_TWO OPPOSITES_
"If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him."
--1 JOHN ii. 13-17.
No man can love two opposites any more than he can walk in contrary
directions at the same time. No man can at once be mean and magnanimous,
chivalrous and selfish. We cannot at the same moment dress appropriately
for the arctic regions and the tropics. And we cannot wear the habits of
the world and the garments of salvation. When we try to do it the result
is a wretched and miserable compromise. I have seen a shopkeeper on the
Sabbath day put up one shutter, out of presumed respect for the Holy Lord,
and behind the shutter continue all the business of the world! That one
shutter is typical of all the religion that is left when a man "loves the
world" and delights in its prizes and crowns. His religion is a bit of
idle ritual which is an offence unto God!
So I must make my choice. Shall I travel north or south? Which of the two
opposites shall I love--God or the world? Whichever love I choose will
drive out and quench the other. And thus if I choose the love of God it
will destroy every worldly passion, and the river of my affections and
desires will be like "the river of water of life, clear as crystal."