Part 10

[Sidenote: The rich man and Lazarus.]

In the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, Lazarus lies sick and hungry at the door of the Rich Man who only the crumbs that fall from the rich man's table. The Rich Man failed to recognize his opportunity; and when these two passed beyond, Lazarus was taken into the bosom of Abraham, while the Rich Man was consigned to the torments of everlasting punishment.

[Sidenote: Wanted: a chance.]

The story of the Rich Man and Lazarus must cause each one of us to reflect, that, undoubtedly, he has himself many opportunities lying unnoticed at his door. Indeed, while nearly every boy is prone to say when he sees a successful man, "If only I had his chance," the fact remains that he probably had as good a chance as the successful man but failed to make the most of it. Jesus understood well the weakness in men that makes for failure, both temporal and spiritual, and as was his wont illustrated his point by means of a significant parable.

[Sidenote: The parable of the talents.]

"The kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey. Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five {184} talents. And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money.

"After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou has been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them. His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

"Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: and I was afraid, and went and hid my talent in the earth: lo, here thou hast that is thine. His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. For unto everyone that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from {185} him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

[Sidenote: A general law.]

In this parable, Jesus has stated a far-reaching law of truth. It applies to every boy and to every girl, to every man and to every woman. And it operates in every field of endeavor--in the temporal world, in the mental world, in the spiritual world. Perhaps everyone knows someone else who is waiting for an opportunity. Perhaps, you yourselves, like the snail in Hans Christian Andersen's tale of "The Snail and the Rose Bush," think that you have a great deal in you, and say to yourselves as did the snail, "Wait till my time comes, I shall do a great deal more than to yield roses, or to bear nuts, or to give milk as cows do." But in thinking so and saying so you forget the eternal truth taught by Jesus in the parable of the talents. The big opportunity can come only if every day, like the rose bush, you make the most of that day's chance, and contribute the roses and the fragrance of your life to the world.

[Sidenote: The water boy.]

Let us consider a concrete case. Not so very long ago, there was employed in one of the great American steel works, a young boy to carry water. You all know what that means. And it must be admitted that there is but small opportunity in the humble calling of water-carrier. His master had entrusted the boy with a single talent. But as the master went the rounds of inspection, he observed that the water boy was always on the job. No matter how early the master came, the boy was there {186} before him; no matter how late the master stayed, the boy stayed later than he. He worked, he observed, he studied; he was making his talent grow. By and by, a vacancy occurred higher up. The master did not hesitate. He called to him the water boy, and gave to him the work of greater responsibility. That was but the beginning. Today the water boy is one of the most highly honored and trusted men in the great steel industry of America. No place, you see, is so humble but that it has its own opportunity for service. And that opportunity improved, there lie always greater chances ahead. That opportunity neglected, failure only can follow. One can become ruler of many things only if one has proved oneself faithful in few.

[Sidenote: Intellectual endeavor.]

Examples might be multiplied to prove the truth of the law taught by Jesus. When boys and girls go to school, it is those who make the most of that opportunity that grow in intelligence and power. They progress steadily until they become leaders of men. Knowledge is added to knowledge, until they master the field in which they are working. On the other hand, those who neglect the opportunity afforded by school attendance, become relatively more and more ignorant. The world forges ahead in knowledge and wisdom. Their industrious associates go forward by strides. But they, themselves, lag ever farther and farther behind. Verily, to him who hath is given, until he possesses in abundance; whereas from him who hath not, is taken even that he had.

[Sidenote: Spiritual growth.]

But it was not to temporal and mental things only that Jesus meant to apply the law illustrated in the {187} parable of the talents. Perhaps His chief purpose was to apply it to the spiritual life. There, as in the physical life, one must serve, and do one's utmost, in whatever calling God may have placed one. According to one's courage and faithfulness will one's reward be. And that reward, you must note, does not consist of a commission in money. It consists of a larger responsibility, a larger opportunity to serve, a place of greater honor in the kingdom of God. Such a reward--whether in the physical or in the spiritual life--is after all the only reward worth while.

[Sidenote: The lesson applied.]

Let us grapple to our souls, then, the lesson of this parable. The lasting reward of effort of any kind is not the material gain derived therefrom, but the effect upon one's character--ability developed to do bigger and nobler things; the confidence inspired to carry larger trusts. So, two of the servants of the lord developed in efficiency and ability to do. The other feared. He feared failure--he dared not attempt--he dreaded to venture. His ability, such as it was, became paralyzed. As a result he inspired no confidence--nay, he lost the confidence his lord had reposed in him. Moreover, through his failure to make use of his little opportunity, the slothful servant lost confidence in himself, and thereby squandered his native power to achieve, however small it may have been.

God requires of all of us that we shall serve Him diligently. And service of Godly kind means that we give ourselves wholly to the Lord, all that we have and all that we are. Time, and means, and life, are His, {188} and every word, every thought, every act, should be prompted by loyalty to God and His kingdom. Then are we profitable servants; and then are we multiplying the talents God has entrusted to our care. "Thou shalt not idle away thy time," said Jesus in our own dispensation, "neither shalt thou bury thy talent that it may not be known."

THE REFERENCES

Matt. 25:14-30. Doc. and Cov. 60:13.

THE QUESTIONS

1. What is meant by a "chance?"

2. How much smaller opportunity had the servant with one talent than the servant with five?

3. What does the story of the water-boy illustrate?

4. How does the parable of the talents apply to the school life of boys and girls?

5. How does the parable apply to one's spiritual life?

6. What is man's duty to God?

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{190} PICTURE: THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT, Hofmann

{191}

XXV

THINK RIGHT

[Sidenote: The great commandment.]

Once when a lawyer asked Him temptingly which is the great commandment in the law, Jesus answered unhesitatingly, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it. Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." Divinely inspired, Jesus returned a very wise answer. The tempter was unable to catch Him. And now we all understand that answer is in very truth the sum of the law and the prophets. For if a man truly loves God, and also loves his neighbor as himself, there is no offense he will--or can--commit. All sin consists of evil done to oneself, or to one's neighbor, or to one's God. True love such as Jesus defined makes sin impossible.

[Sidenote: The beatitudes.]

At another time, when a great multitude followed Him from almost every part of the Holy Land, Jesus went up into a mountain and preached to the disciples that assembled near Him. It was at this time that He uttered the wonderful sayings commonly known as the Beatitudes. In these rich and beautiful sayings, Jesus describes the moral character that He requires in those who are to constitute His kingdom. In other words, everyone who would belong in full faith and fellowship to the kingdom of God must possess the qualities here named.

{192} "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

"Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

"Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

"Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

"Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

"Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

"Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

"Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

"Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you."

[Sidenote: A high ideal of life.]

Here, indeed, is an ideal toward which to train one's life. To be poor in spirit, to mourn over imperfection, to be meek, to hunger and thirst after righteousness, to be merciful, to be pure in heart, to make peace amongst the quarrelsome, to be strong in persecution for righteousness' sake, to rejoice when men do us evil wrongfully, for Jesus's sake--these are goals worth while. Every man should keep the beatitudes in mind, and should try so to order his life that he may not fail to obtain {193} any one of the promises associated with a good, moral life.

[Sidenote: The great beatitude.]

Yet, as one reads the beatitudes, one wonders what the great Master would answer if someone should ask Him--as did the lawyer about the commandments--which is the great beatitude. As you read them over, do you feel that any one is greater than the rest? Do you feel that the attaining of a certain one of them would comprehend the rest? Of course, we may not assume to say what Jesus would answer. But let us think the beatitudes over ourselves and try to pick out one very important one; one that expresses a moral quality the attainment of which will at least help in the attainment of all the rest; one that expresses a moral quality more often trampled under foot than any other; one that expresses a moral quality the neglect of which leads always to iniquity.

[Sidenote: The pure in heart.]

Have you found it? The sixth saying reads thus: "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God." Here is a condition with a promise indeed! To see God! To associate with Him! And what must one be to see God? One must be pure in heart. When we remember that in the Jewish belief the heart was the seat of thought and intelligence, then we understand this saying better. To be pure in heart is to be pure in thought, to be pure in mind. To be pure in heart is to entertain no evil thought, to hold no impure desire. To be pure in heart is to weed out of the mind every evil or sinful suggestion, and to plant instead thoughts of righteousness. The wise man of old appreciated the full value {194} of purity of heart. Said he, As a man "thinketh in his heart so is he." And to the Prophet Joseph Smith Jesus said, "Let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly, then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God, and the doctrine of the Priesthood shall distill upon thy soul as the dews from heaven." May we not hope, then, since God is a God of purity, that we have found here the great, the comprehensive beatitude? If one is truly pure in heart, one can not but possess the other moral virtues also.

[Sidenote: Things that defile.]

Jesus was very forceful in His teaching of the necessity of purity of heart. At one time, He called the people to Him and taught them thus: "Hearken unto me every one of you, and understand. There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him, can defile him: But the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man. If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.

"And when He was entered into the house from the people. His disciples asked Him concerning the parable. And He saith unto them. Are ye so without understanding also? Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him; because it entereth not into his heart, . . . . And He said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye (greed), blasphemy, pride, foolishness: all {195} these evil things come from within, and defile the man."

[Sidenote: Vulgarity in thought, word and deed.]

It is very apparent, then, that vulgar stories of the kind that boys often tell each other on street corners, are begotten of an impure mind. The telling of vulgar, or "smutty" jokes, the reading of lascivious literature, the taking delight in obscene pictures and suggestive plays, the practising of secret abuses--all these are born of an evil mind. Surely, it must be plain to every boy and girl that those who indulge such thoughts and practices of evil are not pure in heart. They shall not see God.

[Sidenote: The good tree and the corrupt.]

Teaching again on the same subject, Jesus said at another time, "A good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. For every tree is known by his own fruit: for of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart, bringeth forth that which is good, and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart, bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh."

[Sidenote: Plain teaching.]

Has ever any man taught more plainly? The kingdom of God is to be made up of men and women rich in moral virtues. And the chief of those virtues is purity of heart. The vulgar, the profane, the lascivious, and all those who foster evil thoughts will find no place near God. Only the pure in heart shall see Him. Remember, then, the great commandment. Remember the great {196} beatitude. Remember that as a man thinketh in heart so is he. Therefore, think right.

THE REFERENCES

Matt. 22:34-40. Doc. and Cov. 121:45.

Matt. 5:1-13. Mark 7:14-24.

Prov. 23:7. Luke 6:43-45.

THE QUESTIONS

1. What is the great commandment in the law?

2. Show that the answer of Jesus does really cover the law and the prophets.

3. What are the beatitudes?

4. What kind of people do they describe?

5. Which is the great beatitude?

6. Show how this beatitude may possibly cover all the rest.

7. What did Jesus teach of things that defile?

8. How may a tree be known?

9. Apply these teachings to your own lives.

10. Explain the saying, As a man thinketh in his heart so is he.

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XXVI

THE UGLINESS OF ANGER

[Sidenote: The story of Cain.]

There is no more pitifully tragic story in all the world than that of Cain, the fratricide. Cain was the first son of Adam and Eve of whom the Scriptures make specific mention. Cain was a tiller of the soil. The riches of the earth were his, and the fulness thereof. With joyful heart, he might have plowed and tilled and garnered, and, at the last, ended a well-spent life in ease and comfort; with praise and thanksgiving, he might have worshipped God, acknowledging gifts already bestowed, and receiving daily more as he pursued his honest toil; with contented mind, he might have mingled with his brothers and sisters, and given unstintingly of his prosperous help in the establishing of man's dominion on earth. But Cain was of a jealous and envious disposition. His mind was darkened with thoughts of avarice and greed and hatred of others who prospered in the new world.

[Sidenote: The occupation of Abel.]

Cain had a brother named Abel. He was the second son of Adam and Eve mentioned by name in the Scriptures. Abel was a shepherd, a tender of flocks. Abel prospered, too, in his occupation. True, Abel was not so independent of his fellows as was his brother Cain, the tiller of the soil. Abel's calling produced him only meat to eat and wool to wear. He grew no fruits, nor grains, nor vegetables, nor other foods in variety produced by the soil. But Abel was happy and contented. He was unselfish. He loved his brothers and sisters, {198} and rejoiced in their successes. He loved God. And as he tended his flocks, Abel worshipped God who had placed his father and mother, and their children, upon the earth to subdue it.

[Sidenote: The brothers' sacrifices.]

One day Cain and Abel carried sacrifices to offer to the Lord. Cain brought grudgingly of the fruits of the field. Abel brought of the firstlings of his flock and the fat thereof without thought of withholding anything from the Lord. When the sacrifices were presented, "the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering: but unto Cain and to his offering He had not respect." Now, this difference was not because Abel's offering was better or more desirable than Cain's. The Lord pays not respect to worldly things. The widow's mite is as acceptable to Him as the rich man's millions, if offered in the spirit of truth. For it is the spirit in which a sacrifice is made that counts with the Lord. And Cain did not come in the spirit of love, and thanksgiving, and worship. He gave grudgingly. Perhaps, even, he did not give of the best of his crops. Therefore the Lord did not accept his offering.

[Sidenote: The anger of Cain.]

Then, when he saw that his own offering was rejected, while Abel's was accepted, Cain became filled with anger, and his countenance fell. The Lord in His mercy spoke to Cain, and declared to him one of the great fundamental truths of life. "Why art thou wroth?" asked the Lord, "and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well thou shalt be accepted. And if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door, and Satan desireth to have thee; and except thou shalt hearken unto my {199} commandments, I will deliver thee up, and it shall be unto thee according to his desire." But the anger and the envy of Cain were not appeased.

[Sidenote: The murder of Abel.]

Not long thereafter, Cain and Abel were together in the field. Cain had brooded over the incident of the offerings. His anger had waxed hot, till it was ready to burst into furious flame. Satan had gained possession of his mind, had filled him with envy, and had inspired him to hate his brother. So, as he talked with his brother in the field, Cain suddenly arose in ungovernable rage and struck his brother down and killed him. It was a day of horror in man's history. It was a day of blackness and blood. Cain was a brother-murderer--a fratricide. And it had come about because he had yielded to anger and envy and hate. Satan had gained possession utterly of his soul. Therefore, Cain was cursed by the Lord and cast out from His presence. In the story of Cain is illustrated wonderfully the truth of the saying of the Wise Man of Israel: "Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before envy?"

[Sidenote: The lesson at home.]

The story of Cain is a story of long ago. But we all know many instances of the ugliness of anger in our own day. In every prison house in the world are confined men who have committed crime in fits of anger. "An angry man stirreth up strife, and a furious man aboundeth in transgression," said the Man of Wisdom. When a man is angry, he loses control of the good that is in him. He returns to the state of the beast. He speaks words of which afterward he is ashamed. He does things for which afterward he sorrows. Anger is an {200} infernal poison, administered by the father of lies himself, which courses through the blood, makes the heart pound, and creates delirium in the mind. There are many ugly sights in the world; but there is perhaps none uglier, more repulsive, than a man furiously angry. Therefore is it said, "Make no friendship with an angry man and with a furious man thou shalt not go: lest thou learn his ways, and get a snare to thy soul."

[Sidenote: The power of the mind.]

Everyone knows how unpleasant is the company of a quarrelsome boy, or of a quarrelsome girl. The best of sport and the choicest of company can be spoiled by one angry countenance. The truth taught in the preceding lesson may here be emphasized. "As a man thinketh in his heart so is he." According to your habits of thought, you are agreeable or disagreeable. According to your habits of thought, you find quarrel in a straw, or peace and serenity in turmoil. According to your habits of thought you may become a strife-breeder or a peacemaker. "A wrathful man stirreth up strife: but he that is slow to anger appeaseth anger." And since it rests with yourself, is it not deplorable that you should follow in the footsteps of Cain?

"The human will, that force unseen, The offspring of a deathless Soul, Can hew a way to any goal, Though walls of granite intervene."

As a boy wills to be pleasant and cheerful, or to be disagreeable and quarrelsome, so then will he be. We know now that we may all be masters of ourselves, and hewers of our own fates.

{201} All these things Jesus taught plainly. Said He, "Ye have heard it said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: but I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.