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THE KING’S BUSINESS Illustrative and Otherwise
^I'H ERE are three classes o f people that have to be faced by the preacher : Personal friends; Declared opponents; A - large neutral body which is swayed by turns in the opposite directions o f friendli ness and opposition. Towards each o f these three classes the preacher has varying obli gations, to overlook which would be fatal to the effectiveness o f h(is ministry. W e need to be constantly reminded that it is by “the foolishness o f preaching” and not by “ foolish preaching” that men are to be saved. Paul lays emphasis on the thing preached rather than on the manner of preaching iri ---------- ACTION AND EMOTION It is the business o f the preacher to know the link which connects action with feeling. He must study the emotions. Thé will is not a self-determining factor; it does not act independently o f the emotions ; it is moved to action by them. Desire nat urally prompts volition.' W e should lay emphasis qn a careful study o f motives. “Reason, reason, as much as you like ; but beware o f thinking that it answers for everything. This mother i loves her child ; will reason comfort her? Does cool reason control the inspired poet, the heroic war rior, the lover? Reason guides but a small part o f man, and that the least interesting. The rest obeys feeling, true or false; and passion, good or bad.”—Abbe Roux. I f the preacher is deficient in this power, he ought to cultivate it ; if excessive, restrain it. He ought to study some authoritative work on the subject,' Particular attention ought also to be paid to the motives that lead men to action. The preacher should be a master in handling them. “ Impelling motives,” says Professor A. E. Phillips, in his work, Effective Speak ing, “may be defined as man’s spiritual, intellectual, moral and material wants. For working purposes they may be given the following classification : Self-preservation, property, power, reputation, affection, senti ments, tastes. The distinction between these impelling motives, and the manner
o f their application may be seen best, per haps, by an example. Let us suppose the purpose is to have the listener lead a temperate life. The argument, in outline, might consist o f the entire Seven Impelling Motives, after the manner, following: Theme : You should be temperate in all things—because you will he better off from the following viewpoints : Self-Preservation. You will have better health and a longer life. Property. You will earn more and save more. Power. You will have greater mental force, greater moral power, greater self- control. You will do more yourself and exert greater power over others. Reputation. Your friends and acquaint ances will admire you, hold you in .higher esteem. Affections. You will avoid wounding thè feelings o f those you love; your compan ionship will give them greater pleasure. You will be able to be o f more use to them. Sentiments. You will prove yourself a man. You will show self-respect. It is right to be temperate. Tastes. You will increase both your opportunity and your ability to appreciate the best in art, literature, drama. If, then, we are seeking action so fre quently, and, if, further, action is the result o f the superiority o f the impelling motives over the restraining motives, it is plain that the more we bring these impelling motives to bear upon a given audience or person, the more likely will we attain our end. Therefore, it is off the greatest importance that we master their ready use. The preacher, o f course, dealing as he does with eternal issues, will deal with the spiritual and eternal phases o f these “im pelling motives.” Under “ self-preservation” he will deal not merely with “ better health and a longer life” here, but with the eternal life o f the ages to come. Under, “ reputa tion” he will speak not only o f the admira tion o f friends and acquaintances, but, what is infinitely more important—the esteem and approval o f God.
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