THE
April, 1936
K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
146
NOTES on Christian Endeavor B y M a r y G . G o o d n e r
cupation. W e must not forget that the character of our business must be honor able. All gambling, cheating, ex tortion - including dishonest means and methods— and every trade or business which does not contribute to the real needs and the substantial welfare of men should be ruled out. This means that the liquor traffic, which is such a curse to humanity, not only should not be entered upon, but also should be put under the ban of civilization—voted down and out of all legal and commercial recognition. Whatever business may en gage óur thought or time, let it be in the line of helpful service to the world. j y ‘J H - S elected . T houghts on L abor 1. Labor disgraces no man; unfortunately, you occasionally find men who disgrace labor.— W . S. G rant . 2 . An idle man is a sorrow to himself and to his neighbors. The law of labor is found in the decalogue, “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor " —G. B. F. H allock . 3. There will be no true freedom without virtue, no true science without religion, no true industry without the fear of God and love to your fellow citizens. B B -C harles K ingsley . MAY 10, 1936 THE GOLDEN RULE IN THE HOME C olossians 3:16-25 Meditation on the Lesson One o f the greatest places in the world in which to magnify the Lord Jesus Christ is the home. In the passage for our lesson, we find the source, the secret, and the more detailed principles o f success of a truly happy home. The source o f a joyful Christian home- life appears in verse 16 :‘.'“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom.” “Dwell” connotes more than a hasty visit. The word means to “inhabit,” to “stay,” to “abide.” You dwell in your own home and do as you like in it. Thus must the Word of God be treated. Let it dwell, have con trol, guide, direct. Oh, the precious Word of Christ! James Brookes said: “ God has given only two perfect things to this lost world. One of them is the incarnate Word which is the Lord Jesus Christ; the other is the written Word which is the Holy Scriptures. There is a divine element and a human element in both.” There is trans forming power, and there is the source of true peace, in the indwelling “word of Christ.” Paul reveals the secret o f harmony in the home in verse 17—obedience to the written Word because o f love and grati tude for the living W ord: “Whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name’ of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.” The- expression, “in
world which we see in the Bible. While there are kings and queens in the Book, for the most part the characters o f the Bi ble are men who tend sheep and plow the fields and draw their nets, and women who conduct the affairs of the household. There is no comfort for lazy folk in the Bible. Everywhere the air is full o f the spirit of action. One book of the Bible is called “The Acts” ; more properly it is the Book o f Action. The highest example of Indus try in the Scripture is Jesus Himself. — E. W . W a r k .
MAY 3, 1936 WHAT SHALL I DO FOR A LIVING? G enesis 4:1, 2; 13:1, 2 Meditation on the Lesson In these two passages of Scripture con cerning early Bible characters, we find what we naturally would expect to ob serve, that the occupations in those early days were connected chiefly with outdoor life—sheep, cattle, agriculture. The world was young then; life was not so complex as it is now, and “Big Business,” with its huge steel structures, its manifold ma chinery and countless inventions, had not arrived. Choosing a “life work” was not so con fusing then as it is now. Today, the youth o f our land are besieged on every hand by clamoring voices: “Be a dentist”;; “.Be a doctor” ; “Be a teacher” ; “ Be a nurse” ; “Be an aviator” ; “Be a radio expert”— until many young people are bewildered and do not know which way to turn. What is the Christian to be, first of all? Paul answers in Ephesians 5 :1 : “Be ye . . . followers of God, as dear children.” In other words,' the Christian’s real business in life Is not to earn a living, but to fol low the Lord, allowing Him to lead the be liever into whatever fields of endeavor He may choose. We are not told in our passage how Abel and Cain chose their occupations. The record simply is stated: “Abel was a keeper o f sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.” In Abraham’s case, we are told that he “obeyed” God’s command and “went out, not knowing whither he went” (Heb. 11:8). Whether God gave him di rect instruction concerning his occupation is not told us, but we do know that Abra ham was in the will of the Lord when he; dwelt in the land of promise, and that God prospered him. The God o f Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is the same God today, and He longs that His creatures shall learn to trust Him and to know His in finitely wise plan for each life. Much greater is the question, “What shall I do with my life?” than “What shall I do for a living?” Compare our Lord’s question: “ Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?” (Matt. 6:25). “What is man’s chief end?” is the problem each young person should con sider, and the answer comes back with a ringing challenge: “To glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.” Life’s highest purpose—“to do His will” —will be realized by every youth who will say from the heart, “Where He leads me I will follow, I’ll go with Him, with Him all the way.”
Courtesy, N. Y. K. Line A Japanese Craft of Commerce in Tokyo Bay ii. W hen the M illstone T urns Passing a, mill one day, Gatthold recol lected the wise observation of a certain prince: “Man’s heart is like a millstone. Pour in corn, and round the stone goes, bruising and grinding and converting the grain into flour; whereas give it no corn, and the stone indeed turns round, but only grinds itself away, and becomes even thin ner and smaller and narrower. Even so, the heart of man requires to have some thing to d o ; and happy is he that continu ally occupies it with good and holy thoughts. Otherwise it may consume itself by useless anxieties.”— S elected . III. P rinciples of C hoice : Every member of society should be busy, actively engaged in1some useful oc
Helps for the Leader I. S tories of L abor
The atmosphere of the Bible is the spirit o f toil and industry.. It is a workaday
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