CHRISTIAN MORALE

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXIII, 7 December 1940, Page 10

CHRISTIAN MORALE

It was said of Livingstone, that wonderful and intrepid explorer and man of God, that he was “impregnable to discouragement”; that under no circumstances, however trying, did he ever lost heart. It is of vital importance in such times as we are living in, that we should keep up our Christian morale. We must keep hopeful and brave. When the morale of an army is broken, defeat is not far behind. Both fear and courage are very infectious. Fear, in the hearts of a few or even of one person will spread until a whole multitude becomes panic stricken. On the other hand, a small group of brave men and women, or even one strong brave man can make a great army scornful of danger and hardship. Of John Knox it was said: “The voice of that one man is able in an hour to put more life into us than six hundred trumpets continually blustering in our ears.” More than ever before, the world will need men and women who can infect others with hope and strength. Everything in the coming days will depend upon what spirit we are of. We must not lose heart in days of struggle, and in the days of evil tidings. We must be “impregnable to discouragement” 1. We must not lose heart about ourselves as we seek the sanctification of spirit which is enjoined upon all who are followers of the Holy and Sinless Son of God. There are many people who have tried and tried to be good but have failed and fallen so often that they have given up in despair saying to themselves: “That kind of life is not for me; it is too high. I cannot attain to it.” Let me remind you of two passages of Scripture . “The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me.” (P5a.138.8). “Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ.” (Phil. 1:6) With God all things are possible. 2. We must not lost heart about others for whose welfare or conversion we are deeply concerned. Indeed we mustn’t lose heart about anything or anybody. The day of answered prayers and the day of miracles is by no means past. 3. We mustn’t lost heart in any work or responsibility committed to us. There are moments when we feel that we cannot carry on any longer. That is just the point where we must not yield to fear and depression. It is a good thing sometimes to realise’ our own insufficiency and inadequacy, because we are driven at such times to cast ourselves upon the help of God. We shall find that God never deserts us when we try to be faithful to the task He has given us to perform. “All God’s Commands are enablings.” 4. We must not lose heart about the world and the coming of that glorious kingdom of which prophets dreamed and Jesus established. Whatever the cynic may say, this is God’s world. The events of to-day should rather strengthen than weaken our faith in the moral government of a just and holy God. Thoughtful writers such as Garvie and Niebuhr see in the present calamities a kind of a great world judgment. “When Thy judgments are in the earth,” said Isaiah, “the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness." Perhaps we can only learn in storm what we will not learn in peace. 1 should fear for the ultimate issues of a world in which men could defy eternal laws of righteousness and sin with impunity. No, God is not heedless of human wickedness. Stanley Jones said that the man who thinks he can fool a moral God in a moral universe is a moral imbecile. “The kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our Lord and His Christ.” But that will be through great tribulation and through great travail. 5. Then again, we must not lose heart in the ordinary work of the Church. We must carry on with public worship; with Sunday School and Bible Class work; with missionary enterprise; with social service and evangelism. There is no other way to build a new world than to regenerate the heart of man. It comes back to that, doesn’t it? We must never lose heart for the Church. Dr Rail defined the Church as “the union of those that love in the service of those that need:” When the days of war are over (and God grant it may be soon) the world will need the Church. There will be homes where the family circle is broken; where there are sad and mourning hearts. There will be need of those of undimmed faith and tender spirit who will be able to help and comfort and bring light to shadowed lives. What then is the secret of this Christian morale? How are we to be “impregnable to discouragement?” Jesus gives us the secret in Luke 18:1. “Men ought always to pray and not to faint.” Through prayer David was more than a match for Goliath. Through prayer Nehemiah was steeled against opposition and discouragement. Through prayer George Muller never lost heart when the bread bins were empty and hundreds of the orphans in his homes needed food. Because there is so much to disturb us and perplex us in the world to-day; because we need courage, patience, tolerance and love, we need to pray more. Prayer straightens out the tangles of life, saves friction and worry. It enlightens the mind, braces the will, and even quickens our mortal flesh into greater health and vigour. It gives us the victory over the world, the flesh and the devil. “Men ought always to pray and not to faint.—Harold A. Sharp.