As a boy wills to be pleasant and cheerful, or to be disagreeable and quarrelsome, so then will he be. We know now that we may all be masters of ourselves, and hewers of our own fates. {201} All these things Jesus taught plainly. Said He, "Ye have heard it said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: but I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. "Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and then rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee; leave then thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. "Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing." [Sidenote: Jesus an example.] There is in history no finer example of serene calm and self-control than that manifested in the earth life of the Savior of the world. When James and John, "the Sons of Thunder," asked permission to call down fire from heaven upon the Samaritan village that had refused to entertain Jesus, the Lord rebuked them, saying, "Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of Man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them." And when during the days of trial and suffering, men insulted Him and did Him physical injury, Jesus went like a lamb to the slaughter. {202} [Sidenote: The strength of self-control.] All examples and precepts, then, admonish us to acquire self-control, to be slow to anger, to banish hatred, and to eschew envy. "For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God;" and "he that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city." THE REFERENCES Moses 5:16-41. Matt. 5:21-26. Prov. 27:4. Luke 9:51-56. Prov. 29:22. James 1:20. Prov. 22:24. Prov. 16:32. Prov. 15:18. "Angry Words, Oh Let Them Never," S. S. Song Book. THE QUESTIONS 1. What caused the downfall of Cain? 2. What effect does anger have upon the mind? 3. Why does not anger work for righteousness? 4. What do you think of a quarrelsome boy with a grouch? 5. What did Jesus teach about anger? 6. How does self-control make for strength? {203} {204} PICTURE: JESUS BLESSING LITTLE CHILDREN, Plockhorst {205} XXVII WITH WHAT MEASURE YE METE [Sidenote: The two school girls.]