So they brought their jewelry to Aaron and besought him to make them a golden god. The idea of an unseen God was too difficult for them. Too, a golden god would be much easier to get on with. It would lay down no laws and make no ethical requirements. Too, golden gods were the style among their neighbors. They asked him to make them such a god. Then Aaron made the mistake of his life. As a spiritual leader, he should have been listening to see what God would say. But he turned his ear toward the congregation instead, and listened to see what the leading members would say. His business was to lead the congregation up to the foot of God’s throne. But he allowed himself to be persuaded to attempt to reduce God to the level of human weakness and ignorance. One of the supreme temptations of every religious leader is to seek public approval by the adaptation of the principles and standards of religion to public tastes, ideals, and desires. A thousand voices are raised on every side to urge him on in his error. The path of salvation is still a straight and narrow way. All that we can do or say will not change that fact. When we widen it, plant primroses in it, and take the stones out of it, we no longer have a path of salvation. Then real followers of God no longer care to walk in it. They like the challenge of the harder road. We cannot adapt God to the world. Whoever tries it fails, just as Aaron did. We cannot change truth, nor make over religion, nor revise the divine law. The God Isaiah saw in the temple was high and lifted up. The fact that Isaiah did not wait for the Lord to come down to his level, but began the long climb up to God’s level, is what made the prophet great. The Necessary Asset—Friends (1917) You cannot get on in the world without friends. You tread the golden bridge of friendship over many a chasm which could not otherwise be crossed. Friendless people must always languish on the side of hopelessness. Friendships do not come by chance, and neither do they force themselves upon you. Friendship, like everything else worth while, is the reward of proper effort. Friends must be made in the spirit of unselfishness. They are an advantage, it is true, but they must not be sought merely for purposes of advantage. Nothing wins friends so well nor keeps them so long as the unselfish disposition to be helpful. The most valuable friend is the friend who is one for friendship’s sake alone. A strong friendship is seldom effervescent. The cordiality which is always foaming over is apt to have about the consistency and permanence of the foam which it resembles. The best type of friendship is poised, constant, steady, and true to the end. Dependability is worth more in friendship than is mere demonstration. You can expect this quality in others only when it characterizes your own attitude toward others.