858 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



July 



escape disagreeable things, but to serve the 

 Master and do good to these boys because of 

 the love I have for Ilim avIio said, Inasmuch 

 as you show kindnesses to the least of one of 

 these, ye show it unto me. Out of love to 

 him, I have love for these boys ; and out of 

 love to him, my heart is pained when they 

 do wrong, or waste the ])recious lives he has 

 given them. Now, what shall be done for 

 the one who has broken over tlie rules? 

 Perhaps on some Sabbatli morning, on my 

 way to church I catch a glimpse of him 

 slipping a cigar behind him, because he saw 

 me coming. As he takes his place in the 

 factory next morning, he glances a little un- 

 easily "at me, and may be the rest are looking 

 on to see the '' fun." Although he knows as 

 well as I know that he has transgressed the 

 rules, and broken his word, he in his own 

 mind has built up a sort of defense. Per- 

 haps others of our boys were along with him, 

 and it may be quite a number have been 

 smoking. He reasons exactly as men do 

 when they urge the faults of professing 

 Christians as a reason why they should be 

 excused. Although he, when he first ac- 

 cepted my terms of employment, made no 

 objection to the rules, he now^ decides they 

 are hard and arbitrary, and that it is none of 

 my business what the boys do Sundays, when 

 they are out of the factory. AVhat shall we 

 do with such a spirit and such an attitude V 

 Give up, and decide the thing can't be car- 

 ried out ? God forbid ! That is exactly what 

 Satan has been planning and working for, 

 and to give up will not only be ruin to the 

 boys, but ruin to yourself. Giving up would 

 be worse than turning the boys off, as they 

 expect, and perhaps deserve. A hard prob- 

 lem to grapple with is before us — a problem 

 like those before which the laws of our land 

 have proven weak and inefficient. What 

 shall we do with sin and witli crime V Hard 

 problems do us good. If they are so hard 

 that they bring us down on our knees before 

 God, they do us more good ; and, thank 

 God, tliey do good to the ones we pray for 

 too. Go down on your knees hungering and 

 thirsting for right, or righteousness, if you 

 choose, and plead before God the promise 

 given by that well-beloved Son, that we shall 

 have the desires of our hearts, or, better 

 still, that we shall be filled, and that hunger 

 for right shall be gratifled. How shall we do 

 it? Mueller has said, or some other good 

 man, that God will not make our work plain 

 to us unless we have first consulted his word 

 well. If you have diligently searched your 

 Bible, and it don't touch on the trouble in 

 question at all, you may reasonably expect 

 God to guide you aright in answer to prayer; 

 but unless you first consult well this chart 

 he has given, you may make grievous mis- 

 takes. Well, the Bible tells us, as in our 

 opening text, that it is to he done, not by 

 might nor by power, but by his Spirit. His 

 Spirit is love and gentleness ; a bruised reed 

 he will not break, and the smoking flax he 

 will not quench. That bad and unreason- 

 able spirit is to be disarmed with kindness. 

 One can be firm, but kind, with Christ's 

 help, and here is where this quality is needed. 

 The offender had planned to have the mat- 

 ter come up the first thing ; he had also, per- 



haps, planned to have it come up before oth- 

 ers. It is rarely well for a teacher to be in a 

 hurry to show his authority, nor is it wise 

 for him to go out of his way very much to 

 take up cases of disobedience. I would 

 wait a few days, until he had decided no no- 

 tice was to be" taken of the matter. Then I 

 would wait until I could find him alone. 

 Tlie matter should be discussed between us 

 two, and no otliers, if possible. Only God's 

 eye should see, and only God's ear hear ; and 

 if it could be brought about, our young friend 

 sliould be made to feel it was to God he was 

 accountable, and before liim he Avas standing. 



'' John, did I not see you with a cigar last 

 Sunday ? " 



As my manner is kind, and my look a 

 friendly one, lie has hardly the courage to 

 raise the oltjections he had planned ; but 

 yet, after a little silence he does attempt a 

 defense. 



'■'■ But your promise, John ; we talked the 

 matter all over, when you commenced Avork, 

 and I tliink it was all well understood, and 

 agreed to. Is it right, and is it a manly 

 thing to do, to keep on at work and say 

 nothing ? " 



'' No, sir, it isn't." 



" Well, now, John, I do not want to inter- 

 fere with any boy's rights. He has a perfect 

 right to choose tobacco instead of his situa- 

 tion, if lie chooses, and there are doubtless 

 plenty of places where you can get work, if 

 you choose, as well as here ; but if you go 

 away, can we not be friends still? Even 

 though we disagree on this tobacco matter, 

 can we not shake hands in parting, and 

 also when we happen to meet at any future 

 time ? " 



The boy is rapidly becoming disarmed. 

 The weapons he had planned to use are lost ; 

 and this unexpected way of putting it is ap- 

 pealing powerfully to Jiis better feelings. 



" John, I hate to have it said we have had 

 trouble, or that you have been disgraced. 

 Even though you have decided to use tobac- 

 co, I do not insist that you leave right now. 

 Keep at work, if you wish, until you can 

 look up another iilace, and no one need ever 

 know that we liave had this disagreement ; 

 and whenever you have reason to think that 

 my stand on tobacco is a good one, and that 

 you would like to stand by me on it, come 

 back ; and if I can, I will give you your 

 place again." 



In the darkness of my little closet, after 

 the hands have all gone home at niglit, after 

 such an experience as I have given above, 

 my prayer is usually something like this : 

 " O God my Father, again I thank thee that 

 thou hast enabled me, through weakness, to 

 baffle once more the schemes of the evil 

 one. I tliauk thee that thou hast enabled 

 me to get out of my own heart all feelings of 

 impatience, and every thing that would tend 

 to hinder in tliis great work of bringing 

 souls to thee. I thank thee for this, anotlier 

 lesson, that it is not by might nor by power, 

 but by thy Spirit, that evil shall be subdued 

 and made to give place to good." 



And now for this Christian wife, whose 

 husband persists in the use of tobacco. Can 

 she make him stop ? By herself alone she 

 can not, any more than she can stem Niaga- 



