In order to be saved, we must know by experience the meaning of true conversion. It is a fearful mistake for men and women to go on day by day, professing to be Christians, yet having no right to the name. In God's sight, profession is nothing, position is nothing. He asks, Is the life in harmony with my precepts?
There are many who suppose that they are converted, but who are not able to bear the test of character presented in the Word of God. Sad will it be, in the day when every man is rewarded according to his works, for those who can not bear this test.
Conversion is a change of heart, a turning from unrighteousness to righteousness. Relying upon the merits of Christ, exercising true faith in him, the repentant sinner receives pardon for sin. As he ceases to do evil, and learns to do well, he grows in grace and in the knowledge of God. He sees that in order to follow Jesus he must separate from the world, and, after counting the cost, he looks upon all as loss if he may but win Christ. He enlists in his army, and bravely and cheerfully engages in the warfare, fighting against natural inclinations and selfish desires, and bringing the will into subjection to the will of Christ. Daily he seeks the Lord for grace, and he is strengthened and helped. Self once reigned in his heart, and worldly pleasure was his delight. Now self is dethroned, and God reigns supreme. His life reveals the fruit of righteousness. The sins he once loved he now hates. Firmly and resolutely he follows in the path of holiness. This is genuine conversion.
In the lives of many of those whose names are on the church books there has been no genuine change. The truth has been kept in the outer court. There has been no genuine conversion, no positive work of grace done in the heart. Their desire to do God's will is based upon their own inclination, not upon the deep conviction of the Holy Spirit. Their conduct is not brought into harmony with the law of God. They profess to accept Christ as their Saviour, but they do not believe that he will give them power to overcome their sins. They have not a personal acquaintance with a living Saviour, and their characters reveal many blemishes.
Many a one who looks at himself in the divine mirror, and is convinced that his life is not what it ought to be, fails to make the needed change. He goes his way, and forgets his defects. He may profess to be a follower of Christ, but what does this avail if his character has undergone no change, if the Holy Spirit has not wrought upon his heart? The work done has been superficial. Self is retained in his life. He is not a partaker of the divine nature. He may talk of God and pray to God, but his life reveals that he is working against God.
Let us not forget that in his conversion and sanctification, man must co-operate with God. “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,” the Word declares; “for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” Man can not transform himself by the exercise of his will. He possesses no power by which his change may be effected. The renewing energy must come from God. The change can be made only by the Holy Spirit. He who would be saved, high or low, rich or poor, must submit to the working of this power.
As the leaven, when mingled with the meal, works from within outward, so it is by the renewing of the heart that the grace of God works to transform the life. No mere external change is sufficient to bring us into harmony with God. There are many who try to reform by correcting this bad habit or that bad habit, and they hope in this way to become Christians, but they are beginning in the wrong place. Our first work is with the heart.
The great truth of the conversion of the heart by the Holy Spirit is presented in Christ's words to Nicodemus: “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born from above, he can not see the kingdom of God. . . . That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.”
The leaven of truth works secretly, silently, steadily, to transform the soul. The natural inclinations are softened and subdued. New thoughts, new feelings, new motives, are implanted. A new standard of character is set up,—the life of Christ. The mind is changed; the faculties are aroused to action in new lines. Man is not endowed with new faculties, but the faculties he has are sanctified. The conscience is awakened.
The Scriptures are the great agency in this transformation of character. Christ prayed, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” If studied and obeyed, the word of God works in the heart, subduing every unholy attribute. The Holy Spirit comes to convict of sin, and the faith that springs up in the heart works by love to Christ, conforming us, body, soul, and spirit, to his will.
A man sees his danger. He sees that he needs a change of character, a change of heart. He is stirred; his fears are aroused. The Spirit of God is working in him, and with fear and trembling he works for himself, seeking to find out his defects of character, and to see what he can do to bring about the needed change in his life. His heart is humbled. By confession and repentance he shows the sincerity of his desire to reform. He confesses his sins to God, and if he has injured any one, he confesses the wrong to the one he has injured. While God is working, the sinner, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, works out that which God is working in mind and heart. He acts in harmony with the Spirit's working, and his conversion is genuine.
The nobility and dignity of the man increase as he takes his position against the wily foe, who for so many years has kept him in slavery. He feels a holy indignation arising within him as he thinks that for so long he has been Satan's bond-slave, allowing the enemy to lead him to refuse to acknowledge his best friend.
Let the sinner co-operate with his Redeemer to secure his liberty. Let him be assured that unseen heavenly agencies are working in his behalf. Dear souls in doubt and discouragement, pray for the courage and strength that Christ waits to give you. He has been seeking for you. He longs to have you feel your need of his help. He will reach out his hand to grasp the hand stretched out for aid. He declares, “Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” Let mind and heart be enlisted in the warfare against sin. Let your heart soften as you think of how long you have chosen8to serve your bitterest foe, while you turned from Him who gave his life for you, who loves you, and who will accept you as his, though you are sinners. Step out from under the rebel flag, and take your stand under the blood-stained banner of Prince Emmanuel.
He who would build up a strong, symmetrical character, must give all and do all for Christ. The Redeemer will not accept divided service. Daily he must learn the meaning of self-surrender. He must study the Word of God, getting its meaning and obeying its precepts. Thus he may reach the highest standard of Christian excellence. There is no limit to the spiritual advancement that he may make if he is a partaker of the divine nature. Day by day God works in him, perfecting the character that is to stand in the day of final test. Each day of his life he ministers to others. The light that is in him shines forth, and stills the strife of tongues. Day by day he is working out before men and angels a vast, sublime experiment, showing what the gospel can do for fallen human beings.
Let us not spare ourselves, but carry forward in earnest the work of reform that must be done in our lives. Let us crucify self. Unholy habits will clamor for the mastery, but in the name and through the power of Jesus we may conquer. To him who daily seeks to keep his heart with all diligence, the promise is given, “Neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
“Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, . . . Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the Lord that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee.” God himself is “the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.” And “whom he justified, them he also glorified.” Great as is the shame and degradation through sin, even greater will be the honor and exaltation through redeeming love. To human beings, striving for conformity to the divine image, there is imparted an outlay of heaven's treasure, an excellency of power that will place them higher than even the angels who have never fallen.
The Nazarene
By Wm. E. A. Axon
“So the Nazarene is dead,”
Caiaphas the high priest said.
“His wonder-working deeds are o’er,
He will trouble us no more.
May blasphemers such as he
Perish on the shameful tree,
And our holy temple’s law
Be kept free from ev’ry flaw;
For the temple must have sway
Till heaven and earth shall pass away.
So the Nazarene is dead,”
Caiaphas the high priest said.
“So the Nazarene is dead,”
In his palace Pilate said.
“Good his words and just his life,
But the priests who stirred up strife
Said his followers would be
From imperial Rome set free.
Vain their plotting and their care—
All the yoke of Rome must bear—
Rome that will forever stand
Mighty lord of every land.
So the Nazarene is dead,”
In his palace Pilate said.
The temple now has passed away;
Ended Rome’s imperial day;
But the Nazarene still lives,
Peace to myriad souls he gives,
Lives in gentle words and deeds,
In all that meets the spirit’s needs,
And the cross on which he died
By his death is sanctified;
Hosts in many lands acclaim
The crucified One by his name;
In their faithful hearts are seen
The ever-living Nazarene.
Priest and Pilate both have said
That the Nazarene is dead.
False their wisdom, false their lore—
He lives now and evermore.
—Wm. E. A. Axon.
The Temple of God in Heaven
By Stephen Nelson Haskell
“The temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament.” Rev. 11: 19. Three facts are here stated:—
1. There is a temple in heaven. To this fact there is an abundance of other testimony in the Scriptures. “The Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord’s throne is in heaven.” Ps. 11: 4. “The Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all.” Ps. 103: 19. “He hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary; from heaven did the Lord behold the earth.” Ps. 102: 19. “A glorious high throne from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary,” Jer. 17: 12. “Of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an High Priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.” Heb. 8: 1, 2.
2. In the earthly sanctuary there were two apartments. In the second was “the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold.” Heb. 9: 4. In the ark were placed the two tables of stone. They were called “tables of testimony.” Ex. 31: 18. The cover of the ark was the mercy-seat. Here were two cherubim, one on either end, and above the mercy-seat, between the cherubim, was the Shekinah, representing God in heaven.
3. At a particular time, under the sounding of the seventh trumpet, “the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testimony.” The prophet does not say, “I saw,” but “there was seen.” Who saw?—Those living at this particular time. After the passing of the time in 1844, there was, by many of those who were looking for the Lord, a searching of the Scriptures as never before, to ascertain wherein lay their mistake. The more they searched, the more convinced they were that there was no mistake in the reckoning of the prophetic periods, the twenty-three hundred years that ended in 1844. Their enemies acknowledged this to be their strongest point. The date of their starting-point, 457 B. C., was established by more than twenty eclipses. So they turned their attention to the subject of the sanctuary. They had reasoned that the sanctuary was this earth, and the cleansing of it would be by fire when the Lord came. And so with this view, they made Dan. 8: 14 read, “Unto two thousand three hundred days, then the Lord will come.”
Imagine their surprise when they found the term “sanctuary” occurring one hundred and forty-seven times in the Bible, and in no single instance was it applied to this earth or to the church. The church is to be the habitation of God through the Spirit, and individuals are the spiritual temple of the Lord. But the personal God of the Bible dwells in heaven, between the cherubim. Ps. 99: 1. His throne consists of real angels possessing backs, wings, and hands. Ezekiel 1; Ps. 18: 10. “All thy commandments are righteousness.” Ps. 119: 172. “Righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne.” Ps. 97: 2. Under the throne of Jehovah in the heavenly sanctuary are the ten commandments.
When those looking for Christ to come saw that there was a heavenly sanctuary, and that there was an open door in the most holy place in the heavenly sanctuary, they also saw that the law could no more be changed than could the character of God, and that the ten commandments were an outward expression of his character. That led them to look for Scriptural authority for the observance of the first day of the week as the Sabbath. In this they were as much disappointed as in their idea of the sanctuary. They read, “In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week” (Matt. 28: 1), and that the Sabbath “was past” when the first day came. Mark 16: 1, 2. They also found that the disciples returned from the tomb, and rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment (Luke 23: 56), and then came, upon the first day of the week, to do the work they refrained from doing on the Sabbath day. Luke 24: 1.
Upon further investigation of this subject they found that the cleansing of the sanctuary, in the Mosaic law, was by the blood of animals (Leviticus 16); also that the sanctuary in heaven was to be cleansed by better blood than that of animals, even by the precious blood of Christ. Heb. 9: 22-24. The cleansing was to rid the sanctuary of the confessed sins of those who had broken God’s law, for sin is the transgression of the law. 1 John 3: 4. All this led them up to the observance of the Bible Sabbath.
Worshiping the Beast
The most solemn warning in the Bible is contained in the message of Rev. 14: 9-12. It warns against worshiping the beast and his image. The beast-worship is substituting other commandments for the commandments of God. The last work of Christ is to make a final disposition of sin, Satan, and sinners. To say that God does not exist as a person in heaven would be to deny the atonement, and remove the foundation principle of the gospel of Jesus9Christ. It makes the Bible a myth, and substitutes, in its stead, heathen philosophy, even the religion of Egypt, and adopts the serpent’s reasoning in the garden of Eden. God had said, “Thou shalt surely die.” Satan said, “Thou shalt not surely die.” This does away with the literal interpretation of the Word of God.
A careful study of the sanctuary question, which reveals the work of our High Priest in the heavenly courts, and the keeping of God’s commandments and the faith of Jesus (Rev. 14: 12), is our only safety from the delusions of Satan in the last days.—S. N. Haskell, in Southern Watchman.
Gave Himself for Others
A MORAVIAN Christian heard of the sufferings of the West India slaves, and desired to be a missionary to them; but when he reached them, he found they were driven to the field so early and came home so late there was no life or strength in them to listen to his instructions; neither did they believe that any man whose face was white had a heart that was other than black, and they would not listen to him, and he found, at last, that there was no way to preach to them unless he suffered them himself.
He sold himself, and was driven afield with them, that while he suffered and toiled as they did, he might have opportunity to preach to them the unsearchable riches of Christ.
Now, I ask if there reigns a king upon his throne that is so lordly, so large a man, as that poor, sweating Moravian, who for the sake of serving and saving these poor, miserable, dying slaves in the field, sold himself into like estate to preach the riches of Christ? The largest conception of manhood is that, which knows how to take itself as though of no consequence to those to whom it may make itself an offering, a power, an instruction.—Selected.
The Dying Thief
For several weeks a correspondence has been going on in the Church Family Newspaper on the state of the dead, and a great variety of views has been presented. An interesting letter appeared in the last issue, containing the following:—
“As so much stress has been laid upon Christ’s reply to the penitent thief in this controversy, it may be of interest to call attention to the rendering of the ‘Curetonian’ MS. of the Syriac Version, made in the second century, and now in the British Museum. It is there given as follows:—
“‘And he said, “Jesus my lord, remember me when thou comest in thy kingdom.” Jesus said to him, “Verily, I say to thee to-day that with me thou shalt be in the Eden’s garden.”’”
“If this is correct (and there are good reasons for believing it is), it shows the translators to be at fault in their punctuation of the verse, and puts a meaning to Christ’s reply which is in harmony with the request made, but certainly no support to the argument for the consciousness of the dead (compare Deut. 8:19, where the same word is used in the Septuagint).”
This is evidently the correct understanding of Christ’s words to the dying thief; for if we leave the comma in the place where the Authorized Version has it, it makes the Saviour’s language inconsistent with other clear statements.
Christ did not go to paradise on that day. He was laid in the grave (hades) until his resurrection on the third day. Acts 2:27, 31. On the morning of that day he stated plainly that he had not yet ascended to his Father. John 20:17. It is evident from this that the Saviour had not been in paradise. Paradise is heaven, the dwelling-place of God, where the tree of life grows over the river that flows from the throne. 2 Cor. 12:2-4; Rev. 2:7.
At the resurrection of the just, the unconverted thief will be called from the grave, immortal. Then will be fulfilled to him the promise of the dying Saviour that he should be with his Lord in paradise.
When the New Testament was written, there were no commas. These were invented in the fifteenth century, and when the Bible was rendered into English, the translators put the commas where they seemed to fit. Occasionally their own ideas of a certain passage suggested the placing of a comma, and in more than one instance the position has had to be changed in later years.—Present Truth.
Troublous Times in Colorado
By C. H. Bates
C. H. BATES
“And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.” Dan. 12:1.
From the events that have taken place here in the Cripple Creek district during the past week, it seems evident that we are entering upon the time spoken of in the Scripture quoted above. It is remarkable that so many important events should take place in so brief a time.
Monday, at 2:30 A. M., the people in the vicinity of Independence were startled by an explosion, which was found, upon examination, to have caused the death of thirteen men, and to have injured six others. The explosive was placed under the platform at the depot where the non-union miners were about to take the train for their homes. The infernal machine that set off the explosion was connected by a fine wire about one hundred yards long, attached to the round of a chair by which it was pulled. There was a report as of a pistol shot, followed almost in the same instant by a deafening roar. Rocks began falling on the roof of the car that was just pulling in to take the miners to their homes. Mr. VanNatta, a miner, arose from the grade, where he had rolled after being blown to the track within a few feet of the engine, about seventy-five feet from where the explosion took place, but was not badly hurt. Torches were lighted, and the conductor, engineer, and VanNatta went forward. The dead and wounded were lying everywhere. The night was intensely dark, and the bodies were discovered only as they were stumbled against, or revealed by the flickering torches. The scene was indeed heart rending. Upon the arrival at Victor with the dead and wounded, it was found that one man had been left. This man had been blown across the tracks and against the door of a near-by residence, the owner of which had taken him in and cared for him.
In the afternoon a mass-meeting of the people of the district was held at Victor, during which many shots were exchanged between the soldiers and union miners, resulting in the death of two men.
Tuesday troops were called out and Adjt.-Gen. Bell hastened to the scene of the trouble. On the same day resignations of city and county officials were demanded by the citizens.
On Wednesday martial law was declared. The sheriff and coroner were forced to resign, and anti-union successors appointed. On the same day a battle took place between the soldiers and union miners at Dunnville, a small place about fifteen miles from Cripple Creek. One man was killed.
Thursday the Citizens’ Alliance decreed that no man who is a member of any union allied with the Western Federation of Miners, shall be employed in the Cripple Creek district.
On Friday a jury selected by the new coroner began the investigation of the victims of Monday’s disaster. On this same day ninety men were deported from the district on a militia-guarded train moving under sealed orders.
On Saturday the exiles were left on the prairie near Holly, Colo., a half mile from the line of Kansas. The same day witnessed the closing down of the Pride of Cripple Creek Mine, and the Winchester, by the militia. Since that time other men have been deported to New Mexico, making, all told, three car-loads, or nearly two hundred miners.
The union stores, four in the district, have been closed. The union halls have been taken by the militia, and their contents seized and held for investigation. And the end is not yet. Many are being held here, and will be tried soon on charges of murder. But what do all these things mean?—They mean that very soon our dear Saviour will come and put an end to all this trouble and strife that is now filling the hearts of the people with bitterness and woe.
What should be the attitude of the Christian at this time? The only true attitude is stated in James 5:7, which says: “Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord.” The only thing the brethren are to do at this time is to be patient. When the conflict rages fiercely on all sides of us, this injunction is not so easily obeyed as at first might seem. We are apt, under the impulse of the natural heart, to join hands with one side or the other. But the Bible says plainly, “Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid.” We have no one to fear at this time but the God who made the heavens and the earth. Then let the watchman on the walls of Zion give the trumpet a certain sound; and while there is left a little time of waiting, diligently work for the Master, so that he can say to us: “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.” He will never say these words to any one unless he has done well.
Casting Our Burdens Upon Christ
We can not expect Christ to carry our sorrows if we continue to carry them ourselves. We go to him with our trials, as he requests us to do; but how often, instead of leaving them there, we bring them away on our own shoulders, and then wonder why we find so little consolation in our religion. We are not merely to indicate to the Lord what our heartaches are, but to “cast our burdens upon” him. We then have the promise of sustaining grace.—United Presbyterian.
The Children in Church
IN the morn of the holy Sabbath
I like in the church to see
The dear little children clustered,
And worshiping there with me.
I am sure that the gentle pastor,
Whose words are like summer dew,
Is cheered as he gazes over
Those dear little heads in the pew.
Faces earnest and thoughtful,
Innocent, grave, and sweet—
They look in the congregation
Like lilies among the wheat;
And I think that the tender Master,
Whose mercies are ever new,
Has a special benediction
For those dear little heads in the pew.
When they hear, “The Lord is my
Shepherd,”
Or, “Suffer the babes to come,”
They are glad that the loving Father
Has given the lambs a home—
A place of their own with his people;
He cares for me and for you,
But close in his arms he gathers
Those dear little heads in the pew.
So I love, in the great assembly,
On the Sabbath morn to see
The dear little children clustered,
And worshiping there with me;
For I know that our Heavenly Father,
Whose mercies are ever new,
Has a special benediction
For those little heads in the pew.
— Selected.
The Danger of Patent Medicines
By L. A. S.
L. A. S.
WHILE great efforts are being put forth, and have been for years, to combat the curse of intemperance by means of legislation and education directed against the brewery and the saloon, or the contents of beer, wine, and whisky bottles, the devil has been stealing a march on the temperance forces, and quietly but effectively promoting the curse through an unsuspected channel,—that of the “patent medicines” which have come into such general use. It is the strongest testimony to the credulity of the present age that the patent medicine business flourishes as it does to-day. The people swallow these nostrums without having the least idea of the character of what they are taking into their systems, relying upon the statements that appear in the advertisements, which are made not to give the people information, but to sell the “medicine.” And first, they are humbugged into believing that because they have certain symptoms, which the advertiser knows are experienced more or less by almost everybody, and sets forth at length in his advertisement, they need just the “remedy” which the patent medicine manufacturer has discovered, as the advertisement of the same assures them.
In the May issue of the Ladies’ Home Journal, the editor, Mr. Edward Bok, deals a telling blow to this patent medicine curse, and the facts which he states ought to be read and remembered by every temperance-loving person in the land. He publishes a list of thirty-six of the most common of these “remedies,” with the percentage of alcohol contained in each, as ascertained by careful and reliable analysis, his authority for such figures being document No. 34, issued by the Massachusetts State Board of Health. The figures show that these “medicines” contain alcohol by volume from twelve per cent to forty-seven and a half per cent. Thus it appears that all these patent preparations are much more intoxicating than beer, which contains from two to five per cent of alcohol, and some are stronger even than whisky itself. Yet these “medicines” are taken by temperance people who would be shocked at the thought of taking whisky or beer, and are often given by them to their children. Think of the craving for intoxicants which must be the inevitable result of the use of these alcoholic preparations, and of what vast numbers must thereby receive an impetus toward the saloon. What a terrible handicap to the cause of temperance! It is little wonder that its progress is slow.
The alcoholic percentage of some of the most popular or widely advertised of these patent medicines, is set forth in this list as follows:—
Lydia E. Pinkham’s Vegetable Compound .................... 20.6
Paine’s Celery Compound ................................. 21
Ayer’s Sarsaparilla ..................................... 26.2
Hood’s Sarsaparilla ..................................... 18.8
Peruna .................................................. 28.5
Parker’s Tonic, “purely vegetable” ...................... 41.6
Baker’s Stomach Bitters ................................ 42.6
Burdock Blood Bitters .................................. 25.2
Green’s Nervura ........................................ 17.2
Hostetter’s Stomach Bitters ............................ 44.3
Warner’s Safe Tonic Bitters ............................ 35.7
Even worse than the mixture of alcohol in some of these modern cure-alls, is the use of opium and cocaine, which because of their nerve-paralyzing effects are put into various preparations advertised to relieve pain. Thus adults, and even children, are unconsciously made slaves to these drugs.
Such facts as these throw a new light upon the importance of the health reform movement which is a part of the special message for this time given by Seventh-day Adventists. This movement calls attention to rational principles of living and the treatment of disease. It advocates a return to conformity with the laws of nature, which are the laws of God. It exposes the uselessness and danger of drug-taking and shows, how health may be regained and preserved without the use of such “remedies.” If people would accept and practise these health principles, the “patent medicine” curse would be shut out, and with it all the tendency to intemperance which that business fosters. There is nothing the world so much needs, and has so much needed ever since it became due the world, as the third angel’s message.
Mary's Boys
By Lillian Trott
A COUNTRY girl whom I have known since her marriage carried her healthy country ideas of work into her city home. When her boys reached the age when other boys become problems, she merely gave them room and guidance. When the home was selected, she chose an unfashionable quarter in the suburbs, paying for wide grounds instead of for stylish neighbors and surroundings. These grounds were made as delightful as trees, arbors, walks, and flowers could make them, and the back yard was given over entirely to the boys, who in their tender years had a sand bank, a tent, a swing, a ball ground, and pets there.
As they grew older and evinced the normal boy's craving for tools, the loft of the big shed was set apart for their use, and a work-bench put in. They were allowed to use their spending money in their own ways, and gradually an extensive set of tools found their way up the stairs. The tools earned the wherewithal to gratify other tastes. They partitioned off one end of the apartment for a toy steam-engine, and the opposite corner furnished a telephone office, whence they ran wires to the rooms of their near-by boy friends.
Benches, tables, and shelves they made to suit themselves, and in time a second-hand typewriter, a small printing-press, a phonograph, and a fiddle found their way here. For a time they made the press a real education by editing a tiny paper, and soliciting subscriptions and contributions from their friends.
One of the boys is an inveterate collector, and his glass cases of specimens—insects, eggs, stones, shells, plants—are carefully shelved in this big room. The other has a mania for mounting birds and small animals; and, although each has a separate bedroom with tables and shelves, they prefer to do all littering work here. He is so interested in the work that he is learning with a specialist, not because his parents expect him to make taxidermy his calling, but because it is a cheap and useful recreation for the boy. Such employments out of school are broadening. In working and playing hours, boys must be occupied, filling their youthful minds with knowledge of some kind; and it would better be enjoyable and elevating—and off the street. Their country vacations, too, were colored by their tastes.
“But not all their amusements exclude father and mother,” Mary adds. “We make our boys’ interests ours. They have fitted up a dark room in the11house to develop their photographs in, and put a skylight in one slope of the attic roof, because they imagine faces can be better ‘taken’ with the light from above. We have a telescope, too, and study the heavens by way of that same skylight. Then we read and play games together evenings and rainy days. No, my boys have no inclination toward doubtful company. They are so engrossed with home pursuits that they even decline an occasional invitation to a party. In my country home my brothers had room for all such diversions; and I made up my mind that, if we couldn’t manage space enough to give my boys room to swing around with both arms outstretched, we would have to move back.” —Lillian Trott.
Dangerous Literature
The moral degeneracy of much of the literature in the monthly magazines at this time, should be a subject of serious concern to parents, in view of the popularity of such literature and its educational influence upon youthful minds. On this point the editor of American Motherhood says in the latest issue of that journal:—
“I have been reading the late magazines with this thought in mind, asking myself if they are calculated to inspire right ideals in the minds of the young and inexperienced; and I have been startled at the thought of the youth of the land being influenced by the suggestions I found therein. It would seem as if invention of reputable situations had exhausted itself, and authors were feeling themselves obliged to resort to the questionable, or even to the criminal, in order to make their writings attractive. Heroines are pictured as doing things which heretofore have been considered of most doubtful propriety, and no question as to the correctness of their conduct is suggested. A young girl consorts with smugglers, aids them in their criminality; and it is all depicted as admirable daring. A trio of girls plot a robbery of one of their nearest friends, and it is supposed to be humorous. A young lady traveling alone, meets a stranger, enters into a flirtation, and the acquaintance thus begun ends in a wedding at the end of three days; and no hint is given of the dangers of such a proceeding.”
“Nor are the heroes more admirable. A retired train-robber tells in glowing phrase of the ease with which a train may be held up and its passengers fleeced of forty thousand dollars; and, although the fluent rascal advises his hearers not to undertake the business, one gains the idea that the advice is given more because he doubts their ability to carry it through successfully than because he considers it immoral.”
“Crooked schemes for defrauding individuals, companies, or even communities, are told with a charm of literary style that doubtless won them their acceptance by editors who apparently are looking only for skill, and care nothing for morals. Some of the magazine stories are clever lessons in petty thieving, burglary, or even in the art of destroying life, which might easily fire the susceptible imagination of the adolescent, and lead him into most reprehensible conduct.”
“Lincoln Steffens, in McClure’s for April, tells us of his hunt for the sources of corruption in city, State, or national politics, and of his finding that it led him every time into the maelstrom of business, and here he found the sources of national corruption. What hope is there for any improvement in the business methods of the future, when our boys are reading in our daily papers jokes concerning bribe-taking, and our magazines give prominence to tales of unblushing rascality?”
“A task of tremendous importance is before the parent who desires that during the approaching vacation only worthy models shall be held up before his children for emulation. His censorship would eliminate many periodicals whose reading-matter is worthy, because of the advertisements they carry; the daily papers would be placed under ban because of the prominence given to criminality and scandal; even the monthly periodicals would need close scrutiny, and books could not be purchased merely upon the strength of the reviewer’s testimony.”
“It would be worth all possible effort to keep in touch with the young people in their reading, to know by actual perusal in advance the character of the books they are reading; or else to read with them, and in either case to discuss the various situations, to put the stamp of parental approval on all that is worthy, and of disapproval on all that would not be desirable if repeated in their own lives.”
More and more must parents beware of the demoralizing influence of that which often bears the world’s stamp of respectability. More and more must the line be drawn between the education allowed or approved by the world and that which alone can develop Christian manhood and womanhood in our sons and daughters.
Filled or Occupied
POSITIONS are sometimes filled, and sometimes merely occupied. To fill a position leads to promotion. To merely occupy leads to dismissal.
There are vacancies every day. The men who can fill a position are being sought. The men who can merely occupy are seeking. The exceptions to this rule are not numerous.
Those who fill positions must work hard and be masters of their work. They must also be masters of themselves, and the latter is the harder task. But complete self-control is necessary to him who would do the best by his fellows—and by himself.
Many successful men have fought and conquered laziness and other bad habits; many more will do the same, for every successful man must esteem his work a joy, not a hardship, and he must live a level, well-balanced life. To fill the position the irksome task must ever be as well done as the congenial, and with even greater spirit and vigor. A useful life is assured to him who labors thus.—East and West.