ON BEING USEFUL.
Can you find any thing, in all the works of Nature, which is not made
for some use? The cow gives milk, the ox labors in the field, the sheep
furnishes wool for clothing, and all of them provide us with meat. The
horse and the dog are the servants of man. Every animal,--every little
insect,--has its place, and its work to perform, carrying out the great
design of its Creator. And so it is with the inanimate creation. The
earth yields its products for the use of man and beast; and the sun,
and the air, and the clouds, (each in turn,) help forward the work.
And to how many thousand uses do we put the noble, stately tree! It
furnishes houses for us to live in, furniture for our convenience, fuel
to make us warm, ships to sail in, and to bring us the productions of
other lands. It yields us fruit for food, and to gratify our taste. And
so you may go through all the variety of animal and vegetable life, and
you will find every thing designed for some use. And, though there may
be some things of the use of which you are ignorant, yet you will find
every thing made with such evidence of design, that you cannot help
thinking it must have been intended for some use.
Now, if every thing in creation is designed for some use, surely you
ought not to think of being useless, or of living for nothing. God made
you to be useful; and, to answer the end of your being, you must begin
early to learn to be useful. “But how can I be useful?” you may ask.
“I wish to be useful. I am anxious to be qualified to fill some useful
station in life,--to be a missionary or a teacher, or in some other way
to do good. But I do not see what good I can do now.” Though you may
not say this in so many words, yet I have no doubt that such thoughts
may often have passed through your mind. Many people long to be useful,
as they suppose, but think they must be in some other situation, to
afford them the opportunity. This is a great mistake. God, who made all
creatures, has put every one in the right place. In the place where God
has put you, there you may find some useful thing to do. Do you ask me
what useful thing you can do? You may find a hundred opportunities for
doing good, and being useful, every day, if you watch for them. You
can be useful in assisting your mother; you can be useful in helping
your brothers and sisters; you can be useful in school, by supporting
the authority of your teacher, and by being kind and helpful to your
playmates. If you make it the great aim of your life to be useful, you
will never lack opportunities.
I have seen young persons, who would take great delight in mere play or
amusement; but the moment they were directed to do any thing useful,
they would be displeased. Now, I do not object to amusement, in its
proper place; for a suitable degree of amusement is useful to the
health. But pleasure alone is a small object to live for; and if you
attempt to live only to be amused, you will soon run the whole round
of pleasure, and become tired of it all. But if you make it your great
object to be useful, and seek your chief pleasure therein, you will
engage in occasional amusement with a double relish. No one can be
happy who is not useful. Pleasure soon satiates. One amusement soon
_grows gray_, and another is sought; till, at length, they all become
tasteless and insipid.
Let it be your object, then, every day of your life, to be useful
to yourself and others. In the morning, ask yourself, “What useful
things can I do to-day? What can I do that will be a lasting benefit
to myself? How can I make myself useful in the family? What can I do
for my father or mother? What for my brothers or sisters? And what
disinterested act can I perform for the benefit of those who have no
claim upon me?” Thus you will cultivate useful habits and benevolent
feelings. And you will find a rich return into your own bosom. By
making yourself useful to every body, you will find every one making
a return of your kindness. You will secure their friendship and good
will, as well as their bounty. You will find it, then, both for your
interest and happiness to BE USEFUL.