Minister Points To Perils Of Isolation

Chronicle (Levin), 22 March 1949, Page 4

Minister Points To Perils Of Isolation

"However much Christians long for quietness and seeurity, for freedom to folloW their way of life, it is not God's will that they find a sheltered corner in life, or live out their days in some fertile valley of their own seleCting. They have neighbours, and whether they like it or not they' must oultivate relationships with those neighbours." These comments were made by Rev. A. Salmond^ preachihg ih St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church on the Old Testament story of the sudden destruction of Laish. "The temptation that o^ertakes every culture group, every ^ccc-ss-ful class an'd every free nation is to tend to live in isolation, enjoying to the full the fruits of ar achiev1 ed way of life," he continued. "Histpry is full of examples if human groups that brought destruction "upon themselves "by the selfish use of what they possessed. "Human progress is possible only through struggle and strivmg and directed effort. It involves the strbng helping the weak, the educated giving costing service to die. ignoran't, 'the rich sharing unreservedly with the poor. Folk on a high level standard of life must deliberately give themselves to the task of raising all-'below them to highei? ground. Merely maintainlng a position of privilege and strivLig

for continued comfort and peace is to court disaster. Nations -end families and individuals that want to live comfortably in "isolation. bring disaster upon themselves. "In the New Testament the Christian comiriunity is referred to as a colony of heaven, and one thing such a colony must not do is to strive for a tolerable measure of earthly; comfort and. seeurity and rest in that. By faith in the L >rd ahd Redeemer, the smallest Christian community must struggle to break down and traverse all human barriers that separate mahkina into islands of pride and conflict."