15
THE KING’S BUSINESS
what Carlyle so aptly called “alge braic piety,” the symbol, not the sub stance. Browning styled it “dramatic Christianity,” acting religion, not liv ing it. And what of the practicalist? That ig the name I give the alert, busy hust ling Church worker whose religion consists of nothing but activity. There is too much dependence in the Church of today upon human energy. “How do you organize your after meeting, or some other work of your parish,” they write me from all over the coun try, and my answer invariably is : “I don’t organize it, I leave that for God to do.” Oh! the mistake of installing so much machinery in the Church of God! It is an offense to the Holy Spirit, and often a stumbling block to men. It is possible to be perfectly de voted to the work of one’s church and have one’s heart all wrong. Well! I have lost count; haven’t you? The left-hearted people are far more in number than we supposed, and our census, perhaps, has made us wonder whether we should not put ourselves into the count. Suppose my heart and yours are in the wrong place. What are we to do ? We can not ourselves dislodge it and put it over on the right side. We are in need of an operation. But who will perform it ? Doctors generally are most chary about operations upon the heart. They can and will do almost anything else. They easily slip an eye out and set it back in place. They think nothing of taking the stomach out, sewing it up, and returning it to its position. They cut off a kidney and throw it away. But the heart is too much for them. They can stimu late it, but they do not dare to cut into it. There is no hope for us, then, in that direction. Nor is there in any other this side of the heavens. Cult ure, education and social schooling (Concluded on page 81)
the same classification. They do their charity at long range. They do not give to the poor, but for the poor. The reward of offering a cup of cold wa ter in His name will never be theirs. They hand over this privilege to oth ers. Charity with them is an absent treatment. Oh! the peril involved in making a subscription or giving a con tribution. It shifts one’s opportunity, but by no means does it shift one’s re sponsibility. And what should be said of the so cial climbers who give themselves to charity work. It is a question with me, not as to whether their heart is on the right side or not, but whether they have not actually thrown their heart away. All this social activity for the Belgians, it is hoped, may result in benefit to that distressed people, but how will it end with some of the peo ple who are responsible for it, is the question. Beware, women of the Church, lest your social ambitions rob you of your sincerity, and some selfish, ulterior motive, though it may result in others’ good, may work your eternal harm! ‘‘Make channels for the stream s of love W here these m ay safely run, F or love has overwhelm ing tides To fill them every one. B ut if a t any tim e we fail Such channels to provide, F or us the very founts of love Will soon be. parched and dried. F o r we m ust share if we would keep This blessing from above. Ceasing to give, we cease to live. Such is the law of love.” IV. Surely, everybody in the relig ious world has his heart on his right side. They have. Since when ? What of the rationalist? His mind is where his heart ought to be, and his religion as a result is as cold as ice. What of the formalist? Creeds, forms, outward requirements, count most with him. If he is only ortho dox. all else matters but little. He has
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