378
T h e
K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
June 1928
to withdraw from the multitude that would give Him no rest. There is some truth in the familiar slogan: “I would rather wear out than rust out,” but. some carry it to the extreme, and instead of following their Lord’s example in this respect, they overwork their bodies which are the temples o f the Holy Spirit and bring to an untimely close their life of ministry. If He, the Son of God, of whom the Apostle John w rote: “And there are also many other things which Jesus did the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should' be written” (Jno. 21:25), found time to slip away to a desert place with His disciples for a brief season of recreation, why should we ignore this principle of life? .. The church has its responsibility towards its youth, in respect to recreation, but, oh, the mistake that is often made by many churches is to claim this ?as its greatest responsibility and neglect entirely' the responsibility toward the soul within the youth: the spiritual welfare of its mem bers. Too often we see the church en deavoring to hold its young people by bringing within its sacred walls the amusements o f the world, deluded by the devil into believing that this is the only way they can hold their young people. Only this morning the writer read in the daily paper, o f a preacher who replaced the organ music " o f his church with a jazz band from a local dance hall. The article ran thus : “ In place of the/,music o f the pipe organ, the congregation heard the pepped-up rhythm of El Patio ball-room jazz orchestra.” And thjs'jypming on the Sunday evening just before we remember our Lord’s death on Calvary 1 Shame^af thousand times shame that such an or ganization should call itself a church (the called out ones) ! Praise God for the life of Francis Clarke, founder o f Christian Endeavor, who on February 2, 1881, called' a group o f young people into Jus home for prayer ■ and Bible study, and out o f this group grew the present world-wide organization known} as Christian Endeavor which pro vided for the: youth of the church: first, an opportunity to express themselves! spiritually, and then provided wholesome recreation for their physical growth. Such recreations as baseball, basketball, hikes, football, tennis, etc., can all have a whole some influence upon th cB v e s o f our young people. For leaders o f Church Recreation we strongly recommend “Handy,” a looseleaf manual containing “in one unified system the essential principles and materials re quired for planning and directing a wide range of recreational activities.” For sale at the Biola Book Room, 536 So. Hope St., Los Angeles, Calif. Price, $2.50. —o— C hoice N uggets Men cannot labor on always. They must have intervals of relaxation. They;- cannot sleep through these intervals. What are they to do ? Why, if they do not work or sleep, they must have recrea tion. And if they have not recreation from healthful sources, they will be very likely to take it from the poisoned foun tains o f intemperance. Or, if they have pleasures-which, though innocent, are for bidden by the maxims o f public morality, their very pleasures are liable to become poisoned fountains.—Orville Dewey.
The church has a distinct responsibility for the social needs o f people. The hours after school or work have perhaps a greater bearing on the formation o f last ing habits than any other time.H-Selected. Merchants, business men, lawyers, min isters, all sorts o f toiling and laboring men, have too little relaxation. We are like a violin, going from one concert to another, all day long, without once being unstrung. We are forever at concert pitch. It is a. fact growing out of city life, that the intensity o f our business takes away our relaxation and enjoyment. Laughing, : singing, cheer, buoyancy,— these, and the various other means by Which men rest themselves without voli tion, are almost unknown to us. W e are a world too sober. W e are a world too unlaughing. We do not romp enough with our children. We are: not children enough ourselves:— Selected. Recreation is oftentimes more produc tive than work itself. There be those who attempt to augment business by cheating their sleep; but nature always asserts her rights. ¿There be those who undertake to perform tasks without" any intermediate relaxation ; but amusements and relaxa tions are the very things “that make our hours profitable. For he who carves so steadily that jhe has no time to sharpen his,knife, works with a dull tool, and can not make much headway.—Selected. June 24, 1928 Missionary Possibilities in Recreation At Home and Abroad 1 Cor. 9 :22-27. “ Each word we speak hath:infinite effect; Each soul we pass must go to heaven or hell, And this ’ our one chance through eternity To drop and die like dead leaves on the brake, Or like the meteor stone. . Kindle the: dry moors into" a fruitful blaze. Beearnest,: earnest, earnesffl-mad "if thou w ilt! Do what thou dost as if the stake were heaven :And that heaven thy last deed ere the judgment day.” . -¿(Kingsley, “ Saint’sPTragedy.” ) T houghts on the T opic The subject of recreation is again taken up in our lesson for toda^-studying it' from the standpoint of Missions and the possibilities o f getting into closer touch with the foreigner by way of recreation. In pur Scripture lesson the Apostle Paul writes: “ I am made "pll things to all men, that I might by all means save some.” Taking an illustration from the foot race, a game much in vogue in the apostle’s d'ay, he emphasizes the great need of being “temperate in all things.V That which, amuses the heathen is so often associated with sensuality, and therefore, to appeal to the soul o f the heathen through the: channel of amusements, the missionary must be very cautious in the kind of recre ation which he introduces to the heathen or foreigner. The'foreigner in our land is most quick to see defects in our lives, and if what we endeavor to show them through certain recreational activities does
not one hundred per cent measure up to what we profess as Christians, then all our preaching is in vain, and, as the apostle exclaims in verse 37, we become in their sight “a castaway.” ' It would' be most interesting, for this meeting, for the leader to come prepared to tell of various forms of recreation par ticipated in, in the different missionary land's. This information could be pro cured through your public library or from missionaries on the field or those on furlough. —o—; C hoice N uggets In all running, climbing; jumping, and throwing games, muscular control and , skill are gained; and there is always a reflex action: on" the mind, a distinct im provement. Illustration on V. 25: W. G. Godbey tells us that during two of his visits in London he went to: the Crown Room in the tower o f London, and there saw all the crowns of the British monarchs from William the Conqueror, the founder of the empire, to Queen Victoria—the -crowns of eight centuries. There was a pyramid of glittering gold and gorgeous gems worth billions o f dollars,, and guarded by a British soldiery, which was the sine qua non (an indispensable con dition) to prevent anyone capturing wealtfi;'enough to justify an adventure... As he walked about this gorgeous pile o f gems and gold he tells us that he thought of the crown awaiting thejieroic SA INTS in glory, Jand congratulated himself!(ex ultantly in this /soliloquy : “My crown out shines them all.” Happy indeed is the man or woman who, in the presence o f crowns and crown diamonds, turns intui tively to such soliloquy. There:;,is* at least one lighthouse in the. world that is moj placed' on any mariner’s chart. It will be found (©.fit on the Arizona Desert, where is a well of fresh water— the only place where water may be had. for “forty-five miles to the eastward and thirty miles in any other- direction. A, tall cottonwljdjd polejjStands by the well and to the top of this pole a lantern is hoisted every night. The light can he seen for mileit(acro$;§: the plaSf, and lights many a thirsty traveler to, the well. This lighthouse, not so prominent, not so ex pensive as some, yet performs its mission in its smaller but equally important way. So with our smaller and our mission churches—and so with what may be called from our viewpoint the smaller lives—if from each one there is hoisted a light that -shines out over the desert to lighten the way of the thirsty, no light shall shine but lights l o m e soul to Christ,- the Fountain. Relaxation. There is a beautiful and picturesque legend' relating, to St. John, o f which I have never seen any repre sentation ; but it may possibly have occa sioned the frequent introduction ,o f a partridge into the pictures of sacred sub jects, particularly in the Venetian school. St. John had a tame partridge, which he cherished much; and he-amused himself with feeding and tending it. A certain huntsman, passing by with his bow and arrows, was astonished to see the great apostle, so venerable for his age and sanctity, engaged in such an amusement, The apostle asked him if he always kept his bow bent. He answered that that would be the way to render .it useless. “ If,” re plied St. John, “you unbend your bow to
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