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Chosen no: R-1756 a, from: 1895 Year. |
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Selections For The Family Circle.
"THE INELEGANCE OF HURRY."
There is an idea prevalent that to be in a hurry
is a sign of importance, of large business and large achievements. It is a
serious mistake. An experienced person always mistrusts the man who hurries,
for he fails in emergencies. Serenity of mind and leisurely action are
necessary to fine work of any kind. It is in leisure that the mind assimilates
best.
Scipio Africanus declared, "I am never less
at leisure than when at leisure." A rare bit of wisdom of which all
reflective minds know the value. If we admit this as true, the inelegance of a
hurried manner has the best of reasons. It is wasteful, inconsistent with the
finest action, and is caused by a man losing control of himself, and suggests
an uneasy, indecisive mind.
A distinction, however, should be recognized
between activity and excited hurry, and between slowness and self-possession.
Activity with self-possession is the desirable condition.
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TROUBLES
MADE BEAUTIFUL.
Most of the shells of the oyster are pearly in
the interior; and as the true pearls are merely morbid growths, they may all
produce pearls of various qualities. The formation of pearls is caused by the
introduction of irritating substances, such as grains of sand, between the
mantle and the shell. The irritation causes the animal to cover the obnoxious
object with layers of pearl, which generally attach the foreign body to the
interior of the shell. The Chinese produce pearls artificially by placing
substances in the position just described; and we have seen some shells to the
interior of which small metal images were attached by this pearly secretion.
When we look at a pearl, we look at an annoyance
which has been ennobled. The oyster by itself is of merely nominal value. But
the result of the oyster's own treatment of its irritation--the pearl--is
something "of great price." Apart from its pecuniary worth this gem
has a moral significance. It suggests that troubles may be made beautiful, and
reminds us that amongst mankind some martyrs are more remembered for the glory
with which they invested their sorrows than for any other portion of their
lives. Biography has its moral pearls, which are treasured long after the
creators of them have perished, just as material pearls are valued long years
after the oysters have been discarded.
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GOD
CHOOSETH.
There are men who have strong and laudable
desires to serve the Lord, and who fervently pray for his glory; but he does
not always seem to hear their prayers. There are various reasons for this.
Sometimes men are unfit for the Lord's service. They are not purged from their
sins; they are not vessels unto honor, fitted for the Master's use; and
so he sets them aside as not adapted to his work. Sometimes men wish to do
great things, but find themselves straitened, hindered, limited and
circumscribed; sometimes they are reserved for still greater work; in other
cases they are rejected of the Lord for reasons well known to him.
Moses longed to lead Israel
into Canaan, but he was not permitted to enter
the promised land. So David would gladly have built the temple at Jerusalem, but the Lord
would not accept that service at his hands. Paul was forbidden by the holy
Spirit to preach the gospel in Asia, and though he essayed to go into Bithynia,
the Spirit suffered him not. In like manner we may have desires and aspirations
for usefulness which will never be gratified. The Lord may see that we could
not bear the exaltation and the honor which we seek. He knows far better than
we do what is for our good, and so he would have us rest contented in his
providence, not idle, but diligent; not careless, but watchful; not
indifferent, but full of intense, earnest longing to do the will of God; yet
patient under restraint, and content to be neglected and forgotten, remembering
that "they also serve who only stand and wait," and that the Lord in
his own well-chosen hour can lead us forth to fulfill his purposes of grace.
W.T. R-1756a : page 11 - 1895r