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The Christian Philanthropist.
“Whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the
name of the Lord Jesus.” Col. 3:17.
“The first Sunday in June was “Tabernacle In
firmary Day’’ with the Tabernacle. The first Sun
day in June of every year, the church celebrates
“Infirmary Day,” when the past year’s debt for the
charity work of the Infirmary is raised. It is a
great time with the Tabernacle people. On this oc
casion Dr. Broughton preached on “The Christian
Philanthropist’’ to a great crowd, and afterwards
had the pleasure of announcing that the two thou
sand dollars needed had been raised.
This is a time of pholanthropy. Every day we
are stirred by notices of some great gift of money
to uplift the race. Perhaps never before have we
been so blessed in the number of great givers. But
with all of it, I am afraid there is very little real
Christian philanthropy. Our text says “Whatso
ever ye do, in word or in deed, do all in the name of
the Lord Jesus.”
This being the requirement, I feel sure that there
is much of the giving of today that is not Christian;
and that many a man who is patted on the back
as a great philanthropist, is on]y such in a pagan
sense.
The Christian Philanthropist.
What is Christian philanthropy, and who is the
Christian philanthropist ?
The Christian philanthropist is not necessarily a
great giver of money. Jesus Christ commended a
cup of cold water given in his name. We make a
mistake in imagining that great gifts alone are no
ticed by the Lord. The man or woman who gives
what he can in the name of Christ, is a Christian
philanthropist far more than many men and women
who now and then give large sums of money out of
a large treasury.
We are making ourselves a bit ridiculous by run
ning after men and women who have money.
Os course, we have got to have money; but let us
remember also that we have got to have workers,
people who will give their time as well as their
money.
First a Christian.
A Christian philanthropist is, first of all, a Chris
tian.
Jesus Christ wants the giver before the gift. This
the Apostle Paul commented on in his commenda
tion of the Macedonians. He mentions the fact that
“they first gave themselves before their substance.”
I am afraid many of us are trying to satisfy God
without giving ourselves. Our giits of time, talent
or money we present, but not ourselves.
Simon, the Sorcerer, wanted to buy the Holy
Spirit, w T hen he saw the power of the disciples. But
Peter denounced his proposition, saying, “Thy heart
is not right. ’ ’
Jesus Christ is more interested in us than in our
gifts.
He came to this world to save us. He never died
to save money. He had the money of the world be
fore he left his Father’s throne. He came to seek
and to save that which was lost; the wealth of the
world was not lost. It was to save man that Jesus
died, and we can never satisfy Him with our sub
stance so long as we withhold ourselves.
IHEE Bl)I SfivtiffHrr
Recently I was invited to comfort a mother whose
son had not been home in three years. I said, “Don’t
he write to you?” “Yes,” she said, “I hear from'
him every week, but what are his letters when 1
want him?”
So it is with our Lord. Our gifts of time or mon
ey amount to nothing more than filthy rags, unil
we give ourselves.
In the Name of Christ.
The Christian philanthropist is also one who
gives what he gives in the name of Christ. Our
text is sufficient proof for this. But if the church
realized it, things would be different in our giving;
there would not be so much giving that does not
carry with it the name of Christ.
If the church had done its duty, secret societies
and fraternal orders that today claim such a large
part of Christendom, would be out of business so
far as Christendom is concerned. They do not obey
this text; they do not give their aid in ’the name of
Christ. Many of them allow no mention of Christ
in anything that they do.
The Christian man’s business is the Lord’s, and
when he federates his service or pools his giving with
non-Christians, he turns his back upon the Lord.
Why should we want to give anything to anything
or anybody and withhold the name of Christ ? Sure
ly He is worthy. When I think of His gracious
goodness to me, I feel like joining with the redeem
ed and singing, “Worthy is the Lamb.” God for
bid that I should deny Him one whit of His glory.
Untainted Gifts.
Again the Christian philanthropist is one whose
gifts are untainted.
I know men who make their money in dishonorable
ways, and afterwards get saved and hold on to the
money they have gotten, except now and then use
enough of it to bring them into prominence as phi
lanthropists. I believe that the Lord spits upon
such gifts. It may be that He will take it and use
it to the good of humanity, but the giver gets no
credit.
The man who makes his money selling whiskey,
may understand that he will get no credit for what
he gives, except the common credit that a man gets
for squaring up a wrong transaction.
The Christian man has no right to hold on to
money obtained in an unchristian way. The moment
he is converted, he ought to turn over that which he
has made in a wrong way to the cause of Christ
and humanity; and even then, let him know that he
will not get credit for giving.
The Lord will not credit tainted gifts.
The Lord can only give credit for a square trans
action. He can only credit money that is honestly
made.
The same thing is true of the giving of time. The
Lord does not want any time that is not clean. The
greater per cent, of the work we do for the cause of
Christ we get no credit for, simply because it is
tainted. If with one hand we serve the Lord and the
other the devil, the result is, the devil gets the
biggest part of the service.
What is His Own.
The Christian philanthropist also is one who gives
that which is his own. There are plenty of people
who are very liberal with other people’s money. I
know men for example who will give money when
they will not pay for the clothes on their back. Do
not misunderstand me; I do not say that one should
not give so long as he is in debt. I say when they
will not pay their debts. I know men who are
paying for property, getting rich, who use their
debts as an excuse for not giving. I don’t believe
that such people have been regenerated. They may
be officers in the church, but there are plenty of
officers in the church that have never been born
again. The man who will use a pretext like that
made.
The Golden Age for June 21, 1906.
Le n G . Broughton
to keep from giving to the Lord, is certainly not in
touch with Jesus Christ.
The same thing is true about time. Some people
give time very freely, provided other people are pay
ing for it. What the Lord wants is a clean gift and
a clean giver. If there is anything that Jesus wants
more than anything else, it is an honest heart and
a faithful service.
Philanthropy Obligations.
But we cannot pursue this line of thought. We
have gone far enough to see what it takes to be a
Christian philanthropist. Let us see something of
the obligations of Christian philanthropy.
First, there is the obligation to the local church.
We have no time to dwell on this fact; only let me
say that the local church today is to be enlarged
in the minds, hearts and gifts of Christian people.
There is not a church in my knowledge that is
doing enough in this way. More money and more
workers would open up avenues of usefulness, at
present not thought of. The trouble is, we are so
afraid that we will give too much to the church,
when w T e ought to be pouring our money into its
treasury.
Christian Education.
Then there is the cause of Christian education.
Again, we can only hint at this. Let us, however,
consider it: If the Christian people do not provide
Christian education, then education is to become a
hindrance to Christianity. Pagan intelligence is
worse than Christian ignorance.
Christ is worthy to cap all education. I want
to see the time come when the church will teach
everything from agriculture to astronomy. Why
not? Christ is worthy, and His banner should wave
over everything that is for humanity.
The Cause of the Needy.
But finally, there is the cause of helpless humanity.
The Christian philanthropist must keep his eyes
open. Christianity has lost out by failing to prop
erly regard the needs of the needy.
Just so long as there is in a Christian community
a child clothed in filthy rags and shivering from
cold and hunger, just so long will Christianity be at
a standstill.
Never mind what men may say; the church that
stands for the poor and tfie unfortunate is going
to be the church that will grow and flourish. We
have seen this true in our own church. I believe
that the one thing that has done more for us than
anything else, is our regard for the needy. God is
pledged to stand by us and fight for us when we
heed the cry of the poor. Let us wake up on this
line. Our wealthy people have no right to pay al]
their gifts into institutions for rich people. They
owe something to the institutions that are at work
lower down.
Here is thought for the Christian philanthropist.
Oh, that we may face it honestly and in the fear of
the Lord!
Oh, Tremble Not!
Tremble not, dear heart, for love will
Bind us twain in this sweet hour.
Let love breathe the words, “0! be still
Timid heart—bloom faith’s pure flower.”
We will walk life’s ways together,
For the sad or better part,
And the rose shall twine the heather—
Tremble not, 0 timid heart.
One now in God’s sweet compassion,
’Till the green of Georgia’s sod
Breathes low, after Nature’s fashion,
“One with love, and one with God.”
—Arthur L. Hardy.