The Authoritative Life of General William Booth, Founder of the Salvation ArmyRailton, George S. (George Scott)
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The Authoritative Life of General William Booth, Founder of the Salvation Army
Railton, George S. (George Scott)
Booth, William, 1829-1912; Salvation Army
"His new nature now continually cries out, 'What wilt Thou have me
to do?' and carries him forth with the feet of cheerful obedience
in the service of his new Master, to weep and suffer, and, if
necessary, to die, to bring others into the enjoyment of the
Salvation which he himself has found. He lives the same kind of
life and is actuated by the same purposes as God Himself."
In _Religion for Every Day_ he writes:--
"I am always talking to you about what we call religious duties,
such as praying and singing, making efforts to save your own soul
and the souls of the people about you. In these letters I propose
speaking of the things that men call secular, and which many people
reckon have nothing to do with Religion. But I want to show you, if
I can, that the Salvationist's conduct ought, in every particular,
to be religious; every meal he partakes of should be a sacrament;
and every thought and deed a service done to God. In doing this you
will see that I shall have to deal with many quite commonplace
subjects; and, in talking about them, I shall try to be as simple
and as practical as I possibly can.
"The first topic to which I shall call your attention is your daily
employment, and by that I mean the method by which you earn your
livelihood. Or, supposing that, having some independent means of
support, you are not compelled to labour for your daily bread, then
I shall point out that special form of work, the doing of which
Providence has plainly made to be your duty. Because it is
difficult to conceive of any Salvationist who has not some regular
employment, for which he holds himself responsible to God
"Work is a good thing, my comrades. To be unemployed is generally
counted an evil--any way, it is so in the case of a poor man; but
it seems to me that the obligation to be engaged in some
honourable and useful kind of labour is as truly devolved upon the
rich as upon the poor, perhaps more so. Work is necessary to the
well-being of men and women of every class, everywhere. To be
voluntarily idle, in any rank or condition of life, is to be a
curse to others and to be accursed yourself.
"You would utterly condemn me if you thought that I engaged in my
work in The Army merely to make a good show, or for some personal
profit, and did not care about what God thought of the matter. My
comrades, there are not two different standards of work--one for
you and one for me. You must, therefore, be under the same
obligation to do your work in the house or in the mine or in the
warehouse, or wherever the Providence of God has placed you" to
please your Heavenly Master, as I am on the platform, in the
council chamber, or wherever my duty may call me.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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