THE KING’S BUSINESS
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could not eat or drink with a clear con science, we should always remember that “the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.” The real proof that we are in the kingdom of God and the kingdom of God is in us is not found in scrupulousness or in our lack of scrup ulousness in eating and drinking, but in our manifesting righteousness in our lives, having peace in our hearts (ch, IS :13) and manifesting it toward our fellowmen (v. 19; over the faults of others, shaking our heads about the- faults of others, talking about the faults of others, and scarcely noticing our own »failings. Oh, man! remember “each one of , us shall give account of himself to God.” Those who are making the inconsistencies of others an excuse-for not being Christians them selves better ponder these words carefully. Since each of us is to give account of him self to God, therefore not one of us should judge any other any more. We should rather judge not to put a stumbling block or an occasion to fall in our brother’s way. Far better than being so' scrupulous about your brother’s actions, is it to be scrupulous about doing anything yourself that will lead him into wrong action. “Destroy not him with thy meat, for whom Christ died.” Food is a very proper thing; others may lay down laws for us as to what we shall or shall not eat, that have no warrant in God’s Word, and we may very properly laugh at these man made laws; neverthe less, love is the ruling principle of the Christian life and if our doing something that in itself is perfectly proper to do, something we could do •with a perfectly clear conscience, is going to grieve some brother, and above all lead him into sin and ruin, how can we do it? If we do, we “walk no longer in love.” A true Chris tian will forbear doing many things, about which in themselves he has no compunctions of conscience whatever, none the less, he does not do them lest he “destroy him for whom Christ died.” Monday, August 27 . Rom. 14 : 16 - 18 . There are many things .which it is per fectly right to do, things which are “good,” and no one has any right to forbid our doing them, nevertheless it is possible to do “good” in such, a way that it may be evil spoken of. Therefore, we are not t<^ do the things which it is perfectly permis sible for us to do in such a way that they will be misunderstood, and thus our “good be evil spoken of.” While knowing our right to eat and drink things that others
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