68 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Jax. 



nified the importance of these things, and 

 had forgotten tlie other. I presume the 

 Savior had told them before this to '' seek ye 

 first the kingdom of God and his rigliteous- 

 ness, and all these things shall be added 

 unto you." But if he did, she had forgotten 

 it, and had forgotten, too, how nearly her 

 sister ]Mary. of whom she had been com- 

 plaining, was heeding that sacred injunc- 

 tion. He repeats her name twice, as it were, 

 in loving rebuke: "Martha, Martha, thou 

 art careful and troubled about many 

 things."" lie goes on with the wonderful 

 words of our text : " But one thing is need- 

 ful.'' Perhaps he paused a little here until 

 Martha began wondering what was that one 

 thing we need above all others in this world. 

 As if in answer to that query, he adds. 

 "■ Mary hath chosen that good part that shall 

 not be taken away from her.'' 



You will notice, friends, that a part of 

 Christ's words seem applicable to the people 

 and subjects right before him. But every 

 now and then we have expressions that have 

 been handed down to us as texts that apply 

 to the present, past, and future, and, in 

 fact, to all time to come. One of these texts 

 was uttered right here, and I have chosen it 

 for a text for my remarks : " I5ut one thing 

 is needful." That applies to you and me as 

 well as to JVIary and ^Martha, and all that as- 

 sembly. What is the one thing needful in 

 this world'? I do not suppose tlie Savior 

 meant that other things are of no importance 

 at all, for of course no reasonable being 

 would understand we are to give up the 

 housework and the business of our daily life, 

 and spend all our time in reading the Bible, 

 or going to meeting. I have sometimes 

 thought tliat some people read the Bible too 

 mucli. Of course, this is not very often the 

 case, but there are sometimes duties that 

 are, for the time being, more important than 

 Bible study, and therefore, if one wants to be 

 a good ( 'hristian, it is by taking u)) liis duties 

 in lite, rather than reading the Bible when 

 he ought to be doing something else. Per- 

 haps I can make my meaning plainer if I 

 put it something this way : There are re- 

 vival meetings in our town at present, or. at 

 least, souls are being saved in a quiet, order- 

 ly sort of way. I think Christians ought to 

 make quite an elfort to be present at these 

 meetings. A great many say tliat tliey can 

 not get away from home,' and may be this is 

 true, iiut suppose some talented lecturer 

 should come along, and everybody were go- 

 ing out to liear him ; under tlie iiilluence of 

 the excitement about him, perhajis you might 

 make some sort of arrangement and go any 

 way, and you would say the case was un- 

 usual, and of great moment. Well, oiu' reg- 

 ular Christian duties are of great moment, 

 and they should be placed llrst and foremost 

 in importance. Sometimes, under the press- 

 ure of circumstances, Ave let supper go en- 

 tirely, or pick up something tliat answers 

 for the special occasion, without stojiping to 

 go through the regular routine; and I would 

 suggest that the Master v»ould have been 

 better pleased had Martha listened to his 

 teachings as Mary did; and when the time 

 for supper came, rnade some hasty prepara- 

 tion for the occasion, taking it for granted 



that it was of much greater moment to list- 

 en to the Savior's teachings than to have an 

 elaborate meal prepared. Now, my friends, 

 have we chosen the " good part,'" as .Mary 

 did, or are we '' cumbered about much serv- 

 ing,'" as was Martha V Almost ever since I 

 found that little story in the Bible, tliose 

 words, '• ('imibered about much serving."" 

 have rung in my ears. "When things go 

 wrong, and I am wanted at several places at 

 once, I get lidgetty, and may be a little 

 cross and fretful, and 1 do not look happy, 

 as Mary doubtless did, while she sat at the 

 Savior's feet. In fact, riglit here, while I 

 was dictating this Home Paper for your ben- 

 efit, but a little time ago, the head shipping- 

 clerk came to me with a couple of hammers 

 in his hand. Said he, "'Mr. Root, do you 

 call those steel hammers V " 



"By no means; who said they were steel? " 



" Why, they have been sending them out 

 for steel hammers, down in the counter 

 store, for some time past." 



I took both hammers, and started off with 

 some ejaculation about such kind of work as 

 that. On the way tlirough tlie office, several 

 clerks stopped me with some inquiries about 

 other things. I wanted to get back to write 

 the Home Papers, because, when the thread 

 of mv talk gets snai)ppd olf too long I some 

 way lose the spirit, as it were. A good many 

 things had to be righted, and I seemed to be 

 needed in a good many places. I made up 

 my mind that the rest of the Home Papers 

 would have to be left until after dinner, and 

 then we should be in the midst of the daily 

 roar of business. All at once it occurred to 

 me that I was just in the fix i)0()r Martha 

 was when she started to fetcii .Mary back to 

 her work. "Cumbered with much serving '" 

 expresses it exactly. That is just what 1 

 was, right in the very midst of sitting down 

 to teach the brethren. Would it not be a 

 good plan to give u\) and not try to teach 

 ' any more until I could set a better example? 

 I am afraid if I did, that there would not lie 

 any more Home Papers. Well, what is a 

 body to do? AVhy. the blaster indicated 

 plainly— straighten' out the Avriiikles, soften 

 down your face, look pleasant, and ]n-etty 

 soon everybody will know that you are sit- 

 ting at the Savior's feet like an obedient 

 pupil, and trusting all to him. If he is '' in 

 all " (Colossiaiis :>: 11 ), people will believe it 

 a great deal (piicker if you show it in your 

 face and your daily actions, than if you 

 stand up and say so in the prayer-meeting. 



Just at this present time, if I am not mis- 

 taken, there are quite a number among the 

 leaders of Gleanings who are " cumbered 

 with nnich serving," besides myself; and in 

 my eiforts to help these friends,' after having 

 read the letters they have written me, I 

 have felt most vividly that we all of us need 

 to remember more that one thing needfuh 

 Quite a number of the brethren have in- 

 vested more largely in business than they 

 ought to have done. During the fore part 

 of last season there seemed a jirospect of a 

 great demand for many things, that did not 

 hold out as we expected; and after the 

 honey season was over, we found ourselves 

 witli unsold property on our hands, and 

 debts to meet. Some of us have had "too 



