Tárogató, 1938-1939 (1. évfolyam, 1-10. szám)
1938-09-01 / 3. szám
16 TÁROGATÓ a professor in Harvard and necessarily had to give attention to his classes, while week in and week out his soul was absorbed in the writing of poetry. So Matthew Arnold spent a great part of his life as school inspector, while his heart was enamoured with the Muses and with criticism. Because one serves God with all his soul and mind and heart and strength, it does not mean that he is to think only of God and religion. Putting Christ first is putting him as controlling factor in the whole of life. If our business is making shoes then we must make such shoes and sell them at such a price that we could not be ashamed to have Christ as a customer. If a contractor builds a house it ought to be one he would be willing for Christ to inspect and live in, and which he would pronounce, “Well done.” “Doth Job serve God for nought?” was the insinuating question of Satan. Yes, he was willing to live his life of uprightness and fidelity to God without reward, but, as the story shows, godliness is profitable to all things, both for this world and the next. Many a young person has consecrated life to Christ without any thought of earthly profit, and at close of a successful career has said, “I owe everything to Christ and the Church.” Safety Valves Humanity often seems to need safety valves in order to avert a disastrous explosion. The Serbians, we are told, have special restaurants where those who have special delight in smashing glass and crockery can, for a modest price, smash all the dishes on the table. This will seem strange and incredible to some of us, but others will recognize the force of it. There are people who must have some outlet for their feeling or they will work damage either to themselves or to others. Better a safe outlet, if there has to be one. The old saying that vice is but suppressed perspiration has a solid basisi of truth behind it. Not seldom the “incorrigible” boys in school are simply ones who need ten times the physical exercise which they get. This is where the value of sports comes in, and the very violence of some of them seems to render them all the more attractive, and possibly all the more helpful, to youth. It is well to realize that our present method of living is very artificial, and unless we guard ourselves carefully it may wreck us. Man needs some adequate outlet for his energy and it is the business of society to provide it so far as possible, and to see that it is the very best possible. Living Up to Our Own Standards Each one has his own standard of what a man ought to do, and it should be his aim to keep that standard as high as possible; but when lower standards are seen to prevail all around us, even amongst those from whom we naturally would expect the best, we are somewhat prone to tell ourselves that others are right and we have been too particular, in fact, have set the standard altogether too high. And so, by following the crowd, we almost imperceptibly drift to lower ethical levels. No man is compelled to lower his level of living and thinking to meet the level which prevails around him. The Christian is not a follower of his neighbours, but a follower of his Lord, and if he perceives others living according to lower standards he had better heed what Christ said to one of his own disciples in another connection, “What is that to thee; follow thou me.” We are not altogether responsible for the standards of those around us, but we cannot escape responsibility for our own deeds and words. And, incidentally, the fact that one man refuses to live on a lower standard may eventually succeed in lifting the standard of an entire community. Paper from Slash Pine Maine paper manufacturers say that they have at last succeeded in producing good paper from slash pine brought from Alabama. The colour of the paper is slightly creamy, but it prints well. If this pine can be so utilized it will mean a good deal to the newspaper manufacturers.
