A WORKMAN'S MOTTO
"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast,
immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that
your labour is not in vain in the Lord" (I Cor. 15:58).
Here we have
an uncommonly fine motto for the Christian workman, and every Christian ought
to be a workman. It presents a most valuable balance for the heart. We have
immovable stability linked with unceasing activity.
This is of the
utmost importance. There are some of us who are such sticklers for what we call
principle that we seem almost afraid to embark in any scheme of large-hearted
Christian activity. On the other hand, some of us are so bent on what we call
service that in order to reach desired ends and realize noticeable results, we
do not hesitate to overstep the boundary line of sound principle.
Now,
our motto supplies a divine antidote for both these evils. It furnishes a solid
basis on which we are to stand with steadfast purpose and immovable decision.
We are not to be moved the breadth of a hair from the narrow path of divine
truth, though tempted to do so by the most forcible argument of a plausible
expediency. "To obey is better than sacrifice; and to hearken, than the fat of
rams."
Noble words! May they be engraved in characters deep and broad
on every workman's heart. They are absolutely invaluable, and particularly so
in this our day when there is such willfulness in our mode of working, such
erratic schemes of service, such self-pleasing, such a strong tendency to do
that which is right in our own eyes, such a practical ignoring of the supreme
authority of Holy Scripture.
It fills the thoughtful observer of the
present condition of things with the very gravest apprehensions as he sees the
positive and deliberate throwing aside of the Word of God, even by those who
professedly admit it to be the Word of God. We are not speaking of the
insolence of open and avowed infidelity, but of the heartless indifference of
respectable orthodoxy. There are millions who profess to believe the Bible is
the Word of God, who, nevertheless, do not have the smallest idea of submitting
themselves absolutely to its authority. The human will is dominant. Human
reason bears sway. Expediency commands the heart. The holy principles of divine
revelation are swept away like autumn leaves or the dust of the threshing-floor
before the vehement blast of popular opinion.
How immensely valuable
and important in view of all this, is the first part of our workman's motto!
"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast and immovable." The
"therefore" throws the soul back upon the solid foundation laid in the previous
part of the chapter in which the apostle unfolds the most sublime and precious
truth that can possibly engage the Christian's heart- truth which lifts the
soul completely above the dark and chilling mists of the old creation and
plants it on the solid rock of resurrection. It is on this rock we are exhorted
to be steadfast and immovable. It is not an obstinate adherence to our own
notions- to some favorite dogma or theory which we have adopted- or to any
special school of doctrine. It is not anything of this kind, but a firm grasp
and faithful confession of the whole truth of God of which a risen Christ is
the everlasting Centre.
But we have to remember the other side of our
motto. The Christian workman has something more to do than to stand firmly on
the ground of truth. He has to cultivate the lovely activities of grace. He is
called to be "always abounding in the work of the Lord." The basis of sound
principle must never be abandoned, but the work of the Lord must be diligently
carried on. There are some who are so afraid of doing mischief that they do
nothing; and others, who rather than not be doing something, will do wrong. Our
motto corrects both. It teaches us to set our faces as a flint where truth is
involved; while on the other hand, it leads us to go forth in largeness of
heart and throw all our energies into the work of the Lord.
Let the
Christian reader specially note the expression, "The work of the Lord." We are
not to imagine for a moment that all which engages the energies of professing
Christians is entitled to be designated "the work of the Lord." It is far from
it! We see a mass of things undertaken as service for the Lord with which a
spiritual person could not possibly connect the holy name of Christ. We desire
to have the conscience exercised as to the work in which we embark. We deeply
feel how needful it is in this day of willfulness, laxity and wild liberalism,
to own the authority of Christ in all that we put our hands to, in the way of
work or service. Blessed be His name, He permits us to connect Him with the
most trivial and commonplace activities of daily life. We can even eat and
drink in His holy name and to His glory. The sphere of service is wide enough;
it is only limited by that weighty clause, "The work of the Lord." The
Christian workman must not engage in any work which does not place itself under
that most holy and all-important heading. He must, before he enters upon any
service, ask himself this great practical question, "Can this honestly be
called the work of the Lord?"