SUNDAY READING

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVI, Issue 18, 21 June 1913, Page 9

SUNDAY READING

PLAYING THE MAN. Extract of Address delivered bv REV. U. J. LIDDELL at the New Plymouth .Brotherhood. As a basis of my remarks, I wish to use the words of the noble martyr, Bishop Latimer, addressed to Ridley, who was condemned to die with him; "Play the man, Master Ridley; we shall this day light such a candle by God's grace in England as I trust shall never be put out." His words ring down through the ages like a clarion note to men of our day. In all the viscissitudes of life, in all the daily round of toil, in the midst of all the struggle for the bread that perisheth—play the man. In this address I will seek to point out to you what this exhortation demands. If we would truly play the man, our IDEALS MtJST BE HIGH. There is a French epitaph that read: "Here lies he who, born a man, died a grocer." It might truly be written of many a one amongst us to-day. How many die, having devoted long years to trade, business, office, without any care to develop their spiritual, immortal manhood, with the liner, deeper, stronger qualities of the soul unrealised? We a?rc apt to look at all things from the standpoint of our own interests and to make success in our earthly vocation, the one supreme purpose of life. In which case our epitaph would rightly be, "Here lies he who born a man died a grocer." Of course it is true that there are many men devotedly pursuing their daily tasks, evolving the most bountiful characters and proving themselves heroes of the highest rank. But they are men with ideals who act from some high principle, some worthy motive. These men are the very salt of the earth. But there are many who have no such ideal. You see some such in the streets of New Plymouth. The only thing they seem to do well is to polish some verandah post with their backs as they idle away their time. They know nothing of the value, power, beauty, grandeur, romance and. wonder of trying to become ideal men. To the groveller [ would recommend a study of the eighth Psalm. It is one of the matchless passages of the sacred Scriptures. "What is man that thou art mindful of him?" Then follows a noble description of a human soul and its potentialities —made a little lower than the angels, crowned with glory and honor, all things put under his feet. Or take Shakespeare's famous line, "What a piece of work is man . . . how like an angel .... how like a god." And then reflect upon the French epitaph, "Here lies he who born a man died a grocer." What a sad and tragic thought that anyone born with such possibilities, dignity and prerogatives should so neglect, despise or misuse them, go on year after year devoted only to the things of time and sense, and die "a grocer." Now, to whom shall we Lurn for an ■indication of what an ideal man truly 'is? To the Man of Nazareth. He alone stands before the world as the Ideal Man, the Perfect Man, the Divine Man. When we look through all the records of His intercourse with men and search for words that carry some clear, definite truth to our minds the passage that stands out most prominently is, "If thou wilt he perfect"—if thou wilt attain the ideal; if thou wilt rise to the highest height of possibility, "go sell" . . . "give" . . . "follow Me." The young man who heard these words went away sorrowful; he felt they demanded from him a course of action that would be difficult to, take. He was well-to-do, respectable, moral, law-abiding and observant of the duties of worship and charity. But he lacked an ideal. Like many to-day, a member of the organised external church, a good citizen, but not the master of his wealth—rather its slave. So we are sorrowful and turn aside from the ideals of manhood, when we, like that young man, value most highly the wealth of the natural world and esteem lightly the treasure we may have in heaven. All who read the story can see the lesson—that self-love, selfesteem, self-intelligence, self-confiflence and self-reliance in the conduct - of life prevent our discharging our deepest obligations of love and our widest service to our fellow men. And only when we discard the former are we able to give due attention and support to the unselfish, altruistic graces and virtues that are features of the ideal man. Shakespeare makes Mark Antony say of Brutus: "His life was gentle, and the elements So mixed in him, that Nature might stand up, „ And say to all the world, 'This was a man.'" Tf we would truly play the man we must NOT BE ASHAMED OF HONEST TOIL. Never let any man make you ashamed of the workman's garb. If your calling is an honest one, however lowly it may be, if you bring your best into it, you have as much right to hold your head up and look the world in the face as if you were a lord. If you are ashamed of the fact, you entitle every decent working man to be ashamed of you. The working man's coat is as honorable a livery as any other man's. If you are ashamed of your work you will never do it well, and work badly done degrades the worker. I have no time for the snobbery which looks down upon the working man because he labors with his hands, and that sneers at a young woman because she goes to a factory rather than be a burden upon her parents. Once more play the man by enendeavoring to PURIFY YOUR PLAGE OF EMPLOYMENT. The average workshop is just a miniature world in which there are all sorts — good, bad and indifferent —and unfortunately it is often the bad who exercise the widest range of influence. 1 urge upon you workers never to listen to the suggestion that it is a perfectly legitimate thing to "shirk" when the master is absent, and that any work is good enough so long as it will manage to pass inspection. That policy is morally wrong, and ought never to be entertained by any self-respecting workman. Work is something more than a method of earning so many shillings a day —it is a personal discipline, a moral training. So put all you have—heart, brain and .strength—into your work. The devil appears in the workshop in various ways. There Is. for example, the ever-recurring drink problem, offering temptation to the worker at every turn. How many working men you know who have gone astray, tempted to drink by their fellow-workmen for companionship sake! Scores of men go wrong, not because they want to go wrong, but because they have not the strength to resist when temptation is put before them. Many a wife to-dijy is weeping out her sorrow, breaking her heart because the man she loves is going to the devil, tempted by his fel-low-workmen to his ruin. "There's pity for the hardened knave, There's mercy for the man that stole, But God in justice ne'er forgets The murder of a human soul." Then what about the conversation of the workshop? Those who labor there know of the coarse language often indulged in, the suggestive story, the insinuation, the cowardly attempts to spoil

the purity and thought of life by subtle suggestions of wrong. The ethics of the workshop are in many cases low, and need a breath of the New Testament put into them. I appeal to you to seek to purify your place of employment, and keep it li'.r/e. Play the man by PAYING THE HIGHEST RESPECT TO WOMANHOOD. I pleau that you play the true man to the weaker sex. Never allow a man to say in the presence of a girl what you would not allow him to say in the'presence of your own child without a manly protest against it. Act towards every other man's sister as you would have him act towards jours. We talk of ''fallen women," but they are only possible because there is a much larger percentage of "fallen men." One of the most fearful perils of to-day is the scarlet sin of impurity. It affects all classes of society and works its baneful influence wherever it touches. It befouls and besmirches the whole man. Fast life means swift death. In writing to the young man Timothy, Paul said, "Keep thyself pure." A more timely message could not be impressed upon the present generation of young men than this apostolic injunction. Oh, that the young manhood of our time would pay heed to the last words of the late J. B. Gough, who, as he fell dead upon the exclaimed, "Young man, keep your record clean!" If play the man you must, POSSESS A TENDER CONSCIENCE. Dare to do right, dare to be true, Other's men's valor will never save you. Stand by your conscience, your honor, your faith, Stand like a hero and battle to death. Very likely we over-estimate the evil .consequences to ourselves if we do right. My faith is, that God will let no man suffer who dares to fight out His battle. One of our ministers tells the story of preaching in a Yorkshire village. During the service a messenger came in haste for a man sitting in the congregation, who was employed by the squire of the village. Some visitors had arrived, ahd wanted to play tennis. The lawn was hot prepared. The messenger theretore had come to summon the man to attend to it. When he received the message he said, "No; it is the Sabbath Day; this work is not necessary. I'll not go." Another man was secured to do tne work. The first man expected that Monday would bring his dismissal. But days and weeks went past and nothing was said. The time came when a number- of the servants of tbe squire were dismissed, and among them the man who went to prepare the lawn. The other man was kept on, for the squire said, "That man has a conscience; I cannot afford to part with him; I know he would do right though the very devil stands in the way." Yes. T believe that in the end a man will come out on top if lie believes in God and dares to do right. Give us men! Men—from every rank, Fresh and free and frank, Men of thought and reading. Men of light and leading, Men of loyal breeding, The nation's welfare speeding; Men of faith and not of fiction, Men of lofty aim and action, Give us men—l say again, Give us men! Give us men! Strong and stalwart ones; Men whom highest hope inspires, Men whom purest honor fires, Men who trample self beneath them, Men who make their country wreath them As her noble sons, Worthy of their sires! Men who never shame their mothers, Men who never fail their brothers, True, however false are others; Give us men—l say again, Give us men!