THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY

Dominion, Volume 35, Issue 284, 29 August 1942, Page 6

THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY

Comments —Reflections

Intercession. Eternal God, we beseech Thee, so that we may not only know the truth but be given grace to stand firm and true to all that is in accordance with Thy Holy Will. Be with us in the great struggle to which Thou hast called us, so that the power of evil may be vanquished and righteousness and truth may reign triumphant among men. a Amen. / '* * «

Look to your health; and if you have It, iiraise God, and value if next to a good conscience.—lzaak Walton.

Difficulties make a nation. How true this is! Out of her tribulations and suffering China will surely emerge a stronger nation. This is the conviction in the heart of every true sou of China, as it is also the belief of everybody the world over. ‘Any medicine,’ runs an old proverb in Chlua, ‘which does not make a man dizzy will not help him to recover.’ This is one of my favourite sayings, which I often quote to encourage our soldiers and, fellow countrymen. What this means Is that strong doses of medicine are necessary to cure any deep-rooted and chronic ailments. Such medicine may cause a violent reaction in the patient, but only by going through such a drastic treatment will he completely regain his health. The reason for this is plain: in every one of us there is a store of vital potential energy, and medicine which we take during illness helps to release this energy to fight against the disease germs, and thus restore us to health. Indeed, how often have we seen men become stronger and more healthy after a dangerous illness. It is even so with a i>eople.”—General Chiang Kai-shek, the Chinese Generalissimo,

“Probably, when the time comes for retrospection among all the immense changes of life and daily circumstance imposed upon us by this ‘total war’ none will stand out as more significant than the disappearance from all ordinal'}’ and peace-time avocations of the women," writes Lord Gorell in the “Quarterly Review" tn his survey of “Britain at War." “Men have had to go inevitably as soon as ever war widened from small contingents to nations under arms; in the last war very many women—for the first time, except as nurses—were enrolled in the national effort, and very deep indeed in the succeeding years went the consequences. But today we are witnessing a silent, social revolution even as we have already for a year 1 or more at least been participating in one that is economic. This war-employment of women, not just of the young and strong, but of the vast 'bulk of the still active women of the nation, is a tremendous fact; it is changing habits and ways of life now every day, and increasingly, and Its repercussions in. the future are infinite. I do not think that even yet most of us realize how very different the world -after the war is of necessity going to be.”

“A man with an uneducated conscience is like one who sets his watch not by tlie wireless ‘pips’ but by some crazy clock on which his eye happens to fall. His own watch goes well enough, but it cannot 'be relied on to tell him the truth because it was not set by Greenwich time. One man will set his conscience by professional etiquette and is more troubled by a breach of that etiquette than he would bo if lie were guilty of a -bit of downright dishonesty, provided, of course, that he were not found out. A woman who is nothing but a social climber will suffer more if she makes a faux pas than she will over all the selfish uselessness of her life. There are men who are kind and generous within the circle of their family and friends, and yet have no conscience at all about owning slum property and grinding their -tenants, or about being ruthless or unjust to their employees. There are others who would never deceive a friend, yet are proud- of their smartness if by a bit of sharp practice they can pull off a business deal. They can only, see their obligations within a narrow circle, and outside of it. their moral principles do not. apply, The only conscience which is really reliable either as guide or judge is that, which has been set. out by any conventional, local or temporal standard, but by the mind of Christ.”— From an essay* “Facing Ourselves," in a series by Mr. F. Tizard. ■> « 9

"We believe," said Professor Baillie at -the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, “that our nation has never been faced by a more naked display of the powers of evil. I feel strongly that tlie young men whom we are sending out. to fight our battles lifive a right to know that their Church is solidly behind them in testimony to -the justice of the cause for whicli they are risking their lives and to the excellence of the ideals they have pledged themselves to defend. At the same time it is felt that the Church must have something to say about the war and the international situation as a whole that is different in kind from and goes far -beyond anything that, can be said in the name of the State, whicli necessarily represents n mixed society and not a Christian community alone. We are not yet, it is to feared, come to the crisis of the present struggle, but only entering into the cloud. In my view there are questions, however, whicli will need to lie answered 'by the Church before very long. Our nation today is defending tlie ideals of democracy and liberty. It must not be forgotten Hint at. first, and for a long time, a state of bitter feud existed between tlie orthodox representatives of the Christtian Church, on tthe one hand, and the protagonists of liberal democracy on tlie other, The cry of liberty, equality, fraternity, was first raised by declared opponents of organized Christianity. The Church must, not think of herself as merely defending an order of society which is now being threatened by our foes'. The Church must think of herself ns pointing tli<r way, by God’s help, to a better order—an order which will no longer bear the seeds of its own dissolution.” * » * The Quiet Voice. This mad barbaric tongue that, speaks tlie old Grim phrases Caesar knew Holds in each phrase the future’s judgment cold, The dark prophetic clue. Tlie quiet voice of Galilee shall still lie heard, When wild guiis sound no more, Blessing tlie nations witli a holy word, With peace nt every door! —Arthur Wallace Peach, in the “Churchman.”