Why Is Personal Work So Neglected ? By Charles G . Trumbull F WORDS for Christ to an individual are most effective in th e w inning of souls, why are they no t more commonly spoken by those who love Christ and love souls? Is it because persons do not know th is tru th , or th a t they are incompetent to speak th e needed words; or do they sim ply neglect th e duty which they recognize as a duty, and which they are amply competent to perform ? Probably nQ answer would meet every case. Different answers would be given in different cases. I have spoken w ith thousands upon thousands on th e subject of th e ir sp iritu al welfare. Yet, never to the present day can I speak to a single soul for Christ w ithout being rem inded by Satan th a t I am in danger of harm ing the cause by introducing it ju st now. If th e re is one th ing th a t S atan is sensitive about, it is the danger of a C h ristian ’s harm ing th e cause he loves by speaking of Christ to a needy soul. He h as more th a n once, or twice, or thrice, kep t me from speaking on th e subject by his sensitive pious caution, and he has trie d a thousand tim es to do so. Therefore my experience leads me to suppose th a t he is urging other persons to try any method for souls except th e best one. Men who have a national and an in tern ation al fame as preachers to a m u ltitud e actually say— not only th ink , b u t say— th a t they cannot speak to an individual soul for Christ. In some instances these preachers speak of it as if they counted a sinn er’s personality too sacred to speak a word to, even to save his soul or to honor Christ. In other cases, they speak of th e ir inability as an am iable weakness, instead of as a pitiable moral and sp iritu al defect, which proves them incompetent for th e ir position and profession. My experience in active service in th e Civil W ar ta u g h t me, as I am su re it ta u g h t others on both sides in th a t conflict, th a t the th u n d er of artillery was likely to be most impressive, b u t th a t the rifles cf th e sharpshooters b rough t down more men. This was pecu liarly th e case in th e siege life before Charleston and before P eters burg. The sh riek and th e crash of th e bu rsting shell told in th e ir impressiveness, especially upon those who were least experienced; but th e quiet “hum ” or th e “whiz” of th e rifle of th e sharpshooter did execution as ten to one, or as a hund red to one, in comparison. Yet th e artillery officer who could tell of how many rounds he had fired in action could boast more of his service, even if he did not know th a t he had ever h it anybody, th a n could th e best sharpshooter on th e whole line. So it is w ith those who address individuals for Christ. Sharp shooters may bring down more individuals w ith th e ir telling single bullets, b u t they cannot make th e impression in th e surrounding atmosphere th a t is made by th e big guns th a t are heard to th u n d er out from th e pulpit casements every tim e they open fire. I t is the man-to-man work th a t tells. Because it is th is work th a t is most effective, th is is th e work th a t it is best to do. Even though it is a less attractiv e work, as we look a.t it, and seems to others less im po rtan t to be done, we m ust adm it th a t th e resu lts are worth considering. As John B. Gough said of th e one loving word of Joel S tra tto n th a t won him : “My friend, it may be a sm all m atter for you to speak th e one word for Christ th a t wins a needy soul— a sm all m a tte r to you, bu t it is everything to him .” It is forgetting th is tru th th a t causes personal work to be neglected.
¡1
M
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker