

He that is faithful in that which is least, is faithful also in much.— Luke 16:10. 



MYSELF AND MY NEIGHBORS. 



For God so loved the world. ^John I!: IC. 



T WONDER if the little friends to whom I 

 |lF talk have a very clear idea of the many 

 |t different definitions there are to the 

 "^ word "world;'' that is, did you ever 

 think in how many different senses it is 

 used? We often mean by the word "workF' 

 the planet on which we live ; but that is not 

 the sense in which it is used in our text ; for 

 (rod could not love tliis planet of itself in 

 the way in which he loves us. The word 

 " world '■ is used in the Bible many times to 

 indicate the things belonging to this world, 

 which sliall soon pass away. We are ad- 

 monished not to set our affections on world- 

 ly things, because they are transient. Well, 

 in our text it is very plain that the meaning 

 is, that (lOd loves the children of men : he 

 loves humanity ; he loves the people, all of 

 them, even those who are unlovable ; and 

 he loves us so much that he sent his only 

 Son down here to teach us and save us. 

 (4od loves the people because they are his 

 people ; therefore ire ought to love the peo- 

 ple. We ought to love the Inisy throngs of 

 humanity that stream about us and past us 

 in swarms all around the most of us. If we 

 want to be happy in this world we need to 

 love humanity as much as we love ourselves. 

 Loving the people is the opposite of selfish- 

 ness. \Mien we say that men and women 

 or boys and girls love themselves, we mean 

 that they are selfish. If tliey love them- 

 selves more than all the rest of the world 

 together, they are pretty sure to be very dis- 

 agreeable. We ought to love them, how- 



ever, even if they arc disagreeable. Jesus 

 said, " Love ye your enemies, and do good 

 to them that hate you." You see, if we love 

 our enemies, we shall be pretty sure to love 

 everybody, just as (iod does. Then we shall 

 be fit to live with (iod, and to be with him 

 when he sends for us. I believe that, as a 

 rule, children, especially very small children, 

 do love eveiybody. How the baby laughs 

 and crows, and looks happy every morning ! 

 Does the baby at your house giggle and bub- 

 ble over with fun every day? If the house 

 should burn up, I suppose he would laugh 

 in a very little while, if he didn't while it 

 was burning. He is happy, because it is 

 fun for him to live ; and he tlianks God for 

 giving him life. Perhaps he does not think 

 of it in that way, but he enjoys every thing 

 — that is. if he is a good baby; and babies, 

 like neighl)ors, are apt to be very much like 

 , their surroundings. Do you reply, that 

 everybodif loves people— that is, as a general 

 thing? "No, everybody does not like his fel- 

 low-men. Sometimes we have people who 

 go off by themselves away out in the woods, 

 1 and purposely get away Mhere there are not 

 j any neighbors. We call them hermits. 

 I Then there are people who always stay at 

 I home. They do not go to picnics cir celebra- 

 I tions on the Fourth of July. They don't go 

 to meeting or Sunday-school. They stay 

 upstairs, or out in the fields. Some of them 

 lock the doors so the neighbors can't come 

 in. If they don't lock the doors of the 

 house, they lock the doors of their hearts. 

 They have no friendships or confidants. 

 We call such people misanthropes. " Mis- 

 anthrope " means a man-hater. Well, now. 



