"Then forgive and forget!--'tis a rule of such worth,
That 'twould scatter rich blessings all over the earth;
Turn deserts to gardens of beauty and peace,
And bid half the storms of contention to cease.
As we act to ourselves, we should act to another,
And look on each man that we meet as a brother,
In hope that when nature lays claim to her debt,
Our God will in mercy forgive and forget."
HARD WORK.
"Work is sweet, for God hath blest
Honest work with quiet rest--
Rest below, and rest above,
In the mansions of His love,
When the work of life is done,
When the battle's fought and won.
Working ere the day is gone,
Working till your work is done:
Not the work that pain imparts,
But the work of honest hearts;
Working till your spirits rest
With the spirits of the blest."
Anon.
I have spoken so often in these passages already on the subject of work, that but little remains to be said. And yet there are so many kinds of work, and hard work too, that we can do on earth, that it seems as though we could never get to the end of them. There are, for instance, home work, warfare work, praying work, and a great many other kinds of work, of which it would take too long to speak now. Of some of these I have spoken already in this book, but I want to say a few words about warfare work in this chapter.
Warfare work is perhaps the hardest kind of work of all, because it is work of the spirit. It is a work that must be always going on, while we live here; so long as Satan lives to tempt man to sin, man must war against it. In the sixth chapter of S. John we read in the 28th verse, "Jesus said unto them, this is the work of God that ye believe on Him, whom He hath sent." It is no easy thing to believe; nay, it is very hard to believe simply in Jesus Christ; and yet in the above passage He Himself speaks of it as the work of all others, which is to be done for God. When our hearts get crusted over with sin and selfishness, it is no easy matter to take again the heart of a little child and simply believe our Father's word; and yet this is needful work for His children.
But besides this inner struggle, there is another that affects more our outward life. All have a besetting sin to fight against--drunkenness, lust, or such like. Very different, however, are the ways in which this warfare is waged. Some struggle because they can't help it, and are like "the dumb driven cattle"; others are so feeble that they soon
"By the roadside fall and perish,
Weary with the march of life."
Others try to conceal, even from themselves, that they have a conflict to maintain. It is the Christian only, who going forth in the strength of Another, can hope to work joyfully and successfully.
And now having said thus much about warfare work, let me add a few words about everyday labour, by giving a few hints to those who may be doing hard work. First, then, be punctual. Time is a gift from God. And if we choose to mislay our own portion, we have no right to take that of those around us. Just look, for instance, at a case which happens almost daily. A man starts to go on a long journey. Say, if you will, he is going to Manchester. His train is so timed, that he reckons it will arrive in London half-an-hour before the departure of the Manchester train. In that half-hour, he will have to collect his luggage, and cross London. The train arrives in London ten minutes late, the man misses the train for Manchester by five minutes. It may make a difference to him, all through his life, that he missed that train. And so you see the need of punctuality. Secondly, be thorough. "Whatsoever thine hand findeth to do, do it with thy might." Do not try and do more than you are able; but what you do, do well. It is better to do one thing well, than half-a-dozen badly. There is nothing too small to be done thoroughly--no work so unimportant, that you can say, "It doesn't matter how I do it." And this thorough spirit, you will find, will prevent your delaying doing your work. You won't wish to put off till to-morrow what can be done to-day.
Thirdly, be straightforward; never mind anybody seeing how you work. Never do evil that good may come. The devil has so much power over the mind of man that he will readily suggest the evil, but he will keep back the good which might follow. The Christian's road is the straight road, where none can lose their way. Any duty that has to be done secretly is not duty at all, but a sham! The truths that must be made pleasant by worldly methods will lose their truthfulness, and fail of their effect.