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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTRUE. 



Apr 15. 



who are always borrowing troulijle, instead of 

 making the best of the present, are seldom val- 

 uable hands. Another thing, a discussion arose 

 as to who was to stay and who was to go when 

 this dull time came when there should be work 

 for only a few; and some even went to our old 

 hands and tried to convince them that it was 

 not fair nor right nor Christianlike for them to 

 have all the work, and others have only a little. 

 I was finally obliged to say to such, that such 

 matters would have to be settled by their em- 

 ployers, even though, in one sense of the word, 

 it did not look exactly fair. Just think of keep- 

 ing one man one week, and another man the 

 next week, and so on during the dull season, so 

 as to give all an equal chance: Perhaps I might 

 add, that, where our good help want to take a 

 vacation, we are always glad to arrange mat- 

 ters so as to accommodate, even though they 

 should want to be gone for three or six months. 

 Well, this matter of worrying about the future 

 came up so often that I finally gave the friends 

 a talk one day at our usual noon service; and as 

 the day following was " text day," I asked each 

 one to hunt over his or her Bible, and see what 

 that had to say in regard io this matter. Of 

 course, I had prayed over this state of affairs, 

 and I was not greatly surprised when we had 

 such a number of bright, hopeful, and deeply 

 spiritual texts that they seemed to me like an 

 April shower after the storms of winter; and 

 it was this event that brought to mind the sen- 

 timent expressed in the text at the head of this 

 talk to-day. Of course, the severe winter, with 

 its many losses of bees, makes the outlook, not 

 only for our helpers here, but for bee-keepers 

 generally, rather unpromising. We do not 

 know what April showers and a favorable sea- 

 son may have in store for us. But it would be 

 very unwise — in fact, it would be foolish for us 

 to worry, and bori'ow trouble over a future that 

 we know nothing about. While thinking of 

 the anxiety of the friends here around me, I 

 have been reminded that probably there is more 

 or less anxiety in the heart of every reader of 

 these pages. What shall the harvest be? We 

 do not know; and I for one am glad that I do 

 not know. God knows, and that is enough. 



{Some of the friends who do not love the Bi- 

 ble because they do not take it right, may take 

 exceptions to the expression, "Take no thought," 

 etc. The Bible surely does not mean to say 

 that we should not think of the future, and 

 make careful provision for it; but you will no- 

 tice, in the last verse of our text, it says that, 

 instead of thinking about what we shall eat or 

 drink, or in regard to clothing, we are to "seek 

 first the kingdom of God, and his righteous- 

 ness." And, by the way, that is my old, old 

 text — the one that has been such a joy and 

 comfort to me ever since I have found these 

 Bible promises to be a mine of wealth beyond 

 any thing else the world has yet fui'nished. 

 These were the words of our loving Savior who 

 came into the world, and who looked on the 

 world and wept because of men's narrow, low, 

 and seltish strife to get all there was to be had, 

 or to get ahead of their neighbors. If we listen 

 to him, while it is our privilege to commune 

 with him and to get instruction from him, we 

 ought to be asha,med of worrying. It is well 

 enough for those who have no faith in God. to 

 be seltish and grasping; and Jesus said, " 'After 

 all these things do the Gentiles seek;" but for 

 the Christian who trusts in God — why, the idea 

 is awful. I wish I could repeat the texts that 

 we had at that noon service. They came first 

 from one side of the room and then from the 

 other; and as one text stiirted a thought, some- 

 body elso took it up by another text, until they 

 seemeil to branch out, in every direction. 



Some of the texts I am going to give you 



were repeated at that noon service, and some 

 of them have occurred to me since then in 

 thinking of the matter; and I hope they may 

 do you as much good as they have myself. The 

 chapter from which our text is taken is brimful 

 of reproof and promises in thi? line. Commenc- 

 ing at the lyth verse, Jesus says, " Lay not up 

 for yourselves treasures upon earth" — those 

 old familiar words that we have heard from 

 childhood up; "but lay up for yourselves trea- 

 sures in heaven." And, again, " Therefoi'e I say 

 unto you, Take no thought for your life, what 

 ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for 

 your body, what ye shall i)ut on." The mean- 

 ing is, of course, that we shall not be mixious 

 about these things in a narrow way. Some- 

 times the younger ones at our table, especially 

 when they come in from their plays very hun- 

 gry, will begin to sing out, " Give me some of 

 this;" or, "Give me some of that." As a reply 

 I often say, " Shall I give you some before mam- 

 ma and the baby, or anybody else, has had any?" 

 They almost always hang their heads at this, 

 and look foolish. Well, when somebody comes 

 to me, and says, "Mr. Root, can't I have a place 

 the year round?" etc., my reply in such cases 

 is often like that to the children: " Why, my 

 good friend, if I should keep you the year 

 round, no matter how dull business may be, it 

 would necessitate stopping somebody else, that 

 you might have a place. You are a big strong 

 man, and can work in the harvest-field, o/ al- 

 most anywhere else. There are in my employ, 

 as you know, not only fathers who have large 

 families to support, but there are widows with 

 considerable families of children. Would you 

 want me to stop their work that I might keep 

 you ?" Now, this is the sort of spirit that these 

 verses are intended to rebuke. Jesus says, 

 again: " Behold the fowls of the air, for they 

 sow not, neither do they gather into barns; yet 

 your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye 

 not much better than they?" And Luke, in 

 presenting the same subject, closes with this 

 touching thought: " How much more are ye 

 better than the fowls?" The thought is to me 

 as if the Master meant to say. if God cares for 

 the fowls and the birds, is it likely or reasona- 

 ble that he forgets to look after the welfare 

 and comfort of his own children — those created 

 in his own image? 



But there is a condition to this, remember. 

 We are to be seeking first God's kingdom and 

 his righteousness; and this includes looking 

 after the widows and fatherless. If they are in 

 the crowd seeking for a livelihood, surely any 

 big strong man should stand back and give them 

 the first chance. In fact, the promiseis to those 

 who do this, and not to the selfish and greedy 

 ones. The average millionaiie can not find any 

 comfort in these piomises at all. In fact, he 

 has voluntarily cut himself off from them. 

 Millionaires are not happy. We have recently 

 been told of millionaires, or people v/ho were so 

 wealthy that they were almost millionaires, 

 committing suicide. With all theirwealth, this 

 world had nothing to offer them— no attraction. 

 They seemed to iiave forgotten that " a man's 

 life consisteth not, in the abundance of the 

 things which he possesseth." Another of the 

 texts was, ■■ I have been young, and now am 

 old. yet have I never seen the righteous for- 

 saken nor his seed begging bread." 



In regard to wanting a place whether others 

 had one or not. somebody repeated the text, " In 

 honor preferring one another." We are told 

 that the Savior " pleased not himself;" and for 

 those who are seeking the kingdom of God. and 

 his righteousness — those who are working for 

 the general good of mankind, without thinking 

 of self or how much t/(-ciy have been doing for 

 humanity, we have the following wonderlul 



