Covenanter Witness Vol. 53 - Rparchives.org

slip."money!"The Cat That Looked at the ModeratorBy Rev. Hugh J. Blair, B.A.There were some important visitors at theSynod of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Ireland, which met in Belfast recently. There were theModerator of the Reformed Presbyterian Church ofScotland, Dr. Guthrie, and the Moderator of thePresbyterian Church in Ireland, Dr. Knowles,andothers; and the ministers and elders of the Synodwere most interested in them. But there was onevisitor that proved more interesting still, or at leastmore unusual. During one of the meetings, a blackcat walked solemnly down one aisle of the churchwhere the Synod was held, stepped into one of thefront pews, jumped up on the seat, and sat therelooking at the Moderator. And I suppose that if acat can look at a king, there's nothing to prevent herlooking at the Moderator !Was she there to bring good luck to the Synod ?I do not think so. For one thing,even superstitiouspeople are not agreed that a black cat is lucky. Insome parts of the world a black cat is considered avery good omen ; in other parts, to see a black cat isconsidered the height of ill-luck. But, more important still, I do not believe that the success of theSynod or of anything else depends on luck at all. Isuppose there were superstitious people among theEgyptians who considered it very good luck for theIsraelites that the Red Sea opened at the right moment to let them through, and very bad luck for themthat the waters closed on their horses and chariotsand men. But it wasn't luck :it was God. And I suppose there may have been some people in Philippilong ago who thought it was very lucky for Paul andSilas that an earthquake burst open the doors oftheir prison and terrified the jailor into letting themgo free. But it wasn't luck : it was God. And so I hopeyou will cut the words 'luck' and 'lucky' out of yourvocabulary altogether, for our lives are not in thecontrol of luck or chance at all : we are always in thehands of God.But that has taken us a long way from the catthat looked at the Moderator. She sat very still fora while: I was sitting a few seats behind her, andI could see her little black ears sticking up above theseat, as she fixed her eyes unwaveringly on theModerator. But after a while she began to get restless : she would look towards the front for a while,and then she would turn round and look at those ofus who were sitting behind her. Then she wouldlook at the Moderator again, and then back at theseats behind, until, finally, she seemed to have decided that she had had enough, for she jumped downfrom the seat, walked down the other aisle, and outthrough the door, and we didn't see her again. Andthat was the end of the tale of the cat that looked atthe Moderator.But I couldn't help thinking that she was perhaps a little like some of the boys and girls andsome of the grown-up people, toowho come tochurch. They listen very carefully for a while, looking straight forward and watching the minister verycarefully. Then their minds begin to wander, andthey start looking round at the other people, to seewhat they are doing. And then, though they themselves stay in church until the end of the service,their attention has gone altogether, and they mightSeptember 29, 1954as well be somewhere else. Jesus told once about people like that. They hear the word, He said, but theword is like seed that falls on a hard path :it nevergets in, and the birds snatch it away before it cangrow at all.Of course, there was some excuse for the cat.There was nothing in church that she needed, noteven a church mouse, which wouldn't have done hermuch good anyway, for church mice are known to bevery thin and poor ! But there is no excuse for us, forwe come to church to get the best thing in the worldand to hear the best news in the world. And if wedo not listen as we should, we will lose the blessingthat God has for us. "Therefore, we ought to givethe more earnest heed to the things which we haveheard, lest at any time we should let themThe Reformed Presbyterian WitnessTither's CornerYOUR MONEY AND YOUR LIFE"Money, money, always asking forWhat is money anyhow ? Is it the root of all evil,as some affirm who misquote the Bible? Is it thesource of all good as some imply by grabbing all theycan? It is neither.Money is neither good nor bad. It is a good thingto have but it has no character. Money is dead withno more life than the sand on the seashore. Moneyhas no mind, no heart, no emotion. It cannot thinkneither can it act. Money has no morals. It is neitherhonest nor dishonest. It has no aspiration to be anything, do anything or go anywhere. It has no powerto love or to hate. Of itself it can neither ennoblenor debauch a human soul.My money is myself no better and no worse.What I am, it is ; what I do, it does ; where I go, itgoes ; what I love it loves. Money, legitimately gotten,is crystalized life. My pay-check is the equivalent ofthe life I expended to get it. It is not your moneynor your life." It is your money which is your life.All life comes from and belongs to God. It isto be expended for the glory of God. The paying ofmy tithe does not imply that the other nine-tenthsare mine. The tithe is merely a token recognition ofHis total ownership. When I pay my rent to my landlord it is a required acknowledgment that the placein which I live does not belong to me.What God asks in the payment of the titheis a mere token recognition that we are His.D. H. ElliottCURRENT EVENTS . . . Cont'd from page 195ment is sponsoring the project in order to develop new farming areas. Hitherto the Bolivian economy has been dependentalmost entirely on tin mining. There is good subtropical farming land available in the lower regions of the Andes, but theBolivian Indians have been reluctant to move there and adoptmodern farming methods. The Okinawans are good farmersand are willing to move because they are badly crowded ontheir home island. A Bolivian commission went to Okinawaand selected over a thousand immigrants from among tenthousand applicants. Eventually a colonyof 12,000 will be established, with a railroad outlet through Brazil. Suitable immigrants from other countries are also welcome.199