Covenanter Witness Vol. 54 - Rparchives.org

eward"
company"
rights,"
possesseth."
eousness"
you."
soul"
provided"
not"
grace."
world."
Alcoholism, the sexual perversions, the
ungodly arts which ungodly advertisers
are ungodly displaying, et cetera, run
ning "greedily after the error of Balaam
for (Jude 11), are largely the
fruit of covetousness.
Covetousness is
victim of it may
very insidious. The
not be aware of its
existence within himself. Apparently,
in Luke's account (12:13) the "one of
the
that interrupted Jesus'
sermon with a civil complaint, was not
conscious of his own covetousness. He
saw symptoms of it in his brother, but
not in himself.
Ordinary covetous folk are just as
likely to figure on a stroke of business
during a sermon, if they are present.
But they usually wait until after the
sermon to carry it out. But this ambi
tious man got in his stroke, or tried to,
during the sermon, and schemed to use
the Preacher to help. It may be noted
here that this solicitant was not alone in
requesting a preacher to speak a word
to check
some*
one else's injustice, to
correct another's fault, or maybe
even up an old score,
or sore.
While Jesus was interested in folks'
temporal affairs, in His preaching here
and everywhere, as well as in His every
day life, He left us an example of keep
ing temporal affairs in their proper
place. So this aspirant, keen on getting
his share of an earthly inheritance, got,
along with the whole company, a more
emphatic word on obtaining the riches
of the heavenly inheritance. Doubtless
this was what they all needed. The word .
was, not to "beware of injustice and
stand up for your
heed, and beware of covetousness :
to
but, "Take
for a
man's life consisteth not in the abun
dance of things which he
And then
Jesus'
THE PUNGENT PARABLE
parable of the Rich Fool de
picts a course of thought and action
that is quite familiar. But let us look it
over again as presented in the Record.
and remind ourselves of some of its
plain and deductible lessons, among
them a few "Don'ts."
Don't get so wrapped up in your tem
poral affairs that you forget duly to
consider your latter end.
Don't depend on material social secur
ity to be sufficient protection against
all the uncertainties of life.
Don't regard all the products of your
labor and investments as just being for
your own or your family's selfish plea
sure.
Don't miss the current opportunities
to share your income with the needy
and to contribute to the Lord's work.
Don't fail to "BE READY," for none
of us knows when we shall be called
412
to render our final accounts.
Don't aim to live on Easy Street
when you retire, and like it.
Don't set yourSELF as the pole star
of your life.
Don't fail to give God an early and
important part in the drama of your
life.
Don't waste your life accumulating
worldly wealth, for as they say, "You
can't take it with
Don't forget that a good go-getter
will not overload himself with things he
gets.
And, better words it would be well to
remember, are in Proverbs 3:27; 11:24-
28. Also, Mark 8:36 "What shall it
profit a man, if he shall gain the whole
world, and lose his own
After the man in the parable had
dialogued with himself, and settled his
affairs to his own liking, an uninvited
unexpected Interlocutor is heard:
"Thou fool, this night thy
soul shall be
required of thee : then whose shall those
things be, which thou hast
No answer is given. Unprepared to meet
his God! So
The LOGICAL
"
CONCLUSION
"So is he that layeth up treasure for
himself, and is not rich toward God"
just as foolish! Not only his labor, but
his soul is lost!
"Wherefore do ye spend . . . your la
bor for that which satisfieth
(Isa.
55:2). Christ offers us Himself and His
Word,
"the riches of His
In
vesting these in "the life that now is,"
we become, not only rid of the deadly
sin of covetousness, but have eternal
life, are "rich toward God," and have
treasure laid up in heaven.
So let us resolve that we will "seek
first the Kingdom of God and His right
tate.
and not our own worldly es
And this will include a regular use
and sharing of the means of grace which
will keep us "rich toward God" and fit
for His service, and safe from the virus
of Covetousness.
W. M. S. Department
Mrs. Ross Latimer. Editor.
Prayer Hour. 1:00 P.M. Monday
W.M.S. LESSON FOR AUGUST
by Mrs. E. G. Russell
Selecting
the material.
I Pet. 2:1-5
The recent atomic tests on the Yucca
flats of Nevada established the fact that
the kind of materials used in building
our material homes is most important.
Certain materials withstood the blast
fairly
well and occupants could have
survived, but where less durable ma
terials were used the buildings were
totally destroyed. If this is important in
material building, how much more im
portant it is to build our lives of most
durable materials.
Beautiful, Ps. 84:1
Most people enjoy the beautiful things
of life, lovely scenery, lovely lives, any
area in which we see beauty. Undoubt
edly our Heavenly Father, Creator of
all things material, loved beauty, as wit
ness His creative work of beauty in
nature, the flowers, green verdure of
forest and field, the firmament above
with the sun,
heavens declare the glory
moon and stars. "The
of God and
the firmament showeth His handiwork"
(Ps. 19:1). "He hath made everything
beautiful in His time" ((Eccl. 3:11).
None of these things would have beauty
were it not for the light in which they
of the sun. If life
exist from the shining
could continue without light it would
be monotonous and colorless. How
dreary
and drab the world would be
without the red rays of the dawn and
glorious colorings of the sunset
If our Creator loved beauty in nature,
how much more must He desire beauty
in the lives of His children. Christ is the
Light of the world. He gives us life. He
cleanses it and makes it lovely. The
Psalmist prayed, "Let the beauty of the
us."
Lord our God be upon Jesus said,
"Ye are the light of the That is
only
true of us when we reflect Him
and His loveliness. There is much ma
terial available to accomplish this. The
fruits of the Spirit, love,
joy, peace,
longsuffering, gentleness, goodness,
meekness, faith and temperance adorn
ing one's life produce beauty and at
tract others to the Christian life. The
beauty of holiness, humility and unself
ishness are chief qualities to acquire
and make life winsome.
Permanent, I Cor. 13:13
These three things are lasting,
faith,
hope and love. In building for perma
nency we must begin with Jesus Christ
as our foundation." For other founda
tion can no man lay than that is laid
which is Jesus Christ" (1 Cor. 3:11).
God's word suggests that some build of
wood, hay or stubble, all easily and
quickly destroyed. The contrast is gold,
silver and precious stones, all of more
enduring quality, with inherent beauty
as well. When we combine beautiful and
durable materials in building our spirit
ual lives, surely we please our Heavenly
Father and become fit members of His
wondrous household.
Several years ago as we passed
THE COVENANTER WITNESS