503
THE K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S re ta in e r; th e man who is wise gets $5000.00. The doctor who knows gets $5.00 a visit; the doctor who is wise gets $500.00 for a consultation. W is dom wins. You may p u t a wise man where you will— th e world will find him. If on an island, men seek him on ra fts; if in th e h e a rt of a forest, they cut th e ir way to him w ith axes. He does no t need to advertise. Many years ago th e Philistines had the Hebrews under foot. There was no t a sm ith in all Israel. A woman sat under a palm tree and prophesied. Men listened to her speech. She ■organized an army,;—broke th e hack of Ph ilistia > ^ b u t Deborah was a wise woman— and wisdom wins. Wisdom wins souls, for wisdom knows values and th e soul is th e most valuable created force in th e universe. It is th e companion of God, th e Son of th e E ternal. L ast year we had a fire in Brookline. Thousands of dollars in rugs, hooks, pictures, jewels and fu rn i tu re were destroyed. Not a te a r was shed. The g randm other of th e fam ily crept ou t of th e second-story chamber window, dragged h er broken body under a bush, was tak en to th e hospital, and died on th e th ird day. The family wept. Things may be replaced; a life blotted out cannot he restored. The soul is of more value th a n all things. The soul is valuable, first, because of its essential being. When I was living in Buffalo a physician and surgeon w ent w ith th e F ederal Regiment to the Phil ippines. A fter th e brown b ro th ers were convinced th a t th e white men were th e ir friends th e doctor was dismissed from service and retu rn ed by way of Japan. In Tokio he bought a temple m irro r, a b it of m etal th e size of a tea- plate. The back side looks like a relief map of New England. The face is pol ished u n til it equals a p late glass m ir ro r. I looked into it and saw w hat is to me th e most in teresting fact in N ature— my own face. If you had looked you would have seen w hat inter-
ests you most— your own face. I handed th e m irro r back to th e doctor and congratulated him on having so fine a piece of m etal workm anship. He replied, “You haven’t seen the m irror. The man who made th a t was no t th in k ing of th e hum an face. Tomorrow morning hold it up in th e ligh t of the sun and look a t th e ceiling.” I did, and th e re traced in lines of ligh t was th e face and form of Gaudhama Buddha, th e g reat king of th e E ast. Today four hundred m illion men and women wor ship him. Where would you not go— w h at would you not do, to see th e face of th e God you worship— and yet these worshippers in th e E ast see the sun kiss th e m irro r and th e God is born. God h ath w rought H imself into th e soul of man. It is th e business of the church to lift th e soul into th e ligh t of th e Uplifted Countenance th a t th ere may be joy in the presence of the angels when a new soul flashes back th e divine likeness. Second— the soul is of value because of its output. He who heals th e spring heals th e outflow. On th e edge of the Jo rd an plain in P alestine is a g reat spring. Every drop of w ater flowing over its edge makes the d esert blossom like th e rose. Centuries ago it was a foun tain of death. Every drop of w ater blasted vegetable life. A prophet cast sa lt into th e spring and healed th e out put, and th e flow th rough th e centuries w itnesses to his power. So th e man who wins a soul for God wins the out put. Darw in says th a t all th e earth food furnished to th e vegetable world is prepared by the ea rth worm. P lan ts live on pre-digested food. Raw soil would kill the p lan t w ith indigestion. W hat we call civilization is th e expres sion of hum an thought. Today a though t— tomorrow a building; today a though t— tomorrow a machine; today a though t— tomorrow a p ictu re; today a thought— tomorrow a city. And he who wins the th in k er wins the thought. When th e daugh ter of Pharaoh lifted
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker