large letters the two words, "It satisfies." It is the expensive
advertising propaganda of cigarette manufacturers, and the
"satisfaction" they are offering you is that brief and fleeting
sensation of being doped, so that "stern realities are changed to
pleasant seemings." It matters not to them that your health and morals
and money and life pay the cost, just so they sell their product.
They tell you cigarettes "satisfy." It is a preposterous fake. They
do not satisfy--they produce further craving--and they know that that
craving grows, until the habit is formed and their "satisfied" victim
becomes a hopeless slave--known as a cigarette fiend. There is only
one drawback for the cigarette manufacturer, his consumer is too short
lived; the cigarette devitalizes, pauperizes, and destroys. Like the
shock troops of the German army, they must be continually
recruited--recruited in numbers which almost stagger the imagination.
Did you know, fellows, that to keep up the consumption of cigarettes
at the present rate of manufacture there must be _two thousand_ new
smokers _daily_ to contract the habit? Nearly all these new smokers
must be boys, for men are not fooled into this practice so easily.
In a village I recently saw a large bill-board sign at the top of
which in bold letters were the words, WANTED: ONE MILLION RECRUITS!
Upon reading farther, I found it was the advertisement of a certain
brand of cigarettes, and the manufacturers boldly stated that the "one
million recruits" were wanted to join the large and growing army of
"delighted smokers" of their "richly blended" cigarette.
You don't have to fall for it. You do not _have_ to be one of the two
thousand daily new recruits to the cigarette manufacturer's army of
shock troops.
But the sly wolf comes in disguise, and in this case the disguise is
"satisfaction" offered. Once the wolf gets its victim it throws off
the disguise and stops talking about "satisfaction," but simply hands
the "coffin tacks" across the counter, and takes your money, health,
morals, success, and real satisfaction, in exchange, while you--well,
you proceed to drive the tacks, one by one.
Says the cigarette: "I am not much of a mathematician, perhaps, but I
can ADD nervous trouble; I can SUBTRACT from physical energy; I can
MULTIPLY aches and pains; I can DIVIDE the mental powers; I can take
INTEREST from work and I can DISCOUNT chances for success."
Dr. Heald, writing in _Life and Health_, says cigarettes are in many
cases the direct cause of cancer, blindness, deafness, heart disease
and dyspepsia. He further says they dwarf the body, benumb the brain
and weaken character.
That cigarettes "hinder the development of the body" is testified to
by the following physical directors of universities: Drs. Seaver and
Anderson, of Yale; Dr. Hitchcock, of Ambrose; Dr. Meylin, of
Columbia--as a result of repeated and careful measurements both of
smokers and non-smokers.
Judge Ben Lindsey says: "No pure-minded, honest, manly, brave boy will
smoke a cigarette."
"Home-Run" Baker says: "I do not smoke--never did. If any youngster
wants advice from one who doesn't mean to preach, there it is: Leave
cigarettes alone!"
Dr. Coffin, of the Whittier Reform School, says: "Of the 1,700 boys
who have been inmates of this institution, 1,670 were cigarette
smokers!"
_There_ is "satisfaction" for you; no, not for you, but only
satisfaction for the cigarette manufacturer and dealer, such
satisfaction as comes from ill-gotten gains, which after all cannot be
permanent.
Yes, "it satisfies"--the cigarette,--it satisfies--satisfies the
devil, and _he_ laughs, and _his_ is the only real long laugh that the
cigarette affords.
The cigarette-tree is known by its fruit. Cut it out.
_Read 1 Corinthians 9:24-27._
XXXI
THE BIG TASK
Say, fellows, some years ago France gave a man a large task. The man's
name was De Lesseps, and the task was to cut a ditch seventy-two feet
wide across Panama, to unite the two great oceans. Part of the cutting
was to be through hills two hundred and fifty feet high. It was a big
order, and although De Lesseps had the resources of a great republic
back of him, he failed to deliver. Aside from the gigantic feat of
digging and removing stone and earth, there were malaria and yellow
fever in the swamps, which killed thousands of labourers, and there
were theft and bribery in the financial management, which swallowed up
the money. These things were like giants invincible, blocking the way
against success.
Twenty-two years later the United States tackled that same job.
General Goethals was sent to Panama, and he put it through. Himself a
skillful engineer, confident of the success of the enterprise, and
with all the resources of Uncle Sam back of him, he set to work.
Surgeon-General Gorgas stamped out yellow fever and malaria by
draining the swamps and eliminating the mosquito, making the canal
zone practically a health resort.
Thus, with unlimited financial power, the latest discoveries of
science and invention, skill, and an ample supply of labour, coupled
with faith in the plan and an unconquerable spirit, the man cut
through, two oceans came together, and the world's commerce passed
back and forth in an endless stream.
It was a big order, nobly executed.
Yet, fellows, there was an infinitely bigger order given to those
twelve faithful, believing men, when our Lord calmly told them to go
out and do five things, namely: "Preach the Gospel, heal the sick,
cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, and cast out devils"--infinitely
bigger, in that it required infinitely more power. Jesus furnished the
power, the disciples furnished the faith and effort, and the five
things were done.
There was the malaria of sin in the way, and mountains of unbelief,
but they _cut through_, and the ocean of God's love, on one side, and
the ocean of man's need, on the other, were united!
Had you thought of it, fellows, that every Christian is challenged and
commissioned to do a big, hard task for Jesus? The task is big and
hard because it requires Almighty Power, but Jesus supplies the power.
Our part is simply to throw ourselves into the job. We hesitate
because we forget that God gives no task but that He sees us through,
and the bigger and harder the job the more abundant and free is the
supply of power. Our part is to _proceed_. He will see that we
succeed. We take a step at a time; we go by the blueprints while He
holds the future in His hand.
"A man went down to Panama,
Where many men had died,
To slip the sliding mountain
And lift the eternal tide.
A man went down to Panama,
And the mountain stood aside."
That's the poetry of it, fellows, but the practical prose is like
this:
A shovel.
A pick.
And dig.
And dig.
And dig.
_Read Matthew 17:14-21._
XXXII
POWER
Say, fellows, Marconi has succeeded in lighting an incandescent bulb
eight miles away without the use of a wire. It is the transmission of
power by wireless. Experiments have also been successful in
electrically guiding, starting, and stopping, without visible
connection, a torpedo or even a battleship from the land or from a
ship. The human voice has been projected through the ether from
Washington, D.C., to San Francisco, by wireless telephone.
These things are sufficiently marvellous to make us gasp--and yet how
far they fall short of the things which Jesus did, as recorded in the
eighth and ninth chapters of Matthew. The centurion's servant was sick
some distance away. It would have been miracle enough if Jesus had
gone to him, touched him, and healed him; but Jesus met a new brand of
faith in the centurion, and He more than matched it with a new sample
of His divine power.
He simply spoke, and the man in the distance was instantly made well.
In Hebrews 1:3 you will find this phrase: "By the word of his power."
It was that word which created the universe; by that word He had
created the centurion's servant; and now by that same wonder of
wonders He reaches through space and re-creates; He lifts the sick
man off his bed, twelve miles away (it might just as well have been
thousands of miles), puts him on his feet, sound and well, and serving
his master!
Now, fellows, you and I can link up to that power, and we only have to
apply for a connection; we need not make a journey to get it. When we
want light or fuel gas or a telephone in our home, we simply apply for
it; the company connects the house with the supply mains, and the
power comes within reach of our hands. But here is divine power
available, and we do not get it because we do not ask for it.
The centurion had unusual faith when he believed Jesus could command
the forces of nature and be obeyed, just as he [the centurion] could
command his household servants and be obeyed, and Jesus met that faith
in a marvellously unusual way. You and I are continually making
mistakes and failures and "messing things up." We want to be a success
in life. We want everything we undertake, in work or play, to "pan
out" well. But unseen forces are at work to hinder, and circumstances
intervene which we cannot control. Here's the magic secret: link up
with Jesus' power.
I asked a modest tennis player how he had managed to win out in the
finals against an opponent who was much his superior in skill and
training. He replied: "I'm afraid I took an 'unfair' advantage of
him--I prayed to win"; and he smiled. I heard of a famous quarterback
on one of the big 'varsity teams who linked his game with prayer and
got unusual power in the play. And why not?
But there is more to the secret. To make that "linking up" effective,
it must be accompanied by complete surrender of the life to Jesus'
authority. Power is unsafe unless divinely controlled--worse than
that, it is fatal.
Let's put the whole matter in Jesus' hands, and we'll have a great
time!
_Read John 4:46-54._
XXXIII
CHRISTMAS
Say, fellows, when it was announced in the Edison home seventy-three
years ago that a boy was born, and his name was Tom, it was a great
day for the world. It was a great day for you and for me--though we
were not yet born. Think a minute how it would be without the electric
light, now illuminating every city and town in the world--at the touch
of a button in millions of homes and halls and offices and factories
turning darkness into day. It is wonderful that the birth of one boy
named Tom should mean so much to the world. Yet who can say that had
Edison not been born none would have discovered the incandescent lamp?
It was another wonderful day when Mr. and Mrs. Watt announced the
birth of their son James--a wonderful day for the world and for you
and me. Think of how many ways steam power, through manufacture and
transportation, adds to our comfort and pleasure. Yet who can say that
no man would have discovered and harnessed this giant to serve mankind
if James Watt had not seen the light of day?
Still another wonderful day it was when the Bells announced the birth
of a boy whom they named Alexander Graham--a wonderful day for the
world and for you and me. How would we get on without the telephone?
Yet who can say that no one would have invented the telephone if
Alexander Graham Bell had not been born?
But, oh, fellows, the supreme birthday of all time was that which was
announced by the angels to the shepherds watching their flocks by
night in the Judean fields; it was that birthday signalled by a
glorious star to the Wise-men who came to Bethlehem with gifts of gold
and frankincense and myrrh. The birth of Jesus means more to the world
and to you and me than all the other birthdays combined. Those other
birthdays brought material blessings. The coming of Jesus into the
world not only made possible the highest enjoyment of all material
blessing, but--far more important--made possible the most wonderful
_spiritual_ blessing imaginable, and that is the only benefit which
can endure through life and eternity.
Neither can it be said that if Jesus had not been born some other
might have brought us salvation and life and joy, for "there is none
other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."
Edison was used of God to give us light to read by; Jesus gives us
light to live by and to die by.
Watt was used of God to give us steam power with which to manufacture
and to haul; Jesus gives us power to overcome evil which would destroy
us, body and soul, and that power is infinitely more necessary.
Dr. Bell was used of God to supply us with the means of speaking and
hearing over long distances; Jesus gives us connection with God and
shortens to whispering nearness and forgiveness the long distance of
separation between an outraged Heavenly Father and a disobedient
child.
_Read Luke 2:1-20._
XXXIV
AIMING HIGH
Say, fellows, on the train sometimes a fellow-passenger becomes
confidential and tells a story right out of his heart. One of this
kind came to me the other day.
There were two brothers--clever boys, keen, alert, ambitious. They
lived in a Christian home. God spoke very clearly to both of them,
calling them to lives of consecrated service for Him.
A---- decided to train for the ministry. B---- said the ministry was
poorly paid. He felt that A---- was needlessly committing himself to a
life of sacrifice. He shuddered at the prospect of a poor preacher's
hand to mouth existence. As for him, he would sell _his_ talents in
the world market, where brains and training counted for something and
brought a large price. Not for him the narrow life in a small corner,
when a young man of ambition and push could live and have a good time
in the big current. A fortune, a fame, and a life on the high road of
ease and pleasure were the things really worth striving for, and for
these he proposed to drive.
Twelve or fifteen years have passed since these decisions were formed.
A---- finished his seminary training, was licensed as a minister, and
accepted a little country charge. It was hard sledding, the salary was
small, and the work was more or less discouraging, but it was a clean
course and a clear road, and he buckled down, throwing into his work
all his resources.
B---- went to a large city and got a trial job as reporter on a big
daily. He had a mind for writing--a good vocabulary, and a flow of
language which gave promise of carrying him to the goal of his
ambition. He wrote verses in good style, and had had a number of poems
in his college magazine. B----'s program, you remember, put special
emphasis upon "having the good things of this life while you may."
Putting the emphasis there is likely to warp one's judgment as to what
are really "the good things," and so it proved in B----'s case, for he
spent his salary on luxuries, and for the temporary gratification of
his appetite and his ideas of "a good time."
He had to call on his father periodically for money to pay for dire
necessities. It was not surprising that B----'s jobs changed
frequently and he went from city to city--the general direction of his
fortunes, habits, and health being downward. Just now he has a job on
a little weekly paper in a village. His bare pittance in these parlous
days of H.C.L. hardly sustains his solitary bachelor existence. He is
a broken-hearted and discouraged man--not old in years, but with the
snap and vigour of young manhood gone. He is in debt, and there is
small chance of his getting out. He is practically a cipher in his
community. Life is one daily reminder of failure, and the relentless
bearing down of bitter disappointment.
But look at A----. He is the happy and enthusiastic pastor of a large
and growing congregation, which congregation is simply "daffy" about
him. They pay him a good salary, even as salaries go in these advanced
times, and he is absolutely free from financial care. He has a
commodious and comfortable home, presided over by his wife and blessed
with little children. His congregation recently made him an
anniversary present of a three thousand dollar car, replacing one they
had previously given him, of a cheaper make.
My passenger companion (who, by the way, is the father of these two
boys) said when he was at A----'s home recently, two dressed turkeys
were sent in by two families of his congregation on the same day. His
is one of the progressive churches of the state. It supports a number
of outpost missions, "manned" by the members of his congregation. He
is held in high esteem, not only in the community but in the state.
And with all this, he seems to be only upon the threshold of his
life-work, with a career of greatest usefulness laid out invitingly
before him. Endowed, like his brother, with unusual natural ability,
he is finding widest scope for the free play of all his powers; and
these powers being fully consecrated, are illuminated and energized by
the very-power of God.
Now, fellows, which of these two was wise? Which would you rather be?
Truly God means what He says when He tells you and me to-day: "Seek ye
first the Kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things
shall be added unto you"!
_Read Matthew 6:25-34._
XXXV
WAITING
Say, fellows, are you "game" to consider a tough little word in the
language to-day? All right, brace up, for it is one of the hardest
things a fellow has to tackle, and the main reason _why_ it is hard is
that you can't tackle it, but have to wait.
There! I have said it--the word is W-A-I-T.
The boys who went to France say they didn't so much mind "going over
the top" as they did the sometimes long waiting and suspense which
preceded.
In every fellow's boyhood days there are necessary periods of waiting;
not idle waiting, mind you. The "prodigal son" couldn't stand it,
you remember. "Dad, give me what is coming to me, and let me get
away from the humdrum life of the farm. I want to see life!" and he
picked his fruit green and ate it. That poor fellow got an awful
stomach-ache--and it was the worse ache of _emptiness_ and not of
fullness!
But maybe you are wondering what all this has to do with these three
parables of the kingdom spoken by our Lord. Just this: they are "wait"
parables. The servants of the man who had sowed wheat in his field,
said: "Master, look! tares are coming up with the wheat--what shall we
do?" Their master said, "Wait." Then when the harvest ripened and the
thing could be safely handled without injuring the wheat, the tares
were separated and destroyed. A fellow struggling along, trying to do
right, finding it up-hill work and the denial of many so-called
pleasures, sees another fellow running a loose and reckless program,
doing all the forbidden things, yet without injury apparently.
It looks as though one can disobey all the rules, have a fine time,
and suffer no setbacks. What's the use stinting and pinching oneself
into a straight and narrow track when those out on the broad way are
having all the life--and getting away with it? Well, bo, you just
_wait_. It looked awful gloomy for the Allies all through those trench
waiting months of 1915 to 1918; but in 1918 Chateau-Thierry popped
through. The strength of an ally had been developing, and there
followed in rapid succession the victories of Belleau Wood, the
Argonne, and St. Mihiel--and Right came into its own.
Remember, the waiting time of a boy's life is that time of silent
growing of the moral fiber, the character, and at the proper moment he
will rise in the full strength of a well-rounded manhood and take his
rightful place in the world of things, while tares which were ever so
flourishing go to the dump heap and the trash burning.
The mustard seed was very small, lying there in the ground. It had to
_wait_. Even when it came up and looked about, it seemed there was
hardly a chance for so fragile a stem, but it _waited_, and while it
waited, it _grew_. After a while it became a full-grown bush, and the
birds of the air came and lodged in it. There is a legend about trees
longing for birds to come to their branches, some trees growing
lonesome or jealous because other trees seemed to be more inviting to
the birds. That is much like human nature. We naturally like to be
sought out. "Wait" is the watchword; keep sweet and hustle, and soon
enough our branches will reach high and spread.
The woman put the yeast in the dough, then set it by to _wait_. What a
mistake it would have been to try to cook it at once; the bread would
have been almost as heavy as lead, and totally unfit to eat. But while
she waited, the leaven _worked_--and so while you patiently wait,
doing God's will as best you know how, _God works_, and what a mighty
Worker is He! Then, as you grow, He gives you a part to do alongside
with Him; He and you work together.
Let's not be in too big a hurry for the Eats, fellows; let's work and
wait--and then how good the Reward will taste.
That is the style of the kingdom of heaven.
_Read Matthew 13:24-43._
XXXVI
ACTION
Say, fellows, there come times when a fellow must act, and act
promptly, or lose his chance to clinch a good thing. In the preceding
talk our key-word was "Wait." To-day it is a shorter, quicker, sharper
word, and one that a boy likes better. A-c-t--that's it. _There_ is
movement,--something doing. The word is all pep, touch and go! We like
it, don't we?
When he was twelve years old, Thomas Edison was a newsbutch on a road
running out of Detroit. As the train left Detroit one morning, Edison,
as usual, went back into the first-class coach with the morning
papers. Near the front sat two young fellows, acting very gay. They
hailed everybody who passed in the aisle, and they hallooed out the
window at folks and objects as the train rolled along. They were on a
lark, and wanted everybody to know it.
"Morning papers!" called out Edison.
"How much are they worth?" sang out one of the jolly fellows.
"Five cents," said Edison.
"Oh, how much for the whole bunch?" retorted the young man.
"Why," said the newsbutch looking a little surprised, "there are
forty--they're worth two dollars."
"We'll take 'em," said the noisy passenger, and whipping out two
crisp one-dollar bills, took the papers from Edison and handed them to
his companion, who threw the entire bunch out of the train window.
Evidently these young men had plenty of money to spend, and were
inclined to make a sensation and attract attention.
Edison quickly took in the situation. "Phew," said he to himself,
"here is a chance for real business," and he hurried forward to the
"baggage" where his supply trunk was stored. He quickly returned with
an armful of magazines, some rather out of date.
"How much are they worth?" promptly inquired the young spendthrifts.
"Twenty-five cents apiece, or $5.50 for the pile."
"Take 'em," said the spokesman, and paying the money he and his
companion dumped the magazines out of the window.
Back to the "baggage" went Edison, and returned with his basket of
fruit, candy, chewing-gum, and other things. Again the transaction,
and goods, basket, and all went through the window.
Then Edison rushed once more to the "baggage." He piled everything he
could lay any claim to into his supply box, some things old, some new,
some unsalable, dragged the box through the train, crossing its open
platforms between coaches with some difficulty, and at last drew up
nearly breathless before these reckless buyers. Quickly he pulled off
his coat, hat, collar, tie, and shoes, and piled them on top of the
box and announced: "Everything I've got is for sale!" The price was
paid, and the young men directed their servant, who was near by, to
drag the box to the back of the coach and throw it out, which order
was obeyed.
The newsbutch with a chuckle went forward to tell his friend the
baggage man about his "streak of luck," while he fondly fingered a fat
little roll of bills down deep in his trousers. His entire stock in
trade had been transmuted into the coin of the realm, his profits were
secure, his losses were nil. He had found a good thing, he had
recognized an opportunity, and he had let no grass grow under his feet
while he laid hold upon it and reaped the golden harvest.
Fellows, there is something like that, only far better, offering to
you this moment. It is the _treasure_--not of perishable value like
gold, but of eternal value. Jesus Christ is offering to take you into
business with Him and let you deal with values so much finer and
higher than anything else that the surprise and joy of them will last
through all eternity.
_Read Matthew 13:44-52._
XXXVII
A CORONATION
Say, fellows: This is David's big day. Let's enjoy it with him. Let's
get in the crowd gathering at Hebron and see a coronation.
And what a crowd! About three hundred and forty-four thousand mighty
men of war--all the tribes of Israel were represented there that
day--and they came over the hills of Judah from north and east and
south to put a crown on David which would make him king of all Israel.
For many years David had waited for this day. At the death of Saul,
two tribes, Judah and Benjamin, had proclaimed him king, but ten of
the tribes had crowned Saul's son, Ishbosheth, as his father's
successor. So David waited seven and a half years longer, and then the
whole kingdom came under his rule.