Newspaper Page Text
* March 3, 1909. THE PRESBYT^T
Young People's Society
LIQUOR LAWS.
Topic for Sunday, March 14: What are our liquor laws,
and how are Ihey enforced? Deuteronomy 4: 1-9.
Daily Readings.
Monday: An old liquor law. Numbers 6: 1-4.
mesaay: a temperance society. Jeremiah 35: 5-14, 19.
Wednesday:1 A principle for legislators. Romans 13: 8.
Thursday: How to treat the liquor ox. Exodus 21: 28-32.
Friday: Drink, the foe of justice. Isaiah 5: 20-24.
Saturday: Affinity of drink and fools. Proverbs 20: 1.
There aro two great cries which the saloon interests
utter. One is that their trade produces revenue for the
city and state; the other is that prohibition does not prohibit.
. "
Unfortunately for us the liquor interests are so united
that they are able to manage things to suit themselves in
all the larger communities.
They are decidedly in a minority, in numbers, but the
people who know what is right and have power to determine
it foolishly let them do as they please.
Does the liquor traffic produce a revenue? If it pay one
hundred thousand dollars license taxes to a city and then
that city must needs pay one hundred and fifty thousand
dollars a year more for the police, jails, and courts which
the traffic makes necessary, where is the gain?
The worst policy the state ever adopted was that of using
this abominable traffic as a money producer for itself; and
the very height of folly was reached when in some places
the support of the schools was thrown upon the liquor trade's
license fees. It wus the education of our children with blood
money.
True, It does not stop all drinking or all violation of the
laws. Neither do the laws against stealing stop dishonesty.
cr against killing stop homicide. The righteousness of a
law doe3 not depend upon the care with which it is observed
or executed, but upon its own inherent nature. Laws
must be judged sometimes by what men would do without
them.
The enforcement cf liquor laws depends altogether upon
. the determination of right-minded people. The liquor people,
it may be understood from the very first, are going
to do everything within their power to evade or destroy them,
or to prevent their practical operation. If they are enforced
it must be through others altogether. Here is the Christian's
golden opportunity. He should be ever on the side
of law.
T .n W n rtf nKoorvn/1 mnona lawlnaannoa T nntlA?n?A/.? ? - --
,, vwuv* i vu tuvuag mntuooucoo. JJilU 1C9311CSS II1UU11 o
anarchy. Anarchy means the destruction of society. These
statements may be read backwards equally well. The <lestroyeis
of society, of women and children and happy homes,
ate anarchists of the blackest type. And worst of all they
are such for the money that is in it. That the money in
blood money matters little to them.
One ol the worst features of the neglect of the liquor
laws is the fact that those who have sworn to enforce them,
and who are paid by us to do this, show themselves utterly
indifferent to the matter and pretend not to know anything
about the violations of those laws. It is hard to believe uiTJler
the circumstances that they are not many a time enjoying
some little profit for their silence and unconcern.
* * *
^^
AN OF THE SOUTH. 17
Prayer Meeting J
!
THE DUTY OF SUPPORTING THE MINISTER.
I Cor. 9: 14, Matt. 10: 10.
For the Week Beginning March 7th.
This duty Is very generally accepted by the church. The
failure to discharge this duty adequately too frequently calls
for humiliation and regret. The two passages chosen as
texts for this study, place the responsibility on very high
ground and give it solemn sanction. The first is a clear
declaration of God's decree: "Even so hath the Lord ordained."
That which God hath ordained and made known
by a specific declaration carries with it an obligation from
which there is no appeal. To ignore it or to resist it involves
an assault on God's appointment and command.
The second text contains the words of our Savior, and
is a Dai L of His riisoniirso Hollvoroil in Ul? ? ?'
m ? ?? uv.o v?vu vv? mo ajiusucs W lit? 11
He called them and sent them out on their ministry. So
that ministerial support has its sanction in the primary instruction
given to His representative ministers when He
gave them their commission to go forth and preach, saying,
"The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." Along with the authority
to work miracles and preach the gospel of the Kingdom
is the announcement of the doctrine of ministerial support,
In the words, ' The laborer is worthy of his food," (R. V.),
meaning all things needful for His material comfort; for the
Master had just told them they were to take no money,
nor two coals, nor shoes, indicating that their comfort was to be
provided for by those in whose behalf they labored. As Paul
says to Timothy, "The laborer is worthy of his hire," and
quotes Deut. 24: 4 to sustain his doctrine.
There arc obvious reasons why such a provision is just
and beneficent. The man who is giving his life to the
ministry, in teaching and in pastoral work, is deprived of time
and resources for making his own living, in addition to the
numerous demands of his office. Moreover his training is
out of the line of money-making, and his time that might
be given to business is required for his becoming "thoroughly
furnished" for his sacred vocation.
Another consideration is the fact that in supporting the
ministry we havo a part iu that ministry. Paul commends
those that provided for his necessities and interpreted their
gifts as a "sacrifice acceptable, well-pleasing to God" and he
describes their giving as having "fellowship" (R. V.) with
him. He who gives of his means to sustain the missionary
in Afrioa is a nailifinnnt in th? ?' ???n_??.. .
... ? ,? ... v.?t T?vr?n. ui ci ungf u/.nig Airica.
He who cheerfully contributes to support home missions Is to
that extent a home missionary?and he who aids in the support
of his pastor, is his pastor's associate in dispensing the Word
of Life.
There is another consideration which appeals to our
laudable pride and lo our intelligent sense of economics. The
minister who is "free from worldly cares and avocations" is, in
that respect, best qualified to do effective work. There is
a strain upon one's moral and intellectual powers, imposed
by embarrassing financial limitations, that is net only humiliating,
but injurious. Material privations to one's self
and family, a sense of need unsupplled and financial obligations
unfulfilled, is paralyzing to the best effort. It hinders
*elf reliance, and is a foe to righteous Independence of thought
and action.
The congregation that wants its minister to do his best
work, to grow in grace, increase in efficiency and to be in
every sense a manly man. making the best use of talents
and opportunities, should see to it that he who ministers to
them in spiritual things shall receive from them a generous
ministry in temporal things.