第 3 节
作者:点绛唇      更新:2024-04-07 11:54      字数:9322
  great purpose or a mightier love can justify the waste。
  It is more difficult; I have said; not to seek our own at all
  than; having sought it; to give it up。  I must take that back。  It
  is only true of a partly selfish heart。  Nothing is a hardship to
  Love; and nothing is hard。  I believe that Christ's 〃yoke〃 is easy。
  Christ's yoke is just His way of taking life。  And I believe it is
  an easier way than any other。  I believe it is a happier way than
  any other。  The most obvious lesson in Christ's teaching is that
  there is no happiness in having and getting anything; but only in
  giving。  I repeat; THERE IS NO HAPPINESS IN HAVING OR IN GETTING;
  BUT ONLY IN GIVING。  Half the world is on the wrong scent in the
  pursuit of happiness。  They think it consists in having and getting;
  and in being served by others。  It consists in giving; and in
  serving others。  〃He that would be great among you;〃 said Christ;
  〃let him serve。〃  He that would be happy; let him remember that
  there is but one way〃it is more blessed; it is more happy; to
  give than to receive。〃
  The next ingredient is a very remarkable one:  GOOD TEMPER。  〃Love
  is not provoked。〃
  Nothing could be more striking than to find this here。  We
  are inclined to look upon bad temper as a very harmless weakness。
  We speak of it as a mere infirmity of nature; a family failing; a
  matter of temperament; not a thing to take into very serious account
  in estimating a man's character。  And yet here; right in the heart
  of this analysis of love; it finds a place; and the Bible again and
  again returns to condemn it as one of the most destructive elements
  in human nature。
  The peculiarity of ill temper is that it is the vice of the virtuous。
  It is often the one blot on an otherwise noble character。  You
  know men who are all but perfect; and women who would be entirely
  perfect; but for an easily ruffled; quick…tempered; or 〃touchy〃
  disposition。  This compatibility of ill temper with high moral
  character is one of the strangest and saddest problems of ethics。
  The truth is; there are two great classes of sinssins of the BODY
  and sins of the DISPOSITION。  The Prodigal Son may be taken as a
  type of the first; the Elder Brother of the second。  Now; society
  has no doubt whatever as to which of these is the worse。  Its brand
  falls; without a challenge; upon the Prodigal。  But are we right?
  We have no balance to weigh one another's sins; and coarser and
  finer are but human words; but faults in the higher nature may be
  less venal than those in the lower; and to the eye of Him who is
  Love; a sin against Love may seem a hundred times more base。  No
  form of vice; not worldliness; not greed of gold; not drunkenness
  itself; does more to un…Christianize society than evil temper。  For
  embittering life; for breaking up communities; for destroying the
  most sacred relationships; for devastating homes; for withering up
  men and women; for taking the bloom of childhood; in short;
  For sheer gratuitous misery…producing power
  this influence stands alone。
  Look at the Elder Brothermoral; hard…working; patient; dutifullet
  him get all credit for his virtueslook at this man; this baby;
  sulking outside his own father's door。  〃He was angry;〃 we read;
  〃and would not go in。〃  Look at the effect upon the father; upon the
  servants; upon the happiness of the guests。  Judge of the effect
  upon the Prodigaland how many prodigals are kept out of the
  Kingdom of God by the unlovely character of those who profess to
  be inside。  Analyze; as a study in Temper; the thunder…cloud itself
  as it gathers upon the Elder Brother's brow。  What is it made of?
  Jealousy; anger; pride; uncharity; cruelty; self…righteousness;
  touchiness; doggedness; sullennessthese are the ingredients of
  this dark and loveless soul。  In varying proportions; also; these
  are the ingredients of all ill temper。  Judge if such sins are of
  the disposition are not worse to live in; and for others to live
  with; than the sins of the body。  Did Christ indeed not answer the
  question Himself when He said; 〃I say unto you that the publicans
  and the harlots go into the Kingdom of Heaven before you〃?  There
  is really no place in heaven for a disposition like this。  A man
  with such a mood could only make heaven miserable for all the people
  in it。  Except; therefore; such a man be
  Born again;
  he cannot; simply CANNOT; enter the kingdom of heaven。
  You will see then why Temper is significant。  It is not in what
  it is alone; but in what it reveals。  This is why I speak of it
  with such unusual plainness。  It is a test for love; a symptom; a
  revelation of an unloving nature at bottom。  It is the intermittent
  fever which bespeaks unintermittent disease within; the occasional
  bubble escaping to the surface which betrays some rottenness
  underneath; a sample of the most hidden products of the soul dropped
  involuntarily when off one's guard; in a word; the lightning form
  of a hundred hideous and un…Christian sins。  A want of patience; a
  want of kindness; a want of generosity; a want of courtesy; a want
  of unselfishness; are all instantaneously symbolized in one flash
  of Temper。
  Hence it is not enough to deal with the Temper。  We must go to the
  source; and change the inmost nature; and the angry humors will die
  away of themselves。  souls are made sweet not by taking the acid
  fluids out; but by putting something ina great Love; a new Spirit;
  the Spirit of Christ。  Christ; the Spirit of Christ; interpenetrating
  ours; sweetens; purifies; transforms all。  This only can eradicate
  what is wrong; work a chemical change; renovate and regenerate;
  and rehabilitate the inner man。  Will…power does not change men。
  Time does not change men。
  Christ does。
  Therefore; 〃Let that mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus。〃
  Some of us have not much time to lose。  Remember; once more; that
  this is a matter of life or death。  I cannot help speaking urgently;
  for myself; for yourselves。  〃Whoso shall offend one of these little
  ones; which believe in me; it were better for him that a millstone
  were hanged about his neck; and that he were drowned in the depth
  of the sea。〃  That is to say; it is the deliberate verdict of the
  Lord Jesus that it is better not to live than not to love。  IT IS
  BETTER NOT TO LIVE THAN NOT TO LOVE。
  GUILELESSNESS and SINCERITY may be dismissed almost without a word。
  Guilelessness is the grace for suspicious people。  The possession
  of it is
  The great secret of personal influence。
  You will find; if you think for a moment; that the people who
  influence you are people who believe in you。  In an atmosphere of
  suspicion men shrivel up; but in that atmosphere they expand; and
  find encouragement and educative fellowship。
  It is a wonderful thing that here and there in this hard; uncharitable
  world there should still be left a few rare souls who think no
  evil。  this is the great unworldliness。  Love 〃thinketh no evil;〃
  imputes no motive; sees the bright side; puts the best construction
  on every action。  What a delightful state of mind to live in!  What
  a stimulus and benediction even to meet with it for a day!  To
  be trusted is to be saved。  And if we try to influence or elevate
  others; we shall soon see that success is in proportion to their
  belief of our belief in them。  The respect of another is the first
  restoration of the self…respect a man has lost; our ideal of what
  he is becomes to him the hope and pattern of what he may become。
  〃Love rejoiceth not in unrighteousness; but rejoiceth with the
  truth。〃  I have called this SINCERITY from the words rendered in
  the Authorized Version by 〃rejoiceth in the truth。〃  And; certainly;
  were this the real translation; nothing could be more just; for he
  who loves will love Truth not less than men。  He will rejoice in
  the Truthrejoice not in what he has been taught to believe; not
  in this church's doctrine or in that; not in this ism or in that
  ism; but 〃in THE TRUTH。〃  He will accept only what is real; he
  will strive to get at facts; he will search for TRUTH with a humble
  and unbiased mind; and cherish whatever he finds at any sacrifice。
  But the more literal translation of the Revised Version calls for
  just such a sacrifice for truth's sake here。  For what Paul really
  meant is; as we there read; 〃Rejoiceth not in unrighteousness; but
  rejoiceth with the truth;〃 a quality which probably no one English
  wordand certainly not SINCERITYadequately defines。  It includes;
  perhaps more strictly; the self…restraint which refuses to make
  capital out of others' faults; the charity which delights not in
  exposing the weakness of others; but 〃covereth all things〃; the
  sincerity of purpose which endeavors to see things as they are;
  and rejoices to find them better than suspicion feared or calumny
  denounced。
  So much for the analysis of Love。  Now the business of our li