A Day at a Time, and Other Talks on Life and ReligionAlexander, Archibald
Religion
A Day at a Time, and Other Talks on Life and Religion
Alexander, Archibald
Sermons, English
In popular and condensed form, the golden rule according to Ecclesiastes
is, "Do it well and do it now." His own words are, "Whatsoever thy hand
findeth to do, do it with thy might, for there is no work nor device nor
knowledge nor wisdom in the grave whither thou goest." We want to let
that precept soak into our minds for a little.
DO IT WELL. "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might."
Among the lesser joys of life there are few that thrill one with a more
pleasurable sense of satisfaction than that which goes with the bit of
work finished, rounded-off and done as well as one can do it. No matter
what the job may be, if it is worth doing at all, or if it is one’s
business to do it, it is not difficult to recognise in the curious
inward glow over its honourable completion, a token of God’s good
pleasure, some far-off echo of His "Well done!"
It is a truism which never loses its point that it is enthusiasm that
commands success. In her weird book called "Dreams," Olive Schreiner
tells the parable of an artist who painted a beautiful picture. On it
there was a wonderful glow which drew the admiration of all his
compeers, but which none could imitate. The other painters said, Where
did he get his colours? But though they sought rich and rare pigments
in far-off Eastern lands they could not catch the secret of it. One day
the artist was found dead beside his picture, and when they stripped him
for his shroud they found a wound beneath his heart. Then it dawned
upon them where he had got his colour. He had painted his picture with
his own heart’s blood! It is the only way to paint it, if the picture
is to be worth while at all. If we would have the work that we do live
and count, our heart’s blood must go into it. Whatsoever thy hand
findeth to do, do it with thy might.
What magnificent heart-stirring examples are coming to us every day just
now, from sea and battle-field, of the good old British virtue of
sticking in gamely to the end and "seeing the thing through!" If the
stories of the old English Admirals are calculated, as Stevenson says,
to "send bank clerks back with more heart and spirit to their
book-keeping by double entry," shall not the story that unfolds day by
day of what our own kith and kin are doing, nerve and inspire us all to
"do OUR bit," to face up to OUR duty, humdrum and ordinary though it be,
with the same grit and energy, with the same determination to see it
through, and make as good a job of it as we can?
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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