1888 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



307 



Qu^ pejvLEg. 



Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the 

 flrst-fruits of all thine increase: so shall thy barns 

 be filled with plenty.— Pkov, 3:9, 10. 



THE C:ONCLUDING CHAPTER OF " WHAT TO 



DO, AND HOW TO HE HAPPY WHII.E 



DOING IT." 



It is nearly two and a half years since 

 this book was commenced ; and now I am 

 writing the hxst chapter. In this chapter it 

 would naturally transpire that I should em- 

 phasize the most important part of the 

 book. Well, dear friends, what is of more 

 importance than all things else in deciding 

 "what to do?" and what one thing will be 

 more likely to make us enjoy the work God 

 has given usV or, in other words, what will 

 be most likely to help us to "be happy while 

 doing" this work that I have been trying to 

 map out for you? Why, I think we shall 

 tind that the text at the head of this chap- 

 ter hits the point exactly. "Honor the 

 Lord with thy substance." Very likely 

 some of you will say, " I am too poor. I 

 should be glad to give something to the 

 churches and various benevolent enter- 

 prises ; and whenever I am able, I will do 

 so." My friend, I think you are entirely 

 wrong. In the first place, no matter what 

 your circumstances are, if you have 

 strength that enables you to get to church, 

 go to church. Go and take your wife and 

 children. If you are not able to go. send 

 them ; but never send the wife and children 

 to church and prayer-meetings and Sunday- 

 school unless yoii are disabled by health 

 from going yourself. Of course, I don't 

 know how many of my readers are in the 

 habit of absenting themselves from public 

 worship ; but I am sure I am right when I 

 say you can not afford to stay at home. You 

 can not afford it pecuniarily, and you can 

 not afford to risk your hapjnness by "remain- 

 ing away. Possibly you are comparatively 

 happy in your daily employment, without 

 attending church. But I think a regular 

 attendance would make you ever so much 

 more happy. In fact, one who stays at 

 home from church does not half enjoy any 

 thing. Of course, I am giving this as my 

 opinion ; and if you purchase my book and 

 read it, you will expect to get my opinion. 

 You have some confidence in my ability to 

 direct and teach, else you would" not have 

 read thus far. Now, then, my friend, go to 

 church. If you have not been in the habit 

 of going, start right off. If you haven't 

 clothing as good as you think you ought to 

 have, go with the best you have. I agree 

 with the world, in thinking that we ought 

 to put on our best habiliments when we en- 

 ter the courts of God. I have studied over 

 this matter a good deal, and I can not im- 

 agine any reasonable excuse for neglecting 

 church attendance. 



Now, attending church is excellent of 

 itself; but the next best thing is to con- 

 tribute to the support ot said church. The 

 oft-repeated argument, that you are " too 

 poor," I shall not accept at all. If you can 

 not do any better, diop a penny into the 

 contribution-box when it comes around. 



Nobody need see how much you put in, and 

 I don't suppose it matters very much if they 

 did see. God sees, and it is before him and 

 to him that you are doing it. Remember 

 what Jesus said of the widow woman and 

 her two mites. Give something. Give reg- 

 ularly. Don't go by fits and starts— a nickel 

 one day, twenty-five cents another, or may 

 be a dollar when you feel like it. Decide 

 liow much you can afford to give every Sun- 

 day, and give it. You may contribute by 

 the year if you choose. But even if you do, 

 put something into the contribution-box reg- 

 ularly : do as others do, and set an example. 

 I think it is a very good idea to give liberal- 

 ly. I think you will make it pay bolh finan- 

 cially and in l)eing happy, as I have told you. 

 I feel like saying I don't really think any 

 thing about it ; I know you will feel better 

 to make a start in " honoring the Lord with 

 thy substance," as our text has it. Why, 

 my friend, it is the first stepping-stone to- 

 ward genuine prosperity— the prosperity of 

 yourself, the prosperity of your family, the 

 prosperity of your neighborhood, your town, 

 county. State, and nation ; aye, and the 

 prosperity of the whole human family, the 

 whole world, and this whole wide universe. 

 The being who can gaze upon this universe, 

 M'ithout any recognition of the God of all, is 

 not worthy of being one of mankind. Have 

 the children go, and have them give some- 

 thing. They will probably give to the Sun- 

 day-school. By the M^ay, I think you ought 

 to go to Sunday-school too. If you think you 

 can't stand it to go to both, go to church first. 

 Don't miss the sermon that God has pro- 

 vided for you. It may be a very poor one, 

 but that does not matter ; you can not af- 

 ford to miss it. The sermon will be better if 

 you go than if you stay at home. Now, don't 

 try to evade this nor dispute it. Ask your 

 pastor if it is not so. Every good man 

 who honors the Lord with his presence as- 

 sists the pastor, and inspires him in deliver- 

 ing God's message. No minister can preach 

 great sermons to a very small audience ; 

 that is, he can not do it very long, and God 

 will not let him do it very long. 



We will suppose you are doing a fair busi- 

 ness, according to the instructions of these 

 previous pages. You are getting along 

 comfortably. What part of your earnings 

 shall be given to (iod's work ? The bible 

 indicates one-tenth ; but I don't think it is 

 veiy important we should take any very 

 great paitis in being percise in the matter. 

 If you try to be precise, some will say, " Is 

 it to be a tenth of your net gains, or a tenth 

 of yoiii- wages?" But I don't believe it is 

 very well to try to be exact either way. If 

 you say net trains, a great many will say 

 tliey don't gain any thing — in fact, they are 

 going down hill. A man who is going down 

 iiill is the one, I think, who does not give 

 any thing to (iod's work. Now, don't ac- 

 cuse me of urging a. man to give money to 

 the church and to the minister that he has 

 no light to give. I told you, in my last talk, 

 that we must apply reason and common 

 sense to religion as well as to any thing 

 else. I have heard people tell about those 

 who give money to the Lord that ought to 

 have been used in paying their debts. I do 



