TELE KING’S BUSINESS
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any community at home of abroad sooner or later. It is not necessarily a bad sign at all, when things begin to boil in city, village of church. It may simply indicate that the fire is getting hot. But some poor, weak souls will be frightened and want to draw the fire. Oh, n o! Let Demetrius howl awhile, it may do him good. At all events it will advertise the work and set men to thinking. In this case the “stir” came because the' new religion affected busi ness. Reforms and revivals are all right if they do not hurt anybody’s business. If they do, why,-- of course, “business is business,” and the reform and the revival must go. “It’s all very nice to have a prohibition town; but, if that will drive trade away from our town to some other, let us have saloons on every corner. They may drag some of our boys down to hell, but then we cannot afford to lose busi ness.” It is thus the Nineteenth Century Demetrius reasons. A good many of those fellows nowadays are not on the outside as in the First Century, but right, in the church. “The love of money”—what a prolific mother of evils it is (cf. 1 Tim. 6:9, 10, R.V.). The Sunday newspaper may be a great curse, but then the Chris tian merchant must advertise in it, for you see “by this business we have our wealth.” There are many applications, let us see if we cannot -find one that will hit ourselves. Friday, March 16 . Acts ig . 26 - 28 . Listen to Demetrius as he continues his appeal tr the men of /the same craft to Drive Paul out: “Moreover, ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath per suaded and turned away much people, say ing that they be no. gods which are made with hands.” A very striking and truth ful, though entirely unintentional com mendation of Paul. Would that we had more Pauls, they are greatly needed today, men who will persuade people and turn them away ffom false gods “to serve the living and true God; and to wait for His Son from Heaven” (1 Thess. 1 :9, 10). I
wonder if we cannot do something along this line if we get at it. The first and chief danger was injury to business, but thefe -was anothef; poor Diana was imperiled (v. 27). It is doubtful if Demetrius really cared much for her; but he knew that an appeal to religious preju dice Would Carry many with him whose co-operation he greatly desired. There are many today who become very enthusiastic religionists, if they can coin money out of it or get into an office. His statement that all Asia and the world worshipped Diana was hardly consistent with his professed apprehension concerning her; nor was it exactly true. If it had been true that the whole world worshipped Diana it would not have proven that her worship was right (1 John 5:19, R.V.; Rev. 13:3, 8). The voice of the people is not by any means always the voice of God. You can not ascertain the truth by counting noses. “They were full of wrath, and cried out, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.” Some were mad because they saw their business going to pieces, some because they saw their religion going to pieces, so there was a concert of action to re-establish business and religion at the same time. In unison they opened their mouths and yelled, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.” This way of proving a point has not gone out of use even in our day. The crowd who can yell the loudest are quite sure they have proven their point and carried the day. But somehow or other, Diana of the Ephesians lost her hold on men from that day on; though they screamed for two straight hours, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians. Points proven in this way The outcry of the mob resulted in the whole city being “filled with confusion,” and “having seized Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul’s companions in travel,” “they rushed with one accord into the theatre.” They had not dragged Paul to the theatre, but he himself “was minded do not stay proven. Saturday, March 17 . Acts 19 : 29 - 34 .
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