CHRISTIANITY INTERPRETED

Matamata Record, Volume XIX, Issue 1789, 7 December 1936, Page 3

CHRISTIANITY INTERPRETED

BURNT OFFERINGS Sermon by Rev. H. Daniel The following sermon was delivered by the Rev. H. Daniel in the Matamata Methodist Church recently, on the text: —“ Take heed to thyself that thou offer not thy burnt offerings in every place that thou seest: but in the place that the Lord thy God shall choose” (Deutoronomy, v. 12 v. 13 and 14). “I am less concerned with the local circumstances of this text than with the deeper , lessons that lie beneath the letter of the Scripture. The meaning’ is that the local sanctuaries, so liable to abuse, were to be abolished in favour of one central sanctuary. They were a primitive people, the religious sense was very undeveloped; they alone of all peoples were monotheistic, and the pressure of other nations upon them tended to make them idolatrous in worship. “We are not idolaters to-day in the sense that these people were; there is little danger of that. We need no central sanctuary. We recognise that God is a spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in Truth. What then is the lesson for us? It means reserve yourself, discriminate in your worship. In the place that the Lord thy God shall choose.’ That is to say, keep yourself for the highest. Bo not squander yourself, but before the shrine of the Lord your God offer all your love and" adoration. Rosy Side of Life “ This is the principle' I waftt to enforce to-niglit. Every rosy side of life has its eager priests, its altars, its worshipping crowds. In the place the Lord thy God shall choose. In other words, make your worship to be worthy of yourself; don’t spread yoursef on trifles, give your best for the sake of the best, seek after the best things.

I “ I would, top, that we take no narrow or niggardly interpretation of what are the best things. Paul sums them up thus: ‘ Whatsoever things are true, honest, just, pure, , lovely, of good report, >if there be any virtue, any praise, think on these things.’ I would include all the joys of intellectual pursuits, physical discipline, travel, music and. nooks. All these are part of our Christian heritage that we are to use to sweeten and - gladden our lives. ‘ All things, meat, drink, clothing, says iGhrist, shall be added unto you.’ Surely these greater gifts that minister to the higher life are included also. Yes, tfye command is exceedingly broad, yet it is at our peril that we disobey, and the penalty is writ large in countless lives. . “ Let me paint a familiar picture: Here is a man of middle age, well educated, cultured and trained, and had every advantage; and yet his life is full of unfulfilled prophecy.

He gets nowhere, and fails in everything he touches. He is carving cherry stones when he should be removing mountains. To change the figure, he is for all the world like using a steam hammer to crack nuts. He is not bad, not corrupt, his life is a collosall blunder, and when the end comes, God as well as man writes over it the words: ‘Thou fool.’ What is the explanation? He has failed to discriminate. He has squandered his life on trifles, has worked with the muckrake instead of reaching after a crown, has worshipped at chance altars. I think the principle is now clear. Let me apply it: How does it apply to Reading? “It means read nothing but the best books. Does somebody say, ‘I

} have little time for reading.’ All I the more reason that you should J read nothing but the very best, and ‘ avoid trash. What influences you in the choice of a book? Is it because it is new, or the title takes your fancy? We boast in this matter . that we are the heirs of the age, and

then go to the gutter or waste, paper basket for our reading. Have you ever noticed what people buy and read on a railway train? It is us- ; ually a sad commentary on popular taste. Reserve yourself, cultivate a taste for the best. j A U :■ >i : >: '"i: ~r Y'v'.: C,* Recreation a Medicine “ How does my text apply to amusements? On this subject I think it is less a question of what - kind than how much. Here discrimination is sorely needed. I am personally interested in most kinds of sport and warmly approve of it. We New Zealanders are sport-loving, and this is only natural and normal. Athletics is a good thing, but remember it is not a supreme thing. It is wrong when it becomes a consuming passion. Recreation and amusement is like medicine, a good'tonic, but too much may become a poison. We need to reserve ourselves and choose only the best. How does my text apply to wealth ? Pursuit of Wealth “ The pursuit of wealth has its place in every man’s life; but it should have only its place. Men' stupidly talk of filthy lucre, but I believe with J. M. Barrie that ‘money is a beautiful thing; it is only its misuse makes it grimy.’ Money has its place, but it is a mistake to care for it supremely. Making haste to be rich is a temptation, the most seductive and pitiless this generation knows. Noble natures everywhere are spoiled by the withering lust of gold. You have only to hold a pehny sufficiently close to the eye. to blot out everything else. Is this: what you are doing ? George Herbert quaintly says:—

Take heed, lest gaining gain on thee and make thee dim to all things, SlS6* . Wealth is the devil’s conjurer whom when he thinks he hath the devil hath him. , • < Gold thou mayest safely touch; but if it stick unto they clutch. It woundeth to the quick. Not here on the. altar of mammon shall thy gifts, be laid; life offers better than this.

What is the consequence of neglect of this Divine Law? Simply disappointment, that is all. Talk to the millionaire and he will tell you of the joys of earning the first few thousands. After. that comes satiation and disappointments The same is true of reading tripe, and the satiation of sport and amusement. “ The Apostle John says, ‘ Love not the world or the things of the world.’ Why ? Because they are bad? No, but because they pass away. What things abide? Whether these be prophecies they shall fail, tonges shall cease, knowledge shall pass away. The abiding things are love, goodness, character. These abide for ever. For us as Christians goodness, the abstract becomes Christ the concrete. The world knows no goodness like His. Herein is the glory of Christianity in that all its ideals are possible. This is the secret of our relationship to Christ. • As the devotion of the early Christians made them like Him, so will the same devotion to-day inspire love, service and blessedness to us.”