May, 1942
THE K I N G ’ S BUS I NE S S
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OUR GREATEST ALLY: • Military analysts are continually impressing upon'America the impor tance of our allies. Without these helpers, we would be thrust into a most difficult if not desperate posi tion. National allies are important— but there is One who is more impor tant than them all. “A mighty Fortress is our God,” to use thé words of militant Martin Luther. God is our “Bulwark never failing.” God is “our Strength in ages past, our Hope in years to come.” Human and national allies some times prove untrustworthy. Look at France! But God is not like them. He is the Strength and Hope, of the persecuted Christians, of Norway, of Poland, of Greece, of Czechoslovakia. He is the Refuge of all who put their trust in. Christ and His righteousness. The tragedy is that' God — our greatest Ally — is widely ignored in our own country. We are. told what we must do and should do in order to keep the friendship of neighbor nations. But few of the “experts” , consider the importance of pleasing, and honoring God in all these rela tionships. With Gëd, ultimate victory is cer tain. Without Him, victory is impos sible. Let us therefore honor God in our thoughts and lives. Let us live in obedience to His will. God will not fail us, if we do not forget Him. ment speaker who ridiculed the idea of foreign missions.” The group of students who heard th t story listened as they would lis ten to the explanation of a tragedy. Some of them knew that three dec ades previously this country had sent out almost 1,500 new missionaries yearly for several years. And they knew the decline that had set in until only 250 new,- reinforcements yearly, just a sixth of the previous number, far from enough to replace thinning ranks, was a good average, even be fore war closed many doors. It was tragedy indeed, the tragedy of dereliction of duty in the church of Christ, due in part to a liberalistic gospel in nominally Christian schools, But yet another problem lay behind that record. Facts That Shock “Our mission board can’t send us out. Finances are too low,” explained a group of seminary students in the [ Continued on Page 197]
Significance of the News By DAN GILBERT Washington, D . C., and San Diego, California
condition dependent upon such moral and mental factors as zeal, spirit, hope, confidence . , , It ought to be plain that a sound morale must test upon the solid foundation of Christian faith and morality. Belief in God is the only sound basis for belief in America. Belief in the Bible is the only substantial foundation for belief in democracy. Faith in the triumph of the Cause of Truth and Righteous ness cannot be founded on anything except faith in the coming Of Him who is Himself Truth and Righteousness—' the Lord Jesus Christ—God manifest in the flesh. ' Can there be a high and lasting morale without an undergirding of Christian conviction? Can there be a sound morale which does not rest up on Christian morality? This war cannot be won with a morale which is stimulated by jazz, “jitterbuggery,” and cheap entertain ment. True victory can come only on the-wings of an unconquerable morale which grows out of prayer, consecra tion to Christ, and devotion in the hearts of our people. a HERE WAS a note of sadness in the. young missionary’s voice as she spoke to a group of col Mater. It had had a worthy record in the past of graduates in front-lihe service on-the mission field, but now —“I returned to school that year af ter a conference o f the Student For eign Missions Fellowship. The Lord had spoken to my heart, and with joy I heard His call to serve in unreached fields. “Full of that joy, I told my friends the news when I returned. They were impressed, and the word spread. But before long I had an invitation from the Dean, who set herself to change my purpose. - She .used every argu ment she knew, Told me I would be wasting my life and talents foolishly, and urged me solemnly to reconsider. “The purpose was from God and was. not shaken, but in my own grad uation I had to listen to a commence- •General Secretary, Student Foreign Missiont Fellowship,
THE WAY TO VICTORY • “The peoples with the most health, vigor, fitnéss, sobriety, and devotion to a common cause will win the war; America must throw away its ‘night club’ habits, loose thinking and health-destroying tendencies to be. on the winning aide.” ¿ Thus declared Ray* Lyman Wilbur, President of Leland Stanford Univer sity, according to reports of an ad- dregs before the American Association of School Administrators. It is time that, as President Wilbur suggests, we stopped thinking exclu sively In terms of mechanics and mathematics, and began to think in terms ¿ f men rather than machines. The popular idea, has been spread that the war will inevitably be won or lost in the factories of America. If we can produce more and better planes, guns, and ships than our ene mies—fien , so the theory runs, we are bound to win. Guns, planes and ships are impor tant But men are more important. The war will be* won — or lost-—in the homés, schools, and churches of Amer ica, quite as decisively as in the fac tories of the nation. The kind of men our nation produces is as important as the kind of machines our defense industries turn out “Shoddy brain work,” Dr. Wilbur declared, “in time of war, either at home or at the front, is worse than de fective ammunition.” He might" have added that defects of character will destroy a people more rapidly than will the lack of military equipment: Moral force is still a stronger poweK than military force. The way to the most wide-sweeping victory for Amer ica lies in calling our youth to Christ —the Source of true character, con viction, and courage. THE WAY TO BUILD MORALE: • Building “morale” is a more diffi cult task than manufacturing muni tions. A great deal of discussion in Washington and elsewhere centers upon the necessity jot “elevating the morale of our army and people,” The discussion springs from good intentions, but much of it has de scended to the level of the ridiculous. Everything from movies to tap and fan dancing has been recommended. Elaborate programs are formulated to stimulate a spirit of fun and frivolity, all in the interests of “morale.” The dictionary defines morale as “a
A Present-Day Tragedy—And an Answer By W . NEILL HAWKINS* Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
lege students concerning her Alma
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