Crayon and Character: Truth Made Clear Through Eye and Ear Part 16

"It seems strange--doesn't it--that fish can be fooled in this way?

And yet, I am not sure but that people are just as foolish themselves, very often. Ask the drunkard how he happened to reach the low depths to which he has fallen, and he will tell you that when he, as a young man, took his first gla.s.s, it was in a brilliantly-lighted place where, it seemed, the air was filled with good fellowship, and he thought he was happy. At that very moment, he was pursuing the glittering, attractive bait which later proved to be his utter ruination. _He had not seen the hidden hooks._ Ask the thief, confined in his lonely cell, how he happened to become an outcast, and he may tell you that it started in school when he thought it a very happy thing to cheat in his examinations and thus acquire the habit of being dishonest. He did not see the hidden hooks which the evil one had placed there to deceive and catch him.

"Jesus wants all the boys and girls to be watchful of the snares of life and to live so truly that they will easily escape the temptations which abound everywhere. 'Take heed,' he said, 'Watch ye, therefore, and pray always, that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these things.'"

THE MASK --Sincerity --Truth

Let Us Ask Ourselves Earnestly if We Are Guilty of Wearing It.

THE LESSON--That the world honors and respects an honest man, one who does not fear the opinion of those about him.

We recall the words of Jesus, who, in His Sermon on the Mount, warned his hearers to "beware of false prophets which come to you in sheeps'

clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves," and we reflect how applicable are the words in modern times. Everywhere, one must beware the snares and deceit of the servants of Satan, who, with pleasing outward appearance, entrap their victims. It is a delight and a satisfaction, then, to find real truth and sincerity in the earth, and it is to be found if we but look for it.

~~The Talk.~~

"It is said that when a thief wants to rob a house, he tries to find the home of an honest man. Why? Because he thinks that the honest man, who never takes advantage of his fellowmen, will be least apt to suspect that anyone will take advantage of _him_.

"But the same truth holds good when one honest man seeks to deal with another honest man. A true man, when he comes to us with any plan of work or investment may be relied upon to say just what he thinks and believes. He is dependable. It is a pleasure and a satisfaction, when we are listening to the words of another person, to know that that other person is speaking the truth. But not everyone is to be depended upon in this way. There is another kind of man who tells you something in apparent sincerity, but when he calls upon the next person he may tell the story in an entirely different way. Why? Because he believes that the second person will be better pleased with the revised version.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 82]

"How often do we find an attractive face which gains our entire confidence, a face, pleasant to see and agreeable in every way. [Draw face, completing Fig. 82.] And then, how often are we pained and shocked and disappointed when something happens which allows us to look into the real character of the person and we find that his real self is anything but agreeable and worthy of confidence. [Draw lines to complete Fig. 83.] Such a discovery, however, should not cause us to lose faith in our brothers. Truth, character, and a splendid degree of manhood abound everywhere.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 83]

"Boys and girls, begin now the formation of habits which will make you strong, honest, worthy men and women. Sometimes you see a man who is fiery, cross, ill-tempered and surly. Again you will find one who is fawning, over-polite, subservient and altogether wearisome because, in trying to make himself agreeable he becomes a bore and a nuisance. Both of these kinds of men have failed to reach the right goal of manhood. We must have backbone, firmness and stamina, but we must be willing to bend sometimes or we are apt to get some pretty hard b.u.mps when we hold our heads too high. Remember that you can't please everybody. Sometimes it is best to say 'Yes' when people ask you to do certain things, and sometimes a flat-footed 'No' is the thing. Remember that if you agree with everybody who expresses an opinion, you have the respect of n.o.body. Think for yourself, but think carefully. If you choose to grovel at the feet of those about you, you must expect to get stepped on and run over. Above all, cultivate a habit of being so straightforward and above-board that no one will ever doubt your sincerity. Don't wear a mask of sincerity when the real character is less honorable. To do this is to cheat yourself more than anyone else, for the deception is ofttimes but thinly veiled.

"In his early life, in the year 1844, Lord Beaconsfield, said, in an address before the Literary and Scientific Inst.i.tution of London: 'A man can be what he pleases. Every one of you can be what he desires to be. I have resolved to hold a certain position, and if I live I will.'

It is not known to what position Benjamin Disraeli referred, but he attained to the highest position possible to any man in England, notwithstanding that his status as a Jew was a strong barrier against his progress. On his deathbed he said, 'Nothing can resist a will which will stake even existence for its fulfillment.'

"That is determination. Such determination will make any man what he wants to be. It will enable every one of us to reach his highest ideal. And may that ideal be to shun the dishonest and seek the honest life in its every element."

WASHINGTON'S STRENGTH --Washington's Birthday --Trust

Through His Great Trials He Remained Steadfast in His Hold on G.o.d.

THE LESSON--That trouble either adds to our spiritual strength or else casts us down, depending on the stability of our character and our hold on G.o.d.

This ill.u.s.tration, especially useful on the occasion of the birthday of George Washington, on the 22d of February, is adaptable to the needs of the younger boys and girls, but its significance may give hope and strength to the older ones as well.

~~The Talk.~~

"Boys, how many of you ever flew a kite? Well, that's fine! You will be able, then, to answer the question I am going to ask you. Now, listen. If the wind is blowing from the west, which way do you run to make the kite go up? Yes, you run toward the west, right against the wind. If you run with the wind, the kite won't go up at all, will it?

[Draw the kite as in Fig. 84; black outline, red tail.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 84]

"One might think that when a strong wind blew against the kite, it would be blown away like a piece of loose newspaper; but that isn't so. And when a gentle breeze increases to a strong, steady wind, the kite goes higher and higher, PROVIDED it is made of good material, and PROVIDED, also, that someone holds tightly to the other end of the string. But if the string breaks, down comes the kite! Why? Because the very thing which holds it down is the same thing which holds it up!

"You may never have thought of it, but each of us boys and girls and each one of us men and women is a good deal like a kite. When the winds of trouble and worry blow against us they may cause us to rise higher or they may blow us down. Today, I want to tell you how George Washington acted when troubles came to him, and if any man in the world's history was loaded down with soul-trying troubles it was 'the Father of His Country.' Listen while I read for you a few sentences from private letters which he wrote during the Revolutionary war. [It will be well to have these and other extracts written so you may read them verbatim.] 'I am wearied almost to death with the retrograde motion of things, and I solemnly protest that a pecuniary reward of twenty thousand pounds a year would not induce me to undergo what I do, and, after all, perhaps, lose my character.' Again: 'Our affairs are in a more distressed, ruinous, and deplorable condition than they have been since the commencement of the war,' and he adds that unless congress comes valiantly to his a.s.sistance at once the country will sink into irretrievable ruin. Again he writes: 'Every idea you can form of our distresses will fall short of the reality. I have almost ceased to hope.' These were dark days, and the winds of adversity were beating mercilessly against the man into whose hands had been placed the cares of the great struggle for national existence. He was like the kite bravely battling against the wind. But he was made of good stuff, and there was a strong hand holding the string, for we read again from his letters:

"'How it will all end, G.o.d in his great goodness, will direct. I am thankful for His protection to this time. I have a consolation within that no earthly effort can deprive me of, and that is that neither ambitions nor interested motives have influenced my conduct. The arrows of malevolence, therefore, however barbed and well pointed, can never reach the most vulnerable part of me; though, while I am set up as a mark they will be continually aimed.'

"His trust was in G.o.d, and so shocked was he when he learned that the habit of swearing was growing in the army that he issued a general order calling upon officers to set the men a good example, and added, 'The practice is foolish and wicked--a vice so mean and low, without temptation, that every man of sense and character detests and despises it. We can have little hope of the blessing of heaven on our arms if we insult it by our folly and our impiety.'

"No, George Washington was not the man to give way under severe trials. He was not like the kite whose framework breaks or whose paper covering is torn by the force of the wind. Under these conditions a kite must dash to the earth. [Draw the rent in the kite with black. Remove the drawing from the board, invert it, and then re-attach it to the board, Fig. 85.] But when the trials came to Washington he arose in his might to meet them, knowing that G.o.d would be with him.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 85]

"Let us ever remember that G.o.d is our strength, just as he was the strength of George Washington."

"A MERRY HEART"

--Cheerfulness --Smiles

To Cultivate the Spirit of Cheerfulness is to Bless and Brighten Other Lives.

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 G.o.d's children must reflect to a darkened world if they are to fulfill their earthly mission.

~~The Talk.~~

"I wonder how many of us are getting too busy or too lazy to smile. I see some, who were looking pretty solemn before I made the remark whose faces look a little brighter now--and some have already broken into a most gladsome smile. I'm glad of it. Smiles, they say are the least expensive things we can give to other people, and sometimes they value them more than silver or gold. But how can we smile unless we feel like it? That's the question. Well, we will feel like it if we think right things and do right things, living close to the Master, even if things do go very, very much awry sometimes. The Bible has a good many things to say about smiles, and it isn't at all guarded in declaring that smiles are worth a good deal more than words, unless those words are very carefully spoken. Here is what we find in the book of Proverbs: 'A merry heart maketh a cheery countenance.' So, we find, it is necessary to feel happy within before we can show it on the outside. And then it says: 'He that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast,' which shows that if we are truly happy, everything about us will appear brighter and more delightful. Again, it says: 'A merry heart doeth good like a medicine.' How true this is; you never saw a sour, gloomy pessimistic person who was in real good health, while the one who shows the most gladsome face is either in splendid physical condition or else has risen above his pains and distress in his appreciation of G.o.d's blessings. They are always believing that 'it might be worse."

"But is this cheerfulness for the sole benefit of the one who smiles?

Not a bit of it. We cannot do evil without harming someone; neither can we cultivate cheerfulness without proving a blessing to others. Here, I want to draw for you the picture of a boy who doesn't seem to have this happy disposition of which we have been speaking.

[Draw the lines to complete Fig. 86.] Perhaps he looks this way most of the time--it is a bad beginning. We see him here, coming down the street; perhaps he will meet one of the other boys. Ah, yes, here comes another boy; and this boy has a merry heart, if we are to judge from his facial expression. [Draw the second boy.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 86]

"We have no way of knowing what this second boy said to the first boy, but we can tell from his face that he has a merry heart. And what about the first boy? Ah, he, too, has caught it, for his face reflects the smile of the second boy. [Add line to change the facial expression of the first boy, completing Fig. 87.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 87]

"We refer again to the book of Proverbs, and there we find that 'a word spoken in due season, how good it is!' It must have been such a word that the first boy spoke to the second. 'A word fitly spoken,' we read again, 'is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.' But we must choose the right words to go along with the smile, and the greatest danger seems to be that we will say too much, for the same book of Proverbs says that 'he that hath knowledge spareth his words.'

He knows how to choose and when to stop. Let us remember that the smile counts for more than mere words. The smile is a universal language understood everywhere on earth. It is the badge of friendship, and that is the thing which the world craves.

"A friend of Haydn, the great composer, once asked him how it happened that his church music was so full of gladness, and Haydn replied, 'I cannot make it otherwise. I write according to the thoughts I feel; when I think upon my G.o.d, my heart is so full of joy that the notes dance from my pen.'