B. J. Griswold

“ When such a boy is grown to young manhood he finds himself robbed of character, robbed of honors, robbed of noble ambitions. He is a failure. No one trusts him for he cannot trust himself. He is completely at the mercy of his evil thoughts, and Conscience can no longer serve him.
"How gladly, then, should each one of you boys and girls welcome good thoughts. Make Conscience your door-keeper. The same good thought will come again and again, bringing other splendid, helpful, delightful thoughts, and they will become the greater part of your life. Every one of you has a thinker in his head. ”

“ Surely, it is His desire that we should love those who are about us, and that we should mourn when the earthly parting comes. And yet, 'it is impossible,' as Jonathan Swift has said, 'that anything so natural, so necessary and so universal as death should ever have been designed by Providence as an evil to mankind.' With this thought, we may lift our faces once more, and as we dry our tears, forget the problems, the sorrows and the triumphs of earth as we ask ourselves the question, 'What shall we be in the coming ages?' Compared with this question, all others sink into insignificance. ”

“ As we go out upon the street today everybody seems to be happy and full of laughter and good cheer. People who usually pass us by without speaking at all or who merely nod without as much as a smile, act today as if they knew us very well; they smile real widely and say 'Merry Christmas!' just as heartily as they know how, and we respond to the greeting with a 'Same to you!' with an inner feeling of friendliness that somehow surprises us. ”

“ Many a man who says he has not found God in nature has failed to see the blessings which have come to him—which are his every moment of his life. The fruit, the flowers, the grains—everything that supplies him with the necessities of life and earthly happiness come from the hand of God. Let us feel that all nature is a sort of puzzle picture, and that by looking, looking, looking, we can find God in everything. ”

“ Greatest of all is the fact that God is there. Every tree, every bush, every blade of grass, every flower, speaks of His presence—of His love and care for us. Dr. Van Dyke, in many beautiful passages pleads with us to turn our thoughts from the things which make us unhappy—the wild rush for fame and fortune, for the attainment of that which disappoints and discourages—to the quietness expressed by nature. ”

“ Jesus came to the earth to be of service to the world. When he departed, He left behind Him the command that the gospel should be preached to every creature—that the light and warmth from His life should not remain buried in us but that we should take that warmth to every portion of the earth, that it might, like the hidden sunshine in the coal, bring life to those in the cold and darkness of heathenism. ”

“ Yes, everywhere that we see the sparkling candles or little electric lights, let us think of them as reflecting the light of the star of Bethlehem, to guide us to Him, just as the wise men were guided to that humble manger-cradle in Bethlehem. Many there are, we know, who make merry at Christmas, while shutting Jesus out of their lives. They know not the blessing of the warmth of Christian love which He brought into the world, which is for them, if they will only accept it. ”

“ Now, boys and girls, consider this not as a puzzle drawing. It represents a truth almost as old as the world. Concerning strong drink, the Bible cries out, 'Beware!' Remember that every drunkard believed he could taste liquor and then leave it alone if he wished. You, in your happy homes, may think you are safe from it. Beware! Some day, the temptation will come to you; someone will test you. Beware! 'Whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.' 'Who hath woe? Who hath sorrow? Who hath babbling? Who hath wounds without cause? Who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine.' Beware! ”

“ None of us can be perfect, but we can live close to our great ideal and by learning constantly from Him, we shall find the light coming to us more clearly and more beautifully as the days go by. We shall find a deeper sympathy for those who suffer, warmer love for those whom we may have condemned, and an increasing desire to be of greater help to those who really need help. When we have reached this condition—when we have truly received the light—we need give little thought to the manner in which we shall reflect it. ”

“ Money is a splendid thing. It is the love of it and the wrong use of it that is 'the root of all evil.' In the later years, if you are a slave to strong drink, you may recall with bitterness the warning of the Psalmist who declares that 'the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty, and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.' But true prosperity comes most surely when the life is pure. I know you are resolved that yours shall be such lives, so we shall change the drawing to indicate something more acceptable to the life that well deserves a reward for right living. ”

“ Are your hands the kind that clasp other hands in warm friendship? Are they hands which are busy every day doing good, honest work? Are they hands that take food and clothing to the poor? Are they hands that stroke the fevered brow? Are they hands that help to lighten the burdens of other people? Are they hands that lift up the fallen one and point him to Him who said, 'Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden?' Are they hands that help wherever and whenever they can? ”

“ Because it is a warfare that never ends and the little ones have many more years in which to fight than the older ones have. And, strangest of all, the weapons most effective are kindness, love, prayer and steadfastness—these will drive away the great enemy of us all—sin. The boys in blue rallied around their flag because it represents our country, the land we love so well. We rally around this flag because it represents everything that is best here on earth and in heaven. Let us be loyal to these two beautiful banners. We cannot be true to one without being true to the other. ”

“ You, boys—and you, girls—and we older men and women, are just like the aeroplane in one great particular. In the Christian life, in our work, in our study, in our efforts to do good, we can never hope to succeed and progress if we let anything stop us in the way. How truly does all this apply to the Sunday School. The stand-still boy and the stand-still girl never get anywhere. The stand-still Sunday School is 'a dead one.' Life in Sunday School means movement, forward and upward. ”

“ All of us are familiar with the words of Shakespeare, who, in 'Othello,' causes Iago to say that 'he that filches from me my good name robs me of that which not enriches him and makes me poor, indeed.' Our slighting word may rob some one of his good name and leave him poor, indeed; while the kind word which rises to our lips, but remains unspoken, may retard the progress of the person of whom we might have spoken it. ”

“ But that which is true of the one who has sown the seeds of wrong in his younger years is just as true of him who has sown good seeds in his childhood and youth. There is no more comforting thought than that which comes with the assurance that God will send the rich harvest if we sow early in life the seeds of purity of living and the seeds of loving kindness. ”

“ The saloon may try to hide its real self, but every time it opens its doors to allow one of its victims to come out, it proclaims to the world that it traffics in poison—poison fatal to happiness, fatal to hope, fatal to health, fatal to all the higher and nobler aspirations of life. ”

“ Boys and girls, men and women, the opportunity for success—for Life—is given to each one of us, just as truly as it was given to Abraham Lincoln. We could not have taken his place. Perhaps he could not have taken yours or mine. It is for each of us to work out his own success, just as he did. ”

“ If, in the years when he has grown through babyhood and childhood to youth, a strong, but gentle, hand bars for him the way which leads to evil companions and bad habits, he will praise and bless that restraining hand when the years of discretion show him how close was his step to the brink of a fatal precipice.
"With the same hand which bars the way to wrong must the parent write the words, 'God is Love,' on the heart of each little one. The clear, pure truth cannot be told too often. ”

“ Everywhere in life does our pathway lead toward danger. The saloon would claim the young man. The Light says, 'Whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.' Perhaps the temptation comes to be dishonest in dealing with other people. The Light says, 'All things therefore whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, even so do ye also unto them.' Whatever the temptation, whatever the perplexity, however deep the darkness, this Light is ours, not only to brighten the way but to warn the evil thing to depart from us. ”

“ Someone has said that the night of life is the dawn of peace. Browning says that 'you never know what life means till you die.' Another has said, 'The dead are glad in heaven; the living 'tis that weep.' And all, though they point to the pathway beyond the wall as that toward which we should push forward, are firm in the knowledge that the earthly pathway of peace and love is more essential than this, for without it we cannot reach the other. ”

“ Here is one of them: 'It does not matter where we are, so long as we have light in our hearts and make our dark ways ring with the music of burdens cheerfully borne and tasks bravely filled. They say life is a closed book to me. ”

“ THE LESSON—That in no way can we serve those about us better than by the kind of service which reveals the true gladness of the Christian life.
The Christian religion is based upon principles which lift us from sin and its attendant evils of discouragement, unrest, despondency and suffering, to the higher plane of confidence, hope, praise and love. It is a religion of good cheer, which God's children must reflect to a darkened world if they are to fulfill their earthly mission. ”

“ And it is so today with God's people.
"Patience is a virtue of which the poets sing. 'How poor are they,' says Shakespeare, 'that have not patience! What wound did ever heal but by degrees?' And Milton said:
"'Patience is more oft the exercise
Of saints, the trial of their fortitude.'
"So, let us try always to understand, in the midst of seeming great trouble, that sorrow and trial have their place in our lives. ”

“ Now, John, Harry, Willie, if you want to be a grocer when you grow up, be a grocer and a big one—a wholesale grocer if you wish, and be a good one—the very best in town, if you can, but say—don't let your grocery business swallow you up till you are not good for anything else but to buy and sell groceries! Be a good grocer, but be a better, bigger MAN!! ”

“ No right-thinking man has a good word for the business which makes good men into brutes, transforms honorable citizens into murderers, and brings many a prosperous family to rags and misery. The saloon-keeper himself has no good word for the business; he merely defends it because it makes for him a good living with little work on his part. Ofttimes he will not drink a drop himself or allow any of his employes to touch liquor. He is in the business for the money he can get out of it, not caring how much poverty and penury others get. ”

“ And how can a seared, defiled, dead conscience help him to shun temptation and sin? Many a man, honest in his dealings with those about him, is dishonest with himself when he begins to allow bad habits to rule his life and to allow Satan to defile and kill the conscience which has been provided to guide him in caring for his own body—the earthly temple given to him by God as the earthly abiding place of his immortal soul. ”

“ Even a slight tap of the ax proved that it was a sort of 'hollow mockery.' It was a good-looking tree on the outside, but its heart was not right. And isn't that exactly the case with a lot of good-looking, well-dressed people? Why, even a boy or a girl can be all wrong at the heart, though their faces and hands and clothes are clean and beautiful. ”

“ I wonder if there is anything here to let these boys and girls know whether God thinks they are worth anything or not. Yes, here is a message from the Psalms which says: 'Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man, so are children of the youth. Happy is he whose quiver is full of them!' And so a man is rich if he has those about him who call him father, and a mother is blessed in the love of her children. ”

“ We might select the mighty oak, 'the king of the trees,' to represent the stalwart Christian life which not only withstands the storms, but which, as it strives against the winds, sends its mighty roots ever deeper into the earth; and we might choose as the type of the weak and sinful life the bay tree which does not send its roots deep into the earth and which is in danger of being torn away by every passing storm. ”

“ And, right then and there, John learned one of the great lessons of his life. What did he learn about the merchant? He learned that the man, while he looked pleasant and kindly, was selfish and unkind. He learned that the making and hoarding of money was his great object in life. He learned that he cared but little for the comfort and welfare of other people. He learned that the man's family was unhappy because no home can be happy when selfishness and unkindness reign. ”

“ I do not mean to say that the possession of much money is always a real barrier to real wealth of mind and heart. Nor would I maintain that all the poor of this world are rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom. ”

“ Do you plan to study medicine, or law, or to be a teacher? Whatever your plans may be, based on what you believe your best talent to be, do not let your talent go to waste like this oil did for so many years. Treasure it up, refine it, and in whatever direction God may lead you, you may be sure that you will have ample opportunity to let your talent bring greater brightness into the world. ”