1884 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



65 



and utterly ridiculous. Our friend, in his 

 zeal to demonstrate that the teachings of 

 Christ are true and right, almost wishes 

 somebody would test his love for his Master 

 by striking him on the right cheek. Perhaps 

 my illustration is a pretty strong one, but I 

 can imagine such an enthusiast on thisj sub- 

 ject of returning good for evil ; and I can 

 imagine, too, that the love and devotion to 

 hi.s Savior should be the prompting motive 

 and the impelling power. Now, this man 

 can not go and get into a quarrel, to demon- 

 strate the power of Christianity ; because in 

 so doing he would be entirely outside of 

 Christ's teachings. It would never be con- 

 sistent for a Christian to do such a thing. 

 "Then," says he to himself, ''how shall I 

 manage to get where jangles and quarrels 

 are, in order to test these peace principles?" 

 After some thought he decides, "I will go 

 into some business, not to make money, but 

 to prove to the world that the words of 

 Jesus are true." In going into business he 

 studies the model life again. He endeavors 

 to put himself under Christ's teachings. One 

 of the first things he must do as a Christian 

 business man is to be straight and upright. 

 There must be no prevarication, no evasion, 

 no swerving one hair from the truth. When 

 tired and fatigued, hungry and thirsty, he 

 must be frank and honest — must not excuse 

 himself; that is. he must give the real rea- 

 son for every course of action he takes up. 

 If he has made a mistake, he must own it up 

 to the full— to the very letter. Profit and 

 loss must not bias him the minutest fraction. 

 Further than that, if his great and inspiring 

 motive is to win souls, and do God's work, 

 he must consent to bear more than his share 

 of the burdens and trials and losses of busi- 

 ness when it will, in his opinion and judg- 

 ment, be the means of furthering this great- 

 er and more important work. All else has 

 to be sunk out of sight in the desire to follow 

 out the strict spirit and teachings of the 

 Bible. More than that, he must have a 

 kind and neighborly feeling toward every 

 one. lie must show in his looks and actions 

 that it is a pleasure for him to serve people. 

 In waiting on customers, he must look out 

 for the wants and wishes of every one of 

 them, exactly as he would have people look 

 out for his wants and wishes. Nay, more ; 

 he mtist do more for humanity than he asks 

 it to do for him. He must start out with 

 the purpose of being a servant, and of mak- 

 ing his service a loving service. When you 

 hear that some very dear friend is sick, and 

 you are prevented from going to him, if 

 some unexpected opportunity should take 

 you right there, you would enjoy waiting on 

 him, and making him comfortable. Vou 

 enjoy it, because of your regard for him. 

 Now, the individual we are picturing does 

 business, not from a love of gain, but from a 

 love of the busy throng of humanity whom 

 he meets through business. No matter how 

 selfish or disagreeable are the characters 

 that are thrown in his way, out of love to 

 (]hrist he treats them all in that same 

 friendly, loving sort of way. " Inasmuch 

 as ye have done it unto one of the least of 

 these my brethren, ye have done it unto 

 me." I know I am imposing a great task 



upon my ideal character. There are peo- 

 ple in this world who have some of these rare 

 qualities, but perhaps none that combine 

 them all. We sometimes meet with successful 

 merchants or clerks who have a wonderful 

 gift of so throwing their whole souls into their 

 business that they can look out for the needs 

 and interests of a customer as if it were 

 themselves, or as one would try to please his 

 own mother, for instance. One can occa- 

 sionally do this, and it is a comparatively 

 easy thing to love your neighbor as yourself 

 while that neighbor is a pleasant, generous 

 person ; but I tell you, friends, just try to 

 work for diflicult, disagreeable people in 

 that way, and to keep persistently doing it, no 

 matter how unkindly you are treated in re- 

 turn, requires something almost beyond 

 what is human. 



You may say that I am putting more of a 

 load on one individual than he can bear up 

 under physically. Well, suppose while he 

 does all his strength will allow, he does it 

 with the meekness and humility that Christ 

 teaches, and that every one who knows him 

 is at length forced to believe that his meat 

 is not to make money, or get a great name, 

 or praise from the world, but that it is, like 

 our text, to do the will of the Master. Sup- 

 pose he shows the same zeal and intense de- 

 votion in all these things that one does who 

 loves bees and horses, or things of that na- 

 ture, and that he really and honestly, from 

 the bottom of his heart, cares nothing for 

 the money or property that he may gain, 

 only so it gives him facilities for showing 

 forth the spirit of Christ. 



Another element which I have not yet 

 brought in would be that he should be look- 

 ing up the destitute, and all who are strug- 

 gling hard against trials and adversity, that 

 he should make his business the means of 

 helping the helpless, rather than those who 

 are able-bodied and can easily take care of 

 themselves ; that, instead of selecting help- 

 ers for his work, he clioose not the easiest to 

 get along with — not the most successful and 

 apt — not the brightest and best educated, 

 but, rather, those who needed the help he 

 could give, until all persons understood 

 his work was Christ's work, and not for the 

 world. 



Well, what do you suppose would be the 

 result, friends V I hardly need ask you. It 

 seems to me I can see your faces brighten 

 and soften into a smile already, and I can al- 

 most hear you say, '' Why, Mr. Root, the 

 thing is incredible— impossible. There is 

 not a man living who can do it. We are all 

 human, and selfishness is so ground into us 

 that it would have to be an angel to go into 

 business and do as you have mapped it out 

 there. But if it could be done, the man 

 would build up the most magnificent busi- 

 ness the world has ever known. There is not 

 a doubt of it, but yet I have no faith it could 

 ever be done." 



Dear friends, I have been in business— ((o* 

 in business — very extensively, and I know 

 something about it. The worst hindrance 

 that I know of to the best and largest busi- 

 ness houses in the world (and I have dealt 

 with some of the largest that exist), is selfish- 

 aess. It is little tricks and twists, as it were, 



