Self-Help.
There are six important heads which this subject may be placed under, viz., Industry, Patience, Perseverance, Cheerfulness, Courage, and Prudence.
Industry.—This is a very important thing in life, and you will never be any good to the world without you possess it. There have been men who, by their patient industry, have done their country a great deal of good by inventing engines and machines to mitigate the labours of men; and some of these men have been mobbed and nearly killed by their townsmen, who thought their work would be taken away instead of enlarged, and very often their inventions have been broken to pieces.
Solomon, in the Book of Ecclesiastes ix. 10, says, "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might"; and in Proverbs vi. 6—"Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways and be wise."
Patience.—Patience is a very needful thing to self-help, for without it you will not be able to do anything that requires time and trouble. You have need of patience when you are waiting for a thing which you are in great haste to obtain.
David says, in Psalm xxxvii. 7, "Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him."
Perseverance.—There are some people who, if they start a certain thing, have not the necessary perseverance to finish it; while others, who persevere, succeed. Great men you read of in history would never have been so distinguished had it not been for their perseverance. Bernard Palissy, who discovered the white enamel for pottery, had a great many trials to bear, and was years before he perfected it; but he persevered, and at last succeeded.[8]
Oh, that we may be taught to trust in Christ, and pray, with the poet—
"Lord, hast Thou made me know Thy ways?
Conduct me in Thy fear;
And grant me such supplies of grace
That I may persevere."
Cheerfulness.—This is a very essential thing to self-help. If you have a task, and you have somebody to cheer you up, your task feels lighter, and the time passes better. People who are dull, and not cheerful, find the time pass slower, and the work seems heavier. There have been men who have been cheerful even when they have been in great difficulties.
Christ said to the man sick of the palsy, "Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee."
Courage.—Moral courage is one of the most important features in this subject. You will be more likely to succeed if you are bold and courageous. It is right to be courageous in a good cause, but not in a wrong one. It is real courage, when wicked persons try to entice you to drinking, gambling, and other vices, if you boldly answer, "No."
Solomon says, in the Book of Proverbs xxviii. 1—"The wicked flee when no man pursueth, but the righteous are as bold as a lion."
Prudence, or Foresight.—It is wise to consider what the consequences of your actions will be. Some people do not stop to do so, and thus run needlessly into danger. You cannot rightly practise self-help without you are prudent. It is very imprudent to risk life or anything unnecessarily, or to leave things to the last minute or two. If you are imprudent, you will regret it in after life.
In Proverbs xvi. 21, it says, "The wise in heart shall be called prudent."
Self-help is not a spiritual thing, but a temporal one; but you cannot truly succeed in these things without God's help and blessing. May we, in the things of daily life, and especially in spiritual things, be led to say, like David, in Psalm cxxi., "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth," remembering that He does not approve selfish living, but says, "To do good and to communicate, forget not."—(Abridged.)
F. E. H. Andrews
(Aged 13 years 5 months).
1, Tavistock Terrace,
Upper Holloway, London, N.
[Lilly Rush, W. E. Cray (age not given), A. M. Cray, E. B. West, A. Pease, and Margaret Creasey have sent fair Essays, especially the first-named, and we hope they will still persevere.]
[The writer of the above Essay receives a copy of "From the Loom to a Lawyer's Gown; or, Self-Help that was not all for Self," presented by a friend who reads the Gleaner.
The subject for May will be, "How to be Useful in the World," and the prize to be given for the best Essay on that subject, a copy of "Notable Workers in Humble Life." All competitors must give a guarantee that they are under fifteen years of age, and that the Essay is their own composition, or the papers will be passed over, as the Editor cannot undertake to write for this necessary information. Papers must be sent direct to the Editor, Mr. T. Hull, 117, High Street, Hastings, by the first of April.]
One good mother is worth a hundred schoolmasters. In the home, she is the "loadstone to all hearts, and loadstar to all eyes." Imitation of her is constant—imitation which Bacon likens to "a globe of precepts." But example is far more than precept. In its instruction is action.