1887 



GLEANINGS IN BEK CULTURE. 



317 



would be a privilege to me to help to pay 

 Christian men a !)ig price for sncli services, 

 and tlien I would have some measures ta- 

 ken to demand that these waiters bestow 

 Christian treatment and Clnistian courtesy; 

 this latter [loinl migiil be a hard matter, 

 but I think 1 sec indications already that it 

 is coming, [notice it in t lie daily papei'S, 

 and I notice it in the daily talk. In the 

 near future, I think the cause of Christ is 

 going to be magnified, and his name is go- 

 ing to be gloi-ilied. 1 know it is a fact, tliat 

 women-vvaiteis in many public places are 

 obliged to hear things that are unpleasant, 

 and many times they are censured when 

 they are not at all to blame. Sometimes 

 tlie> arc bantered; but I tliinkawise and 

 discreet Woman can. as a nde, by her bear- 

 hfs. pretty ([uickly check or discourage any 

 of this laltej-. I have wondered many times 

 liow many of tliese women are in the habit 

 of attending weekly prayer-meetings. Do 

 their employers so arrange their work that 

 they are permitted to goV and when they 

 have guests who are hard to please, do they 

 have the cheering iidluences of CiirisCs 

 presence in their hearts, to help them bear 

 the trials of every-day life? Is it possible 

 that, among the " readers of GleaninctS, 

 there is one who waits on the table, for the 

 great traveling public? If so, may God's 

 blessing rest on such a one ; and may she 

 realize how much it is in her power to work 

 for the Master, perhaps not dii'ectly by serv- 

 ing her enemies, but she surely will have 

 opportunities, almost daily, of feeding those 

 who are enemies of the Savior; and shall 

 we not consider this a great i)rivilege? 



'•For inasmuch as ye have done it unto 

 one of the least of these my brethren, ye 

 have done it unto me.'' The matter of 

 food and drink contributes more toward 

 making people feel pleasant and happy and 

 Christian! ike, than we perhaps realize. 

 One may feel tired and faint and cross ; but 

 the sight of tempting food, tastily arranged, 

 is one of the great aids in helping to put. 

 away bad feelings, and make one to feel 

 pleasant ; and when added to this we have 

 pleasant and courteous treatment, it is a 

 WH)nderful help toward good feeling and 

 gentle bearing. On the other hand, when 

 one feels tired and faint and cross, how 

 much more apt he is to indulge in unkind 

 words if the food is not as it should be, and 

 the dining-table in disorder! I need not 

 enumerate these things, for they have been 

 seen by almost every one too often. Some- 

 times the waiters are busy with something 

 else; and after pushing the bread, and the 

 cream and sugar, and perhaps meat and po- 

 tatoes, toward the hungry one, they turn 

 off to something else. Mav be the bread is 

 forgotten: perhaps the coffee is forgotten. 

 Of course, one is at liberty to speak out 

 when wliat is justly his due is not given 

 him ; but one who is faint and liunerry is not 

 likely to have an extra amount of Christian 

 graces just at that precise moment. In 

 fact. I have sometimes thought that Satan 

 made haste to make the most of such an 

 occasion. He whispers to the hungry one. 

 " The world is hollow and selfish — the 

 whole of it ; there is no such thing as get- 



ting your just dues anywhere without fight- 

 ing or making a fuss about it." Who 

 knows l)ut that some poor soid might have 

 been saved from crime, perhaps suicide. 

 l)y a little more care iji this one thing of 

 food and drink — loving care from tliose on 

 whom the respoiisil)ility falls, of looking 

 after tiu'se little nuitters of food and drink ? 



If thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, 

 gi\e him drink. 



Are not these wonderful words? Paul 

 did not mean that you were to feed your 

 enemy grudgingly, but as if you loved him, 

 and were anxious to win him Ijack to friend- 

 ship. Feed him as if you enjoyed doing it. 

 and you soon unll enjo.\ it. Y'ears ago, be- 

 fore a loving wife looked after my wants in 

 the way of food and drink, I can remember 

 once or twice of being served with short 

 rations just because I could not consistently 

 avoid offending those who had it in tlieir 

 power to minister to my wants with a slack 

 or lavish hand. I could not well help my- 

 self just then, and so I bore it; but what a 

 miserable way to vent your spite on any 

 human Iteing, by obliging him to go hun- 

 gry ! 



By the way, dear friends, did you ever 

 think liow extremely nattiral it is to pay 

 back, or render evil for evil, to any one who 

 has misused you or wounded your feelings ? 

 Where is the man or even woman who feels 

 like doing kind offices in repay for unkind 

 ones ? Human nature is all against it. I 

 have talked about rendering good for evil, 

 and doing good to those who hate you, for 

 nearly a score of years. I have told you 

 how it rejoices tny heart, when opportunity 

 presents, of heajjing coals of fire on the 

 head of an enemy ; and now, after all I have 

 said and done in this line, my first impulse 

 is almost always, even now, to strike back. 

 Even while writing this paper to you I was 

 interrupted, and called (mt of the room. 

 Something was going wrong — something 

 that needed my immediate attention — 

 something that needed stopping at once. 

 The power lay all in my own hands, so I 

 had but to say the word, and the friend who 

 had offended would be made to suffer. 

 Now, I do not know but that I should have 

 said that woixl had I not remem])ere(l how 

 many, many times I had resolved that I 

 would go slow at such times, and first see 

 whether my course were exactly in the line 

 of Bible teachings. It is human to return 

 evil foi' evil, but it is divine to render good 

 for evil. I am glad that Paul made the sug- 

 gestion we have in our text, for it seems to 

 be the easiest and (pnckest way in the world 

 of doing good to anybody, to watch for an 

 opportunity of ministering to his hunger, or 

 of giving him drink when he is thirsty. 



My friends, it is not unlikely that you can 

 put this admonition in practice within the 

 next fifteen minutes after you read this pa- 

 per. Wlieii I was a boy I used to be cross 

 anrl iieevisli and fretful,"a great many times. 

 Next to me in age was a younger sister, and, 

 l)y the way, I liave a pictiue of tliat sister 

 now. I can look on it and see exactly how 

 she used to look when I was a dozen years 

 (,)ld. and she was was, may be, two years 

 younger. I was not a very good brother; 



