214
May 1929
T h e
K i n g ' s
B u s i n e s s
crossroad minister is trying to be a Colonel House. In the old days those fellows read their Bibles. Now they read the Congressional Record.” Of course, the wise will understand it is a dangerous thing to take Mr. Rogers too seriously. They will remem ber that he is a humorist, and that he is paid a great deal to make us laugh at ourselves (which is a good thing once in a while), and also that the professional humorist is com pelled to exaggerate our follies for the sake of effect. But after making all these allowances', there is still enough truth in Mr. Rogers’ caricature to turn all our amusement into soberness. The highest service that any minister can render for his nation is to bring the message of salvation to the indi vidual men and women who make up the nation. This is more important business than even prohibition and peace pacts. Mohammed’s Opinion of Human Nature M OHAMMED, prophet of Islam, didn’t think much of the ability of human nature, and he formulated his religious -requirements accordingly. “Human nature is weak,” he says; therefore, the religious standards must not be set too high. Man can do two things at least, Mohammed thought; he can perform religious rites, and fight. In these two matters the “prophet” is very severe. But in other things, such as the moral law, his followers were left to follow the fatal bent of “human nature.” How different are the demands of Jesus Christ. He knew all about the weakness of human nature, more than Mohammed ever knew; yet He never relaxed a single re quirement of the moral law. “Be ye perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Mt. 5 :48). We are saved by grace, and not by keeping the moral law, thank God. But Grace in Christ never lowers the high demands of the moral law in. deference to the weakness of human nature. Courage and Advertising C ONGRESS very appropriately has passed a special act expressing the nation’s appreciation to Captain George Fried and his crew for their courageous rescue of thirty-two men from the wrecked Florida. Captain Fried has also been “honored” by the manu facturers of a well-advertised cigarette for endorsing their product. In this last matter, doubtless, the Captain re ceived more than a vote of thanks. To have refused is something else that would have taken courage. Remarkable Frankness I N a bitter speech against the 18th Amendment, Senator Reed of Missouri declares that during his campaign travels he never entered a single State, city or village where liquor was not offered him. Evidently, the bootleggers felt perfectly safe with Mr. Reed. But the surprising thing is that he should tell about the matter. — o —
THE TAJ MAHAL AT AGRA, INDIA, REPUTED TO BE THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BUILDING IN THE WORLD. —Courtesy "Japan Magazine"
Getting the Habit D R. M c AFEE, in his book on Changing Foreign Mis sions, quotes a Korean to the effect that in Korea the habit of “personal giving” to support a church, with no thought of personal material gain, has to be acquired just as truly as the habit qf singing in a seven-toned scale in stead of a five-toned scale. The Doctor might have replied that the same thing is true in America. Our churches have thousands of members who have never “acquired the, habit” of giving to God with no thought of personal material gain. And the worst of it is that, like learning to sing, the older you get the harder it is to acquire the habit. One man will give one hundred dollars to foreign missions, without a bit of fuss or travail of soul. Another man will give five dollars, and in so doing he will struggle like a sixty-year-old man trying to sing a solo for the first time. At heart he feels that he has accomplished a remarkable feat, which he really has perhaps. The whole trouble is that he didn’t begin early enough. That is what makes it so hard for him; he started to learn too late. Will Rogers Rebukes the Preachers I N a syndicated article, he writes: “A preacher just can’t save anybody nowadays. He is too busy saving the Na tion. He can’t monkey with individual salvation. Every
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