1903 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



1017 



from Gleanings, and I hope the Lord will spare 

 3'Oiir life to \ears of usefulness. 



Athens, Out , Cm R M. Hkown. 



You will observe that the dear brother 

 who writes the above thinks I am in dang-er 

 of conprotnisifti; with evil. Now, friends, 

 as I see it, we absolutely niiisf put a com- 

 mon-sense interpretation on (iod's command 

 to remember the sabbath day to keep it holy. 

 Let me g^ive you an illustration. 



Our postortice at the cabin in the woods 

 is t'.vo miles from our home. The meeting- 

 house where we.hold our Sunday-school is 

 one mile from home. During the past sum- 

 mer a postal box was set up right close to 

 the church. It is the nearest place for us 

 to mail our letters. Is there any thing 

 wrong in^taking the letters when we go to 

 Sunday-school and dropping thein in the 

 letter-box? Now, there may be some among 

 the readers of Glkanings who will say we 

 should not go near the letter-box on Sun- 

 day, not even to drop in a letter. Better go 

 back home and travel a mile and back over 

 the hills Monday morning. Perhaps a./ew 

 will say this — may be none at all. In the 

 above I have supposed, of course, that the 

 cards and letters were written on Saturday 

 and mailed on Sunday'. I very rarely write 

 to anybody on Sunday, not even to iny own 

 brothers and sisters. Perhaps I am more 

 conscientious in this than the most of you. 

 Mrs. Root docs not feel about it as I do, and 

 she often writes long letters to her absent 

 children Sunday afternoon. I do not think 

 she will mind my telling it, because so 

 many other good Chiistian people do the 

 same thing. But writing letters is a great 

 part of my daily work on week days. I try 

 not to ivurk on Sunday if I can help it. 

 Well, once last fall the man who owns the 

 thrashing-machine said he was ready for 

 me to draw in my buckwheat. I had two 

 men and two teams engaged to start the 

 work early Monday morning. Saturday 

 night, after dark, he sent his little boy to 

 say he could not do our thrashing at the 

 time we had planned. Farmers get up ear- 

 ly in that region, even before daylight, and 

 the man would be along with his team a 

 little after daylight, and he would have to 

 go back home again when he was greatly 

 crowded unless I got a message to him. 

 Should I go over Sunday evening and tell 

 him of the change in arrangements, or 

 should I get up Monday morning, before 

 daylight, and g^o by the light of a lantern? 

 There was no other way. I could send 

 word by the chiloren at Sunday-school con- 

 cerning- the different arrangements about 

 thrashing; but that would be "doing busi- 

 ness " on Sunday. 



At another time, a postal card was 

 brought to me at Sunday school, that re- 

 quired an answer by the very first mail that 

 went out. Someb. idy else w<iiild be greatly 

 inconvenienced unless I got that postal card 

 out. Should I vvritt; on a postal card that 

 I happened to have in my pocket, and drop 

 it in the letter box. or should I make a trip 

 of a mile early Monday morning? I can 



not remember exactly now just how I man- 

 aged to avoid doing even a very little busi- 

 ness on Sunday to save time and annoyance 

 to others besides myself on a week day. 

 My impression is I got up before daylight 

 in the one case, and walked two miles 

 through the woods, with a lantern, rather 

 than do business on Sunday. In the other 

 I think I studied up some way to avoid 

 writing a postal card and mailing it on 

 Sunday. 



In the above instances some of you will 

 say I was foolish for being so conscientious. 

 There are others who may say, and with 

 good reason, that I was on the safe side in 

 avoiding even the appearance of evil by way 

 of transacting business on God's holy day. 

 But the point before us is not whether J did 

 right or wrong. I am of no more conse- 

 quence than the rest of the world, unless, 

 indeed, we might say that in the position 

 of a Christian writer I should be very care- 

 ful about the example I set and the prece- 

 dent I make. May God help me to keep 

 this in mind. The main point to us all, as 

 citizens of this present age, as citizens of 

 this Christian nation, is that God may help 

 us all to use the best coiiunon sense he has 

 given us in deciding just where our duty 

 lies. 



Years ago I read a little f.ible about some 

 good people who were trying to move their 

 church. They were working with crow- 

 bars and blocks, and toiling and sweating. 

 Some bystander asked them why they were 

 moving the church. The reply was, 

 " There is a dead snake back if it. '■ When 

 he suggested it would be much cheaper to 

 move the snake, even if it was a rather re- 

 pulsive job, than to move a heavy meeting- 

 house, they all stopped work and acknowl- 

 edged that his way would accomplish all 

 that was desired, but they "hadn't thought 

 of it." Now, it seems to me that some of 

 the seventh-day friends are very much like 

 the poor people who were going to change 

 the location of their meeting-house. My 

 opinion is that no one can lay down cast- 

 iron rules for observing- the sabbath. I am 

 satisfied it is God's wish that the whole 

 wide world should cease, as far as possi- 

 ble, from week-day traffic. We should es- 

 pecially try to avoid going ahead with any 

 thing in the line of personal gain. Jesus 

 told us repeatedly that " it is lawful to do 

 well " on the sabbath. If our neighbors 

 are sick or in trouble, it is always in order 

 to let our own worries and cares go and 

 help those neighbors. If they lack food or 

 clothing or medicine or a nurse, or the ser- 

 vices of a physician, get them for them. If 

 you feel like getting up in the morning and 

 looking after the children in your neighbor- 

 hood who will probably go to Sunday-school 

 if invited, I believe that God is pleased to 

 have us do such work, even though we may 

 feel very tired before the Sunday-school is 

 over. If jou have some letters that should 

 be posted, and you are going past the post- 

 office or postal box, take them along. I 

 would not, however, put ofP going to the 



