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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (April 1, 1917)
T--i f -.--(ro. -mttprWX ' Commoner plO VOL. 17, NO. 3. iFttw'b'P' is "- I . ,,.. The First Commandment A Lecture Delivered by Mr. Bryan on Various Occasions JThou shalt have no other gods before me;" reads tho first of the commandments brought down from Sinai. The fact that it stands first -would indicate that it is tho most important -of the ten, and tho same conclusion is reached if wc compare it with tho other nine. But in pre senting a proposition of such great importance it is well to support it with the best possiblo authority. In this case wo aro ablo to invoke the testimony given by Ono "who spake as never man spake." In the 22nd chapter of Matthew, beginning at tho 35th verse, you will find the question aBked and answered. "Then ono of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a ques tion, tempting him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the .law?" You will notice that the question was. asked by a lawyer and that the lawyer asked it for. the purpose of tempting Christ. It is not the first time,. nor tho last, that, a lawyer .has, set a trap inrvain; and it is not tho only .time. a, lawyer has done good without intending it. In saying this I do not mean to reflect upon lawyers; I simply stato the fact. There is a popular prejudice' against lawyers I found it necessary to leave out of one of my lectures a complimentary mention of lawyers because it made the audience laugh during a-oorioiifc part of the address. Finding that I was compelled to insist each time upon the sincerity of the com pliment, I finally omitted it. I do not share this feeling. My father -was a lawyer '.and,; no better man ever lived. My ambition to be a lawyer was formed so early that I -can not -remember when I began to look forward to a ca reer in this profession. I studied law, was. ad mitted to the bar and practiced until I. was drawn away from law into-politics, and my only sdn is a lawyer. I am thus thrice bound to respect the profession. With this disclaimer of prejudice I repeat that the lawyer selected by the Pharisees to embarrass the Savior was not the first or only one to fail in such an at tempt, and he was not the only one who, bj? ad dressing an improper question addressed to the Saviour, brought out a great truth. You will remember that the question. was .raised as to which of the disciples would 1)3 greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. We are ashamed to think that those in the very presence of the Master could have thought of anything so selfish, and yet we are glad that the question was asked be cause it gave Christ an opportunity, to announce the most revolutionary doctrine that this world has ever heard. Man had been prone to measure his great ness by THE SERVICES WHICH HE COULD COMMAND FROM OTHERS but Christ taught that greatness is to be measured by. THE SER VICE RENDERED TO OTHERS. This is the growing philosophy. The progress of nations, like the progress of individuals, can be meas ured by tho extent to which this doctrine is ap plied in life. - In like manner, Christ's answer to the law yer sets the seal of his approval upon the commandment and establishes a great ti In verses 37 to 40, Jesus said unto himThou . Shalt love the Lord thy God -with aTTuiy heart, and nvith all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is. the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these commandments hang all the law and the prophets." i ' Some have put the emphasis upon humanity fras if the second commandment were more im- potftantf than the first, I remember that Toltsoy .i Called attention to this error during the day which it awas my privilege -to spend with him at his Russian home. He insisted that the first commandment was tho most important because v man j can :not understand his relation to his . brother: until he is 'first brought into harmony T-with tWHeavenly Father. " Christ takes the ten commandments and con denses them into two. Out of the command vrrmona $jaj; relate to man's duty to God He .tbrVgs, f.orth tho one supreme commandment kl, IhaJfiMes all the' "others, namely, "Thou ' ratt virive f,o Lord thy God -frith &11 thy heart; are those ready and anxious to hold office tw very eagerness and watchfulness adds ,Jr ' security of the public. 8. to o , And then, too, the man who is looldn t fna u witting w-i. rrr, B 10(King for an answer is. do nnt. ritnfWh Mt ' , iim; . 4nl.r:. .H lonB as he office is willinV to wr Xl "? ': man or that man has his ev nn i at thls ,, 4 .-, i. ,. j: . v" "" uuicfe mv and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind." And out of the commandments that relate to man's duty to his fellow men he brings forth a second commandment worthy to be a com panion to the first, "Thou shalt love thy neigh bor as thyself." Here is Ihe whole law all that man needs to understand his duty toward God and his duty toward his brother, but the first is the GREAT commandment. My purpose in calling your attention to this commandment is to show you that it is as much needed today as when it was given to the Child ren of Israel, although our temptations are quite different from those which they had to meet. When the first commandment was an nounced its immediate purpose seems to have been to warn a choseri pe.ople against the wor ship of idols: today it comes to us with equal force as a warning against the worship of false gods which man is tempted to put between him self and Jehovah in this age, I desire to bring before you nine of these ' false gods; not all the false gods, by any means, but nine that are representative. I might carry with me a little cabinet with three shelves and exhibit those gods before you n so far as. they could be represented to the eye three on the top sli'elf, three on the middle shelf, and three on the bottom shelf. But it may be better not to exhibit them. You might pick out your own false god, if you have any, and proceed while I talked about the others. It may be betted to introduce them to you one at a time, and I will . ask you to consider each of these false gods as I present it and then, when I am through with it, go on with me to the next. I have arranged them in. three classes be cause they are of different grades. I put three in the first class case because, in the worship of them, good is sometimes done incidentally, even if. unintentionally. The three in the sec ond class are not of so high an order; those who worship these three do no good even un intentionally. In the third class I put three of a still lower order, three the worship of which destroys. The first of the gods in the first class is the God of Gold; its patrons worship money. It is put in the first class because those who worship money are generally industrious, and their in dustry sometimes brings substantial benefit to the world. Those wliMtrSrship money may be intelligent also: a man may secure an educa tion with no higher purpose than the making of money, and his intelligence may incidentally aid others. It is difficult if not impossible for one to monopolize the results of his industry or intelligence. Then, too, the worshipers of money may be wise enough to know that integ rity is an aid to accumulation, and their integ rity may indirectly benefit society. But the God of Gold is a false god and is surento lead ope astray. The worship of it ittwp siirivpis me soui ana, in the end, the love of fifst money is quit sure to make man ignore the ruth. distinction between ricrht- and xumnt an ioi him to the employment of methods which are indefensible before thfe bar of conscience, even if they do not actually violate statute law. Tho second god in the first class is the God of Fashion: it is Worshiped by those who put social prominence above all other things. Its worship, too, may incidentally bring good to society. Man is a social creature: he needs to mingle with his fellows, but It is a'false god' and it leads, to the putting of Undue emphasis upon the social side of life and often creates unreas onable distinctions. This god leads those who worship it to neglect the higher and more im portant things of life Tho third god in the first class is the God of Fame. The statesman's god, or if you prefer it, the politician's god. I put this god in the first class because its worshipers, also, often render a service jto society w'thout intending it. The candidate for office is frequently an for criticism, but how would we keep the man ; in fflce under control but for the men who are seeking offices. It is well for society that there is looking for an office he will be untiiC il his industry and we need his aid. It remfir an enormous amount of time and labor n ? cure any great reform. I do not know what w would do for workers if it were not for ml with aspirations. So many citizens, actuated by selfish reasons, do nothing that their im if ference must bo offset for the present by th activities of some who are prompted bv selfM ambition. And, in a country like ours,' tho in telligent man may learn that honest servies rendered .to the people is the surest road to preferment, and so may conscientiously en deavor to give expression to the will of the peo ple, even though his motives are purely selfish But the God of Fame is a false god and one who has no higher purpose than love of fame is certain to be led astray. He will in time be come so absorbed in worship of this god that he will resort to cunning or even fraud to se 'curo position. These are the gods of the first class. Any one of them might furnish us a theme for an evening, but I can only spare a moment for each, leaving you to elaborate the suggestions made.- Any incidental good that may come to society from the worship of any of these gods will come in larger measure from the worship of tho true God. And now let us consfder the three gods on the second shelf, the gods whose worship makes one worthless to himself and to society. They are of a lower order than tho three gods al ready named because those who worship them do riot. render a service even unintentionally. The first of the second three is the God of .Ease the god worshiped by thosevno are de voted , to the body and desire nothing higher than comfort. They want food and clothing and Bhplter and ask to. be lot alone' while they en . joy thorn. They eat, not because it is neces sary to the body but because they like to eat. They sleep, not because the body needs rest and recuperation but because they like to sleep. They eat and eat and eat; they sleep and sleep and; sleep: then they rise to eat and eat again. They are worthless to themselves and worthless to society. They are the barren fig tree; they encumber the earth; they attach themselves to nothing good while they live and they pass away without giving a pang of. pain. The second god in the second class is the God of Intellect, the god worshiped by those who exalt the mind who think, not.with a purpose, but merely for the pleasure of thinking. I know that in putting the Intellectual god upon tho same level with the 'God of Ease I shall meet with some dissent, but it is so long since I have said anything which met with every body's approval that a little opposition does not embarrass me. While the mind performs a higher function than the body, still those who worship the mind disobey the first command ment as surely as those who worship the body. The mind is the servant of man just as the body is the .servant. Would you have proof of it. There is something in man that is superior to both body and mind it is the soul of man that is supreme. That which can hold the body m ,the flames until the flames consume the quiver ing flesh is the real master, and the soul can ao this. The soul can do even more, it can tane the mind, purge it of its vanity and egotism, and fill it with humility and make it the ser vant of mankind; the soul that can do tins master of the mind. There aTe Intellectual temptations as well as physical temptations. It is the mind that ciis putes with the -heart sovereignty over tne ,,.,,-, ,A., j.-Ai. fonii nm! hope ana uiviauai, ana it ib ueuui t-u i"" - t:Mial life when the brain triumphs over the sp ir ' in man. The struggle between the mm a the heart began in the Garden of Eden--i t bh continues and real success hangs Pon.l"e lts sue. Pascal declares that the heart has reasons which the mind can' not " eftana cause the heart is of an infinitely higher ord History proves that the intellect can not" "' lied 'upon to regenerate the life or to i WA ' en one to withstand the temptations wn cu s. ii4i