Part 6 (1/2)

David's humility throughout his boyhood and young manhood--indeed throughout his whole life--is one of the fine and strong points of his character.

In the brook that runs alongside your lives, fellows, these five smooth stones and others are waiting for each one of you. Put them in your ”scrip” _now_ and be ready for life's opportunities; for they are coming, head on, to meet you, and _G.o.d wants to be on your side_.

_Read the seventeenth chapter of 1 Samuel._

XV

DRIFTING

Say, fellows, there is a little animal in the North Woods, called the weasel. In coldest winter its fur turns snow white and its pelt is very valuable. The white fur of the weasel (sometimes called the ermine) is used to make some of the most beautiful and expensive stoles that elegant and wealthy ladies wear. Therefore, in very cold winters, trapping the weasel is profitable as well as interesting.

Now here comes the queer part of this story: The weasel is small, and any scar made upon its snow-white coat is doubly conspicuous. If the pelt is torn or injured it is rejected; so the trapper must take his captive clean and scarless. The weasel will not enter a cage trap, and the much used snap-jaw steel trap would tear the skin. But the weasel likes to lick a smooth surface, especially if it is the slightest bit greasy; so the trapper smears with grease the blade of a large knife and lays it on top of the snow, secured by a chain attached to the handle, and covers the chain with snow to hide it.

The weasel comes along and immediately indulges its natural desire to lick the smooth blade, and instantly the end of its tongue clings fast to the cold steel. Try as it may, it cannot pull loose without tearing its tongue out, which usually it will not do, but sits quietly by, until released by the trapper, released only to die. Luckless weasel, trapped by the tongue.

Now, fellows, the weasel does no more wicked thing than to follow its natural inclinations; but natural inclinations are not safe guides; they more frequently lead to death. We folks are much like the weasel; we are much of the time dead bent in the direction of what is worst for us. Is not our G.o.d good to give us the plain warnings which we as intelligent beings can see and understand--and, seeing and understanding, ”Stop, Look, and Listen!”--turn about and head toward safety, success, and happiness! Surely, He _is good_. But what matters how good G.o.d is and how plain His warnings if we go right on in the wrong direction?

If a weasel could understand a warning and should say, ”Yes, I know, but I am just going to lick this once,” what would it matter how clear the warning was?

G.o.d's warnings are such as should turn us face about; right now, before we are hard and fast in one of the devil's many crafty snares, for he always lays his snares along the path of our _natural inclinations_. G.o.d warns: ”Abhor evil,” learn to hate it, pray to hate it. ”Cleave to the good,” learn to love it, pray to love it.

Naturally, we seek our own praise, but face about! seek the praise for another, in true brotherly spirit. Naturally, we are lazy and would s.h.i.+rk our task; but brace up! put vim in the job; that honours G.o.d, and incidentally, puts both success and joy in the work. When we get in trouble, naturally we chafe and become impatient; G.o.d says, ”Be patient in tribulation.” That's a ”Right-about-face!” for you. We pray once and quit--naturally. G.o.d says keep on praying. When folks nag at us and pester us, naturally we blaze out at them. G.o.d says, don't blaze, but bless. And that's ”To the rear! Hey!”

Naturally, our noses turn up and our heads are lifted to salute the lofty ones; G.o.d says look around for those not so well off as we are, and lavish our sociability on _them_. Naturally, we try to ”get even”

with the fellow who does us a mean turn; G.o.d says turn that matter over to Him; He will take care of it. And when that fellow needs help, as surely he will sooner or later (maybe right now), make him the special object of our kindness.

Oh, yes, I know, fellows, it is much easier to do the way you feel like doing. But when your boat is drifting down the current, which is the natural way, it takes a Real Fellow to dig his oars in and turn and row up-stream. And that's what you propose to be: a Real Fellow, and the best part of it is you then become a Yoke-fellow with Jesus Christ; and let me tell you, _He pulls a good oar_!

Fellows, drifting means ”over the falls.” ”There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death”

(Prov. 16:25). Pulling up-stream with Christ means getting to the suns.h.i.+ne of the eternal hills. ”But the path of the righteous is as the dawning light, that s.h.i.+neth more and more unto the perfect day”

(Prov. 4:18).

Fellows, I had rather PULL with Christ than DRIFT with the devil, wouldn't you?

_Read the twelfth chapter of Romans._

XVI

RESURRECTION

Say, fellows, I'll never forget one exciting morning on the banks of the Etowah River, a treacherous stream that threads its way through the red hills of northwest Georgia. A bunch of us boys were spending that morning in swimming. Not much swimming, either, for only one boy in the crowd could swim, and all except him were under thirteen years old. Bob was fifteen, and a good swimmer. One of the boys waded out pretty deep, and the undercurrent swept him off his feet. There was a cry, and he sank.

Then it was that Bob did a fine thing, which has caused the rest of us to look upon him as a real hero ever since. He ran along the bank, down-stream a little way, and jumped in, rapidly made his way to a point a few yards below where the boy had gone down, dived, and came up with him. The rest of us waded out as far as we dared, to meet him, and all together we drew the couple to sh.o.r.e. But, fellows, that boy was dead--at least he seemed to be, and we were certain of it.