"IN HIS STEPS."

Otago Witness, Issue 2363, 8 June 1899, Page 11

"IN HIS STEPS."

Curiously enough the Independent, the leading English nonconformist organ, declares that the most interesting criticism of Mr Sheldon's work with the above title, or " What Would Jesus Do ? " is that written by " Dagonet " (Mr G. R. Sims) in the London sporting journal the Referee. The whole of "Dagonet's" comments are reproduced in the Independent, with an appreciative introduction .by .the editor, who regards Mr Sims in this connection as a philanthropist and a social reformer rather than as a playwright, joufnalist, and man of the world.

Mr Sims wrote as follows : —

" I have read with the greatest interest the American book 'What Would Jesus Do? ' It is the story of a number of men and women in an American town who modelled their conduct in life entirely on the lines- suggested by the title. Whenever they had to decide on a course of action they said to themselves, ' What would Jesus have done under these circumstances?'

" The story itself is an interesting one, but the chain of reasoning is no stronger than its weakest link, and it has some very weak ones indeed. Jesus was never faced with the difficulties of modern civilisation. He was never married, and consequently never had to consider the interests of his wife and children. The book, though written from the point of view of a devout Christian, suggests at times ideas which under any other circumstances would hover dangerousty upon the ridiculous. The editor of a daily newspaper runs his journal on the lines he imagines Jesus would have followed. But surely Jesus would not have run a newspaper — in the ordinary acceptation of the word — at all. " "»

" You cannot think out logically what Jesus would have done in circumstances in which Jesus never was placed and never could have been placed. It is doubtful if Jesus would have traded on modern lines. Pie certainly would not have adopted the trade tactics which have enabled the big firms to eat up the little ones all over the world. And yet to trade, in the face of keen competition, on the strict lines of the Sermon on the Mount would mean for the trader the Bankruptcy Court, and if he were married his wife and children would probably -iccompany him to the workhous.e. " 1 can imagine no life more supremely beautiful than that of a true follower of Jesus. The men and women whose surrounding circumstances permit them to do always as Jesus would have done ought to attain earthly happiness not vouchsafed to ordinary mortals. But Jesus Himself was unable to lead such a life in peace, even at a time when the conditions were far more favourable than they are now. It brought him grief and pain and a violent death.

"If Jesus, who was a wandering preacher without domestic responsibilities, supported by the voluntary contributions of His disciples, and at the same time gifted with miraculous powers — able to turn water into wine, to heal the sick, to raise the dead, to feed a vast multitude with five loaves and two fishes — could not make himself or those about Him happy, how can we poor mortals hope to do so in a day when to be without Visible means of subsistence is a punishable offence? " Every thoughtful reader of this delightful book at once tries to apply the idea to his own life. I laid the book aside and put things that way to myself. If Jesus were circumstanced as I am what would He do? I cannot bring myself to believe that He would write for the stage for the purpose of taking a percentage of the receipts. Would Jesus contribute to the Referee? I am afraid not. I do not know of any single paper at the present moment pubItfbed of whioh. Ha would entirely approve.

[ Imagine Jesus the editor of a newspaper— (Ua -{gliding spirit responsible for the. contenfs of the news sheet- thai was to iie tomorrow upon the breakfast tables bf London i Do you imagine for one moment that He would print a money article, or society gos^'p, * sporting intelligence, or police news? Do you think that He would chronicle the movements of Royalty, ov devote any portion of His space to fashionable fripperies? Would He give the record, of battles and bloodshed, or murder and disaster? I doubt it. " But there is one. thing we may be cerfain He would do. Ho would cry out against the iniquities of men in high places, denounce the glaring immoralities of commerce, and tear with a ruthless hand the mask from the faces of the self-seekers who to-day pose before the world as the elect. And whoever the capitalist might be who was behind a paper edited on these lines, he. would find his capital insufficient to pay the damages and the law costs which would be the certain result. " Here is a case which I would like to submit to the author of the book. A postoffice clerk at the telegraph counter determines to mould her conduct entirely upon the Divine model. Betting telegrams are continually , handed to her to despatch. When she says to herself, ,' Would Jesus make Himself the vehicle for the transmission of -bets on horseraces?' what will her answer be? If she says, as she must, 'Jesus would certainly refuse to lend Himself to gambling transactions,' she must resign her situation. Presuming that she has j a relation dependent on her, she must sacrii fice the, relation as well as herself by ,re signing her situation. "'What Would Jesus Do?' is a charming book, which appeals to our emotions, but at once challenges otir logical faculty. The; impression it will make on most people who think it out will not,- 1 imagine, be favourable to the practicability of its teaching. Men and women are human by inheritance, and they have human weaknesses, which were absent in Jesus, who after all was God. A city inhabited by men and women who" adhered absolutely to the spirits and the letter of Christ's teaching would be a city of divine beings. " But though we cannot to-day take the Saviour as a model in all the transactions of life, unless we are prepared to live apart from the world, yet we can approach a great deal nearer the New Testament ideal than most of us ever attempt to. We can all endeavour to attain the prosperity which means comfort to our domestic circle without unduly elbowing others aside. We can. introduce into our methods of business a higher standard of morality than at present prevails. We can, even in our newspapers, encourage nobler ideas and speak out more honestly when. we know that wrong is being done, and in our home life we can always "endeavour to make others happy by "our speech and by our conduct. The comfort of little kindnesses is the greatest comfort of all. There are times when a gentle ■word, a sympathetic look, will do more to ease an aching heart than all the gold and all the jewels in the world. "We cannot do always as Jesus would have done in circumstances which never arose in the days when Jesus was on earth, but we can always endeavour to give pleasure instead of pain, to ,help a fellow-crea-ture up instead of pulling him down. That is what Jesus would have done had He been alive to-day, and so far 'in His steps ' it is possible for everyone to tread, no matter what his condition in life may be."