measure of greatness; It always has been true, it Is true today, and it always will be true, that he is greatest who does the most of good. And yet, what a revolution it will work in this old world when this standard becomes the standard of cvoi'y life. Nearly all of our controversies and combats arise from the fact that we are trying to get some thing from each other there will bo peace when our aim is to do something for eacli other. Our enmities and animosities arise from our efforts to get as much as possible out of the world there will bo peace when our endeavor is to put as much as possible into the world. Society will have taken an immeasurable step toward peace when it esti mates a citizen by his output rather than by his Income and gives the crown of its approval to the one wlio makes the largest contribution to the welfare of all. . Christ has also led the way to peace by giving us a formula for the propagation of good. Not all of those who have really desired to do good have employed the Christian method not all Christians even. In all the history of the human race, but two methods have been employed. The first is the forcible method. A man has an idea which lie thinks is good; ho tells his neighbors about it and they do not like it. This makes him angry and seizing a club he attempts to make them like it. One trouble about this rule is that it works botli ways; when a man starts out to compel his neigh bors to think as he does, he generally finds them willing to accept the challenge and they spend so much time in trying to coerce each other that they have no time left to be of service to each -other. The other is the Bible plan be not overcome of evil but overcome evil with good. And there is no other way of overcoming evil. I am not much of a farmer i get more credit for my farm ing than I deserve, and my little farm receives more advertising than it is entitled to. But I am farmer enough to know that if I cut down weeds they will spring up again, but I know that If r plant something there which has more vitality than the weeds I shall not only get rid of the constant cutting but have the benefit of the crop besides. In order that there might be ifo mistake about His plan of propagating good, Christ went into detail and laid emphasis upon the value of ex ampleso live that others seeing your good works may be constrained to glorify your Father which is in Heaven. There is no human influence so potent for good as that which goes out from an upright life. A sermon may be answered; the ar guments presented in a. speech may be disputed, but no one can answer a Christian life it is the unanswerable argument. It may be a slow processthis conversion of the world by the silent influence of a noble ex ample, but it is the only sure one, and the doctrine applies to nations as well as to individuals. The Gospel of the Prince of Peace gives us the only hope that the world has and it Is an Increasing hope of the substitution of reason for the arbitra ment of force in the settlement of international disputes. But Christ has given us a platform more funda mental than any political party has ever written. We are interested in platforms; we. attend con ventions, sometimes traveling long distances; we have wordy wars over the phraseology ,of various planks and then we wage earnest campaigns to secure the endorsement of these platforms at the polls. But the platform given to the world by the Nazarene is more far-reaching and more coinpro--hensive than any platform ever written by the convention of any party in any country. When He condensed into one commandment those of the ten which relate of man's duty toward his fellows and enjoined upon us the rule Thou ahalt love thy neighbor as thyself, lie presented a plan for the solution of all the problems that now vc Hoclety or may hereafter arise. Other remedies may palliate or postpone the day of settlement but tills Is al -sufficient and the reconciliation which it effect is a permanent one. If I were to attempt to apply this thought to various questions which are at issue, I might be i.V T , ,Mtr ino d0,"W" f Partisan politics, Kw T 8,lfely V),,,y, ,l t0 two lcJlL Problem I . nr ,0rn, !" I011"1 "' 'IWCStlOll (,f capital fllUl labor, ahls Is not a transient issue or a local one. It engages the attention of the people of a countries and has appeared In every age. The '?!,?, (V.lho ronlrovorsy can be trusted to wv.w uijnuuuc justice, if allowed undisputed control; but arbitration, like a court, is a las , Hort. It would be belter If the relations -between employer and omnlovn woiv u..m, " "... " bitration unnecessary. Just in proportion as men recognize their kinship to each other am! oaf jy Hi each other in the spirit of brotherhood will friendship and harmony be secured. Both om , ployer and employe need to cultivate the spirit wi.ich follows from obedience to the great com mandment. The second problem to which I would applv thh platform of peace is that which relates to the ac cumulation of wealth. We cannot much longer delay consideration of the ethics of monev-makiiig. mat many of the enormous fortunes which have been accumulated in the last quarter of a century are now held by men who have given to society no adequate service in return for the monev se cured is now generally recognized. While legisla tion can and should protect the public from pred atory wealth, a more effective remedy will be found In the cultivation of a public opinion which w 11 substitute a higher ideal than the one which tolerates the enjoyment of unearned gains. No man avIio really knows what brotherly love is will desire to take advantage of his neighbor, and he conscience when not seared will admonish against Injustice. My faith in the future rests upon the belief that Christ's teachings are being move studied today than ever before and that with tills larger study will come an application of those teachings to the every day life of the world. ru former times men read that Christ came to bring life and immortality to light and placed the em phasis upon immortality; now the are studying Christ's relation to human life. In former rears many thought to prepare themselves for fiitur bliss by a life of secluslpn hero; i6V tluiy are learning that tliev cannot follow in the footsteps of the Master unless they go about doing good. But this Prince of Peace promises not only peace but strength. Some have thought Ills teach ings fit only for the weak and tiio timid and un sulted to men of vigor, energy and ambition. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Only the man of faith can be courageous. Confident that he fights on the side of Jehovah he doubts not the triumph of his cause. What matters it whether he shares in the victory? If every word spoken in behalf of truth has its influence and every deed done for the right weighs in the final account it is immaterial to the Christian whether his eyes behold victory or whether he dies in the midst of the conflict. " Only those who believe attempt the seemingly Impossible and, by attempting, prove that oiie with God can chase a thousand and two can put ten thousand to flight. I can imagine that the early Christians avIio wore carried into the arena to make a spectacle for those more savage than tha boasts, were entreated by their doubting com panions not to endanger their lives. But, kneeling in the center of the arena, they prayed and sang until they were devoured. How helpless they seemed and, measured by every human rule, how hopeless was their cause! And yet within a few decades the power which they Invoked proved mightier than the legions of the Roman emperor and the faith in which they died was triumphant o'er all that land. It is said that those who went to mock at their sufferings returned asking them selves, What is it that can enter into the heart of man and make him die as these die? They were greater conquerors In their death than they could have been had they purchased life by a surrender of their faith. , What would have been the fate of the church If the early Christians had had as little faith as many of our Christians now have? And on the ofl'ier hand, if the Christians of today had the faith of the martyrs, how long would it be be fore the fulfillment of the prophecy that every knee shall bow and every tongue confess? Our faith should be even stronger than the faith of those who lived two thousand years ago for we see ,our religion spreading and supplanting the philosophies and creeds of the Orient. As the Christian grows older he appreciates