Mr. Grey was distressed at the lack of church-going in the little town
to which he had come as principal. A very religious man himself, he
never missed a service and never failed to find satisfaction and help in
one, no matter how unprofitable it might seem to others. When,
therefore, he observed that few of his high school pupils attended the
village church, he resolved to talk to them about it.
[Sidenote: Going to Church]
“I want to talk to you about a matter which is far more important to you
than your education,” he began “Education will fit you to do your part
well in this world, but religion teaches you about the world to come,
and is, therefore, more valuable to you, since eternity so far
transcends time. I am here to train your minds, but unless you go to
church your souls, which are far more important than your minds, have no
training at all. ‘What doth it profit a man, if he gain the whole world
and lose his own soul?’ Right now, while you’re young, you ought to be
forming church-going habits, even if you don’t care for church. You’ll
get used to it, and even come to like it in time, if you don’t at
first.”
There was more of the same sort of appeal, to all of which Mr. Grey’s
pupils listened politely, for they respected him highly, but none of
which seemed to swell the church attendance on Sunday. Although he
succeeded in other respects, in this one matter Mr. Grey had to
acknowledge that his efforts led nowhere.