\m 



GLilA^mas m Me ctjL1:tJiiE. 



order whenever you choose to call for it." 

 Then I like, too, to see the friends call for 

 it, and 1 love to show them how quickly we 

 can speed a check on ^\e\v Vork, in answer 

 to these requests. I tell ,\ou, friends, it is 

 rare fun to do business— yes, lots of business, 

 when you have tlie money ready to meet 

 every pajment or every demand just as 

 soon as tiie call ctmies. Xo doubt you agree 

 with me : but perhaps you ask. " lint, where 

 shall we get this iuexlia'ustible bank account, 

 or balance on the bank, subject to order?'" 

 Why, bless youi- ]ieart,dear brother or sister, 

 read the text, and now read this promise : 



Hut seek ye lirst the kiugdom ol (iod, and bis 

 righteousness; aiirt all these thinjis shall lie a(lil(-<i 

 unto i oil. —Matt. ti:."Si. 



If all .>our business arrangements are 

 managed with the sole thought in your mind 

 of iloing good to your fellow-men. or. in oth- 

 er words, workiiig for the Savior's glory, 

 (iod will send the means and whatever else 

 you need. Do \ou ask if I have ever been 

 cramped for money? Ves. many and many 

 a time, and many and many a time have 

 I piayed, as many of the older friends 

 know", fill- the means to dct that which 

 seemed light, and I believe that (iod al- 

 ways sent it whenexer he could do so. and 

 not have it harm me. A great nuin> of my 

 plans and experiments have been made just 

 to discover something whereby I could keej) 

 the fiiends at work who were faithful, and 

 wanteil work ; and w henever the motive has 

 been pui'ely to help my fellow-men. and -not 

 to get i-iches and lionor foi' myself, (iod has 

 sent the means. A good many times f am 

 off the track. Sometimes for days togetlier 

 it .seems as if 1 had stiayed away from my 

 Savior, and as if seltish" feelings and ends 

 would get upjtermost. Then, of course, (iod 

 could Jiot consistently send me means. The 

 tirst conimandnunl "leads, •• 'i'hou shalt not 

 have other gods before me." When I keep 

 in line with that, 1 am ha|>i>y and thriving 

 and prosperous. When something else gets 

 before (Jod, and I become seltish, I get to 

 dwelling on narrow and contracted ideas - 

 envy, jealousy, etc. (for I tell you. I know 

 all about these things), then (Jo'd withliolds 

 his promises, and I thank him for so doing. 



I am vehement in collecting what is due 

 me, whether 1 have money in the bank or 

 not; although it is true!| that sometimes, 

 when we are in urgent need of money, I 

 mention the fact to the friends who are ow- 

 ing me. I can illustrate the point I wish to 

 make, by a little incident of the morning. 

 Iluber was playing near a large basket of 

 beautiful red Astrakhan apples. Ills mother 

 did not wish him to eat them, for xery good 

 reasons ; and when I saw him chewing some- 

 thing, I looked; but the apples in the bas- 

 ket were all soimd and whole, and he had 

 none in his hand. Again and again T saw 

 him eating, but it was apparently something 

 else besides the apples. Pretty soon I looked 

 over my shoulder, and saw him taking a 

 great bite slily, after which he crowded the 

 apple away down under the others. For the 

 tirst time in his life he was caught in the 

 act of deceiving his papa. I tished the ap- 



Ele out of its hiding-place. In his guilty 

 aste he had got hold of one that was rotten, 



and had got his mouth full, and some on his 

 nose; but, worst of a\\. Satnn was making 

 an entrance to his little heart, and. baby a's 

 he is. he showed iiis guilt in his dowhcast 

 eyes. His papa uave him a little sermon, 

 adapted to his limited \ ucabulary and intel- 

 ligence. Did 1 take all this paiiis, and stop 

 my work, and *• make such a liarangue,"" as 

 some might have called it. just because of 

 the value of a miserable little snarled speci- 

 men of an apple, and half rotten at that? 

 Why, bless you, no. I did not care how 

 many apples "he ate. and I would have given 

 him "a basket full, or a wagon-load, in an in- 

 stant, had I been sure they would have 

 contributed to his best good and highest 

 luqipiness. They were withheld because 

 they weie not good for him ; and yet one 

 who did not know me. nor understand the 

 circumstances, might have called me little, 

 sting\ . and seltish. An hour later a poor 

 specimen of humanity ••ailed at the back 

 door, and wauled to know if 1 woidd give a 

 lioor man a bite of breakfast. I told him 

 that the laws of the State of Ohio made it a 

 crime for him to go arouiul from house to 

 house, making such a recpiest. lie at once 

 leiilied that 1 was a ju'elty specimen of a 

 Christian if I could not give a simple l)reak- 

 fast. with such an establishment as 1 seemed 

 to be master of. I told him that he .seemed 

 to be able bodied, and capable of working, 

 and that 1 would lind him work at (^nce, if 

 he would do it. and lind liini a breakfast too. 

 lie glanced up. and then declared that he 

 was not going to work unless he could have 

 some kind of <lin „i wages. lie pieferred to 

 i)eg, if he could not make his own terms in 

 regard to his services. Do you not see, 

 friends, that the i)romise at the head of this 

 chapter I'efeis to none of these things? 



In all yoiii- intercourse with your fellow- 

 men, give good measure. This noon, one of 

 the girls was going to send away some soiled 

 bee-feeders. Chiistian people ought to give 

 good measure and clean measure. I tlutught 

 so then and think so still, dive a gooil clear 

 eciuivalent for all you receive. Be careful 

 and faithful, and .make it your elfort to 

 please those whom you serve, and Cod will, 

 in his turn, give to you good measure, press- 

 ed down, and shaken together: for I assure 

 vou that the great Father above is not short- 

 handed when lie makes good his promises. 

 Try him and see. 



I believe I have mentioned before, my ex- 

 Iterience with a brother-jeweler, while in the 

 jewelry business, at the time of my conver- 

 sion. We had been having a newspaper 

 controversy, and I had occupied column aft- 

 er column "in our county paper, telling the 

 people how good and how smart I was, and 

 how bad and how unfortunate my brother- 

 jeweler was. We paid for these newspaper 

 notices at so much a line, both of us, and 

 threw away our money that way, besides 

 throwing it" away in selling things at a less 

 price than they" could be afforded. Does a 

 Christian ever get into such jangles? If he 

 does, it seems to me his Christianity is rath- 

 er weak. Well, after my conversion, custo- 

 mers who wanted to buy articles of some 

 value would go tirst to one store and then 

 the other. One rainy day, when trade was 



