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OME one has said that it is more important that a man make good than that he be good. I do not believe that for a moment. But one day when I was about 52 years old I had an awful awakening. I took a glimpse over my life for the past half century and I found that for nearly thirty years I had had one aim only, viz., to pull men and women out of the fire.

     I had forgotten myself, my family and my home except as to our daily pressing needs. I made no preparation as to the future at all. I did carry a small life insurance, but that was all. I owned no home, not even a grave for my children.

      No one can ever tell my feeling on that day. I had spent the time in spiritual work, in what I thought was God's work, and I had no results to show in temporal things.

      My spiritual assets were great, but these did not buy me anything in this world.

      I went to God and told Him about it. I promised Him if He would give me life I would never neglect the establishment of a home for my family.

      How good a home and the necessities looked to me that day! I believed then and I believe now that I had committed a sin, for God says, I Tim., 5:8: "But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith and is worse than an infidel. "

      I have kept my vow to God in this matter and during the past ten years He has greatly helped me in my temporal affairs. And my success in these matters has been accomplished, first of all through the blessing of

God and wisdom and effort on my part. And I find that having my home has not caused me to forget God, but to praise and serve him still more.

      When I do not have to be solicitous about the needs of today I find I have more time and ability to work for God without distraction.

      As I look back over my life I see no reason why I should not have paid some attention to these things before. Why is it not as proper a thing to honestly provide a house in which my family shall live as that I should pray?

      I have come to this conclusion about the matter, that on temporal things I was asleep--and I had lots of company.

      My eyes have been opened recently to these matters as they never have before. This very day I buried a young man 31 years old, who left a wife and two small children utterly unprovided for. In my judgment that is an awful thing. With the expenditure of a very small amount for a year he could have given his loved ones ample protection.

      It is perhaps an uncommon thing for a man in my position to say, nevertheless 1 will say it, that a man's first duty is to take care of himself as an animal. Man has certain needs, viz., food, shelter and the like, in common with other animals, and if these are not provided he perishes.

      Now the question is, "Who will provide these-the man himself or his fellows?" If the man himself is not able to do so, or through any misfortune finds himself unable, then his fellow men very properly rally to his rescue and help.

      But in my judgment he has no right to throw himself on society and declare that the world owes him a living. The world does not owe anybody a living. The only real or true reason that a man receives anything for his work is that he has rendered to society some service for which society is willing and even glad to recompense him.

      What astonished me, after I had come to my full

sense on this matter, is this: That we have no teachers on this subject.

      My parents never taught me anything about it. My father said that he was trusting God and he did trust God, and that was right, but bread must be paid for while we live and coffins and graves after we are dead.

      Now, I was never taught anything on this subject by my teachers in the schools and universities. These teachers taught me the lore of the ancients; they attempted to pound into my head the principles of mathematics. In short, they tried to instil (sic) into my mind the principles which would equip me for practical life.

      But they never said anything about making money and saving a little of it.

      There was another great institution in which I long labored and lived that should have taught me, and that was the church. But the church practically said to me, "The substance of our teaching refers to the future life." They told me that if I lived right I should wear golden slippers hereafter, but I and my family needed calf-skin shoes here and they never told me how to get them.

      But thank God I awoke like a man out of a dream, saying, "I will be religious; I will never go away from God, but I will have my own home or die trying."

      Oh, the waste and reckless expenditure all about us! It is terrible. I know I see it in its true light.

      I see pictures from real life along this line every day that make me shudder. I will here enclose a picture that is self-explanatory. Oh, for some crumbs from the table of my youth!

      God has provided everything in this world for His children, but they have something to do in making it their own.

      In conclusion, my advice is, be religious, but don't get funny; don't be a fool or a crank. Why should we not be balanced up right? I see no reason why a Christian should be lopsided.

      Earn your own living and provide for your own house. I see no reason why a preacher or minister of

"Oh, for some crumbs from the table of my youth!"

the Gospel should not be industrious, frugal and thrifty just as well as any one else.

      I am asked if the usual teaching is not that God will provide? Yes, He will deliver you in extremity if you cry to Him. But if we are in straits we have put ourselves there as a rule by our ignorance and disobedience to His great laws.

      Get on the job and stay there.

      It is the greatest mystery of my later years that I did not see this subject in its true light thirty years before I did.

      Instead of loaning my little savings of my first years to persons who never repaid me and who were harmed by the accommodation, I should have put them to work.

      This property would today assist me in doing an untold amount of good that my heart longs to do.

      Understand me. I do not believe in hoarding money, but in using it to the glory of God and the benefit of my fellow men. And you will not have it unless you make and save it or get it away from your fellows.

      Allow me to give another caution on this matter. I find by observation that people in the latter part of their lives are more apt to become negligent in regard to their financial matters than they are when they are young. Recently I have buried people who have died at the poorhouse as paupers who only a few years ago had plenty to support themselves through life, but they went to sleep and allowed designing persons to take all they had.

      Be wise! Keep awake!

 T IS wholly unknown to me; I have no fear or dread of it. When it comes to me it will be the present.

      Some one has said that time future has the head of a fawning dog, time present the head of a stirring lion, time past the head of a snarling wolf.

      I expect to conserve my forces so far as I can and remain as long as possible in the field.

      Heaven lies in the future.

      But I have a foretaste of it now in. peace, in comfort and blessing. And some day when the Master is through with me and my mission on earth is ended, I expect to hear Him say, "Well done!" And I shall be forever with the Lord.

      No more will I be weary; no more will the word of censure be spoken against me. But I shall look into His face and be satisfied. Amen.

© 2003 for the NEGenWeb Project by Pam Rietsch, Ted & Carole Miller.