Divine Conjunctions and Disjunctions Some of the Bible Truths that are Wedded Together and Some that must be Forever Distinguished
Bj> DR. FR ED ER IC W . FA R R Los Angeles, Cal.
“W h at God h a th joined together, let no t m an p u t asunder.” These words were originally spoken by Jesus to discourage divorce, bu t they have a w ider application th an to the m arriage relationship. There are many things which God has joined together th a t are ren t asunder through indiffer ence or ignorance. I. Ability and responsibility are un ited by God. Opportunity and ability together constitute privilege and d eter mine responsibility. O pportunity is God-given, and if unused passes away, never to retu rn . A man w ith a fo rtune has a wide opportunity for usefulness. He can feed the hungry, clothe th e naked and re lieve th e m isery of his fellow -creatures everywhere. He can m u ltip ly shis own personality by sending his money where he can not go himself. He can so ad m inister his stew ardship as to gain the lasting g ratitu d e of his fellowmen and the approval of his Heavenly F ath er. Many disregard these duties and waste th eir wealth to g ratify th e ir van ity and m inister to th e ir selfish pride, th u s pu tting asunder w hat God has joined together. A man may have an education. Its possession obligates him to use it for the improvement of society. He betrays his tru s t if he makes no use of his cul tu re or allows it to m inister merely to his self-gratification. A man who has political power, a woman who has social influence, is bound by a sacred tru s t to do more good th a n others occupying a less exalted position. The church has th e means to evangel
ize th e world speedily. Capacity cre ates obligation, and unless these obliga tions are discharged, condemnation is greatly increased. Our responsibilities are always commensurate w ith our privileges, and we can only discharge the one when we properly appreciate th e other. II. lib e r ty and charity ought never to be disassociated. Civil, intellectual and sp iritu al liberty are righ tly reck oned among the g reatest blessings. We are bound to accord th e same religious privileges to others th a t we enjoy our selves. While we are tenacious of our own convictions, we ought to respect th e opinions of others, even though a t variance w ith oif|rs, considering th a t they have, an equal rig h t w ith us to en te rta in and propagate them . Bigotry, blindness and b ittern ess usually go together. How sad is the history of religious persecution in all ages! W hat rivers of blood have been shed and w hat relentless wars have been waged in the name of. the P rince of Peace! Religious intolerance,.seem s to be a relic of the dark ages, b u t it su r vives in many form s today. Catholicity and charity ought to go w ith liberty, and we have to be on our guard against the seductive conceit of sectarianism and the curse of denom inational pride. III. L iberality and p rosperity have been joined tog eth er by God and are not to be pu t asunder. L iberality does not depend upon the largeness of one’s gifts. The two m ites of th e poor widow mean more th a n the large dona tion s of- the m illionaire. P rosperity is something more th an th e multiplying of m aterial resources. A man may accum-
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