WORSHIPER, A MOTHER
One of the first Christian novels of Japan tells of a widow, whose only son was a careless, aimless boy. His mother tried to inspire him with the lofty purpose of reestablishing their house, then in danger of becoming extinct. Her efforts were all in vain, until one day she took him to his father’s grave and kneeling there with him, sternly rebuked him in the face of the dead for his thoughtless life. Then drawing a dirk she handed it to him with this startling order: “Die, coward! Die with this dirk here and now! Then I will follow you!” In this way this Spartan-like mother aroused her boy so that he became a great and successful man. He never could cease to love and reverence her. He said: “The fire of my mother’s face burned into my soul and gave me the supreme decision of my life. Therefore, I am a worshiper of my mother.” This represents some of the best traditions of Japanese family life, and with such a basis, it is easy to see how welcome with many is the Christian truth, which emphasizes the duties of parents and recognizes the rights even of children.—John H. De Forest, “Sunrise in the Sunrise Kingdom.”
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Worshiping Idols—See [Fetishism].
WORTH, ESTIMATING
The difference between a good job and a bad one is nothing—unless the man with a good one is a good man.
A certain office in Chicago had this fact demonstrated. There were two men on the pay-roll who had an equal opportunity for a new place, a place much in advance of that held by either. One of the men had a good job, the place of assistant to the head of a department. The other was only a clerk. The first man got $30 a week, the second was paid only $18. When the time came for the head to look around and select the man for the new position his eyes fell on the two under consideration, and he began to sum up their merits.
“My idea of a man for this new place,” he said, “is one who has proved by his steadiness, industry, and economy that he is ambitious, that he wants to and means to do well, and who, generally speaking, has shown that he’s a strong character. Now, while Johnson, at $30 a week, is obviously first choice for the place, I won’t give it to him until I’ve compared him with Nagle, who’s only getting $18. I’m going to look them over first and find out who really is the bigger man of the two.”
A week later the office was surprized and shocked to see Nagle, the clerk, get the coveted place.
“Why in the world did you do it?” a friend asked the boss.