August 1931
T h e
339
K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
(Crumbs from THE KING’S TABLE . . . By TH E ED ITOR
II t a ppiness in its highest form is the supreme motive and the supreme goal of human life. It is the by-product of harmony. Its sphere is physi cal, mental, and spiritual. If all the organs of the human body are working in perfect harmony, we are physically happy; if the mind is clear and free from all discord, we are mentally happy; if the conscience is void of offense toward God and men, we are spiritually happy. An ear attuned to music cannot be happy in the midst of discord.
The faith vision must reach beyond the grave. The man who said, “Life is but a barren vale between the cold and ice-clad peaks of two eternities; we strive in vain to look beyond the heights; we lift our voices in the silence of the night only to hear the bitter echo of our cry,” never knew the elements of true happiness. No man can be.genuinely happy without hope. The Lord Jesus Christ reveals what true happiness is and how to obtain it. This knowledge satisfies the great
A mind attuned to serious and uplifting thought cannot be happy with the frivolous. A conscience educated in the high est and best cannot be happy with harbored sin. When body, mind, and soul are all in per fect h a r m o n y , happiness is complete. There must be a standard
est longing of an unhappy world. He who made man made him to be happy, but dis cord found an entrance to body and mind and soul. So He has undertaken to redeem man. He has set before us His own per fect likeness and character; for Christ is the only perfect man. To be like Him is to be happy. Does the sense of my sin make me unhappy? He paid the debt that made me free. Do my pres ent circumstances tempt me to be unhappy? His grace makes me rejoice in the hardest cir cumstances. Do I get discour aged over my unworthiness? He tells me I am worth the life of the Son of God. Do I be come unhappy over my slow progress toward perfection ? He tells me that He who began a good work in me will perfect it. Is my heart about to break with sorrow when death takes
Sing On Sing, heart of mine, yes, sing, sing on; The Master cares for thee. The storm may wreck and seas may toss, And earthly friendships prove but dross —• His love will faithful be. Sing, heart of mine, sing evermore, In darkness or the day; A Hand so strong can guard thy life: Amid the tempest and the strife, However strange the way. Sing, heart of mine, and singing, rest; Thy burdens He will bear; When sparrows have their needs supplied, The children will not be denied An all-sufficient care. —A uthor U n k n ow n .
of perfection for each part of one’s being, and to be abso lutely happy one must attain that perfect standard. Since that is true, one’s happiness, so far as its present possession is concerned, must be relative. A drunkard or a glutton may be happy in the midst of physical debauch, but his is the happi ness of a brute. An idiot boy may enjoy playing with some small toy, day after day, but his is not the happiness of a real man. The man who mocks at God may find a temporary thrill, but his is only the happiness of a fool.
away my loved ones ? He tells me I shall meet them again. Am I fearful when I think of meeting the last great enemy? Then He causes me to sing: “Yea, though I walk through death’s dark vale, Yet will I fear no ill, For Thou art with me, and Thy rod And staff me comfort still. Goodness and mercy all my life Shall surely follow me, And in God’s house for evermore, - „ ■ My dwelling place shall be.” “I shall be satisfied when I awake in his likeness.” I shall be satisfied and perfectly happy because my body, my soul, and my spirit will be in perfect harmony with God. And with this prospect before me, I am happy now. “In Nothing Be Anxious” hy not feet and worry? Why not fill the sky of life with clouds of misgiving, and darken exist ence by keeping the sun of hope in perpetual eclipse ? Why not pitch tent and dwell under the brood ing fear that although things are right today—health,
There must be a knowledge of the highest ideal. The Epicurean philosopher who said, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die,” had no capacity for real happiness. There must be faith as well as knowledge—faith that the highest ideal may be reached. Intelligent faith is necessary to a happy mind, and the basis of all genuine faith is truth. If we cannot believe in well authenticated facts, we cannot be happy. The happy mind is the mind that revels in the truth, and that cannot believe a lie. We are on the road to real happiness when truth sits on the throne of conscience as master of the life. The time element must be considered. One cannot be happy when he knows that his happiness is as a vanish ing dream. The conviction that he is reaching out toward a supreme ideal, that he will some day arrive at absolute perfection of body, of mind, and of soul—the faith that is the substance of that thing which he hopes for, the evidence of that thing which is yet unseen, in its complete ness—-is the foundation of the greatest happiness that can be attained by mortal man.
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