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CHAPTER XIII.

DUTIES WHICH THE CHRISTIAN OWES HIMSELF IN SOCIETY, AND WHICH HE OWES THE CAUSE HE REPRESENTS.

THIS is not the place to consider the duties which, in general, the Christian owes himself; but only those duties are here to be considered which he owes himself in society. It has already been intimated that he is not to regard himself as merely an instrument to prepare others to become children of God. He is himself a child of God, bears his image, and is an object of his love; he is a disciple of Christ, and has his Spirit and truth and grace; and he himself has an immortal soul of inestimable worth, and to himself of infinite importance. Well may one stand in awe when he tries to measure the height and depth and breadth of the duty he owes his own being. But more than this: the Christian in society is a representative of Christ and of his Gospel. In the Christian these will be judged. He is viewed as Christ's Gospel unto men; and in him the world expects to read Christ and his truth. If the Christian's influence led men to judge him only, then that influence might be, comparatively, of little importance; but the world. judges of Christianity itself, and of its Author, from the conduct of its professors. It is therefore evident

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that in society the Christian does not merely owe duties to others, but also to himself and to the cause he represents duties of great importance and worthy of special consideration.

The chief duty which the Christian owes himself in society is, that he act worthy of himself. Appreciating his own worth in Christ, his conduct before others should be in harmony with his true worth and dignity. This should save him from that levelling influence in society which tends to rob men of their individuality and to make them all alike. The tendency in this direction is very strong; and unless he is constantly on his guard, the believer will lose that which distinguishes him from all others. In society he must remain himself and must assert himself, in spite of all the social influences that oppose his inherent peculiarities and make their maintenance and selfassertion difficult.

The Christian must be able to be in the minority, even to stand alone, and to be defeated. If he must either give up society or his selfhood, let the former be abandoned. He can better afford to lose society than self. He is not responsible for society; but for the keeping of that which God has committed to him he is responsible. Amid the powerful tendencies to destroy self, too much stress cannot be laid on the Christian duty to maintain that individuality which is the divine stamp on his being.

There is great need of preaching Christian selfreliance. The believer is, of course, supposed to have in him something worthy of trust. As a child of God. he has real worth. To himself he must be true, if he is to be a social power. He that is not faithful to self

cannot be faithful to others. A man owes it to himself to be true to his convictions in society at any cost. If he is not, then he becomes the embodiment of a lie. This above all—to thine own self be true; And it must follow, as night the day,

Thou canst not then be false to any man.

The Christian owes it to himself to be a learner in society, a recipient as well as a giver. Intercourse with his fellow-men should be one of the means of self-culture. And, indeed, if properly used, it will be one of the most powerful and most beneficial of all educators. The example of others, their precepts, the effects of word, look, and gesture, are often very powerful. What a silent, often unconscious, and yet potent influence is exerted on us by those with whom we associate! Their power in moulding our thoughts, feelings, habits, and lives, is incalculable. In order

that on us the effect of this mighty power may be beneficial, we must give it the proper direction ourselves. We are not to drift unconsciously on the social current; nor are we to yield blindly to the forces exerted on us by others. A clear aim in life, and a well-defined purpose, together with a resolute determination to make everything bend to that aim and minister to that purpose, will save a man from losing his individuality. To be himself as God intended him to be, and to make everything in society the means of making him more himself—that is the duty man owes himself in his social relations. This, of course, does not imply that he has not imperfections and errors to be removed, and that there are not many things which he can learn and assimilate from others. But he himself must assimilate them, and work them into the

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peculiar texture of his being, giving them his own quality and colouring, and making them minister to his Christian aim in life. It is said of Herder, the German poet, preacher, philosopher, and historian, that he made all he learned Herder. Now, this is the very thing every true Christian is to do in society; he is to learn the utmost he can from others, but he is to make it himself, transform it into his peculiar being, and he is not to be transformed by it, except so far as he can be changed by it from the wrong and erroneous to the right and true. Not only Paul, but all inspiration says, "Be not conformed to this world." Yet this conformity is, much of it, the very thing the influence of society is constantly trying to bring about.

With the principle firmly rooted in his being that he will be his own master under Christ, not a slave to others, the Christian may learn many valuable lessons in social intercourse. He may gain new thoughts, enlarged views, and fresh impulses to thought and action. The excellences attained by others should not merely excite admiration, but should also lead to emulation. Every good and noble deed is an appeal to us to go and do likewise (Luke 10: 37). Biography and history have a similar beneficial effect in stimulating thought and exciting Christian emulation. The very faults of others also have an instructive element, and teach us to examine ourselves, to see whether like faults deform our character. Jesus uses the faults of others to teach his disciples to beware, so as not to be like unto them. Empty admiration and uncharitable censure may become habits; but to learn from the excellences and faults of others may also be made a habit. While the former are useless, and worse than

useless, the latter habit becomes a powerful agency in mental and moral training.

The chief duty the Christian owes the cause he represents is, that he make himself as perfect a representative of the religion of Christ as possible. What is implied in being a representative of Christ's religion? It is, surely, not enough to profess it and to comply with its external requirements. Nor is it enough to have this religion merely as an inward power, for that is not representing it. The Christian himself is the representative of Christianity; that is, he himself is a Christian, and his life, which is the expression of himself, is also Christian. In order that he may be as perfect a representative as possible, these two requisites are necessary: he must make his own spiritual growth as perfect as possible, and he must give the best manifestation of his spirituality.

The Christian owes it to himself and to the cause he represents, carefully to guard his reputation. The sentiment, "I care not what people think or say of me," is altogether unworthy of the Christian. It breathes the spirit of recklessness and defiance, rather than of true independence. Even if, for his own sake, he cares nothing about the opinion of others concerning himself, he should have respect unto it for the sake of the cause he represents. If his character is suspected, and if his reputation is weakened or lost, how can he work effectively in the cause of his Master? If his reputation is that of a hypocrite, his influence will be against the religion he professes. If he has the reputation of being positively bad, he may be the means of casting great reproach on the Christian religion. Take the case of the minister who has