August, 1917 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



639 



suit themselves?" May God forbid that 

 you OX' I should tolerate the thought. 



Our text reads, "Him only shalt thou 

 serve." I might have told the young man 

 that I was working for God and tlie state 

 of Ohio and for America, and the whole 

 wide world as well; but I did not think of 

 it tlien. 



I have told you already, perhaps several 

 times, what I said as I stood up in a union 

 meeting at the Methodist church here in 

 Medina nearly fifty years ago. Billy Sun- 

 day was not born at that time; but, as we 

 are told, "coming events cast their shadows 

 before," I hope a little of his shadow fell 

 over me, at about that time. I stood up 

 for the first time before the people of our 

 different churches and declared that from 

 that day and hour, God helping me, my 

 principal work should be first and fore- 

 most for Chi'ist Jesus, and for A. I. Root 

 secondarily. I have tried in my poor feeble 

 way to live up to that pledge for almost 

 fifty years. I never thought of it before 

 until that young man asked me for whom 

 I was working. And then it came to me 

 just last evening at our prayer-meeting 

 that somebdy said in God's holy book, "Him 

 only shalt thou serve;" and then I remem- 

 bered also that precious text that has been 

 a comfort for almost fifty years, "Seek ye 

 tirst the kingdom of God and his righteous- 

 ness, and all these things shall be added 

 unto you." 



I have told you before that business did 

 not suffer when I put Christ Jesus first and 

 foremost. I began at the time hunting- 

 work for the numbers in our town who were 

 out of a job. Sometimes, as I have told 

 you, I set needy boys and girls to work 

 when I had actually had nothing in sight 

 for them to work at. I went to the Lord in 

 prayer about it, telling him I had started 

 them to work for his sake. The business 

 did not suffer. It has grown and spread 

 and multiplied, as you may know ; and yet 

 as I look back over the years I am impressed 

 by the fact that all along A. I. Root has 

 had too much prominence, and Jesus Christ 

 not enough. Some good friend (I presume 

 likely he is dead now) once said in the 

 Kind Words depai'tment years ago, that it 

 had been his privilege to know my humble 

 self ever since the time when it was pretty 

 much all self and none of Christ. As time 

 passed, he said he was pleased to note that, 

 altho there still was some self there was 

 also some of Jesus. If I remember cor- 

 rectly he said he was looking forward lu the 

 time when it Avould be none of self and all 

 for Christ. What does it mean, friends, to 

 work for Christ Jesus'? It means crowding 

 out and putting down self. 



My good friend Thomas B. Lanham, or 

 "Tom" as the soldiers know him, in the 

 absence of our minister occupied our pulpit 

 a few Sundays ago. By the way, he stands 

 "away up" in the Y. M. C. A. work, and 

 especially the work among the soldiers. He 

 said there was a point in his life when 

 thoughts would occasionally come into his 

 mind, especially when he was tired out, and 

 he could not see much results from his work, 

 that he would get to thinking that it was 

 not much use in becoming prematurely old ; 

 that he was not appreciated, did not get 

 much credit, and that he might as well take 

 life easier. He said he had enough good 

 sense, however, to recognize very soon that 

 such thoughts came from the prince of 

 darkness away down in his lair in the bot- 

 tomless pit. He said he was glad to report 

 that he had the good sense at such times to 

 say, "Get thee behind me, Satan." 



Once more, dear friends, whom are you 

 working for? Is it "me and my wife, my 

 son John and his wife, us four and no 

 more*?" God forbid. Are you working 

 might and main for the boys and girls in 

 your neighborhod? Are you working 

 might and main for these same boys and 

 girls of the state of Ohio in helping to 

 make "Ohio dry"? Are you working might 

 and main that the United States of America 

 just now may stand before the world with 

 an unsullied reputation? Are you working 

 might and main to see the American flag 

 that is now floating, I trust, over or about 

 your home, safely handed down to the chil- 

 dren yet unborn, a "stainless flag," that the 

 stars and stripes may be clean and pure be- 

 fore the great wide world? If not, suppose 

 you take that question that has beer follow- 

 ing me day and night and ask yourself the 

 simple question which that boy while work- 

 ing out in the rain put to me — "Well, who 

 are you working for, anyway?" And may 

 God give you grace to look up and say 

 honestly, something as I did nearly fifty 

 years ago, "I have been a busy man, friends, 

 all my life, as you may know. I have 

 worked at times fourteen and even sixteen 



*Toward'the close of the 12th chaptei- of Matthew 

 we are told that during Jesus' talk to the people 

 some one told him "his mother and his brethren" 

 were without and desired to speak with him. If I 

 remember correctly we are told elsewhere that they 

 feared he was wearing himself out with his inces- 

 sant labor. Without stopping his sermon he paused 

 long enough to say, "Who is my mother, and who 

 are my brethren ?" Then he stretched forth his 

 hand and waved it over the multitude saying, "Be- 

 hold my mother and my brethren ; far whosoever 

 shall do the will of my Father in heaven, the same 

 is my father and sister and brother." 



In the 10th chapter, toward the close, we read, 

 "He that loveth father or mother more than me is 

 not worthy of me; and he that loveth son or daugh- 

 ter more than me is not worthy of me. The.se 

 family ties are all right; but we should constantly 

 keep in mind that our Lord and Savior should 

 come first, and be held up above all and over alL 



