SERIOUS THOUGHTS.

Waikato Argus, Volume XI, Issue 1077, 19 October 1901, Page 4

SERIOUS THOUGHTS.

SINCERITY. St, I’Ai'i,, in describing live ( hris'ian's armour calls “ the belt wh'cb keeps all else in its place, truth tl: tis singleness of eye or perfect since' ity— the pure and simple desire for the light.’ ‘Unless the vessel he clean (ir sincere, said the old Roman proverb, whatever you pir in it turn.-' sour.’) A luck of sincerity at the heart of the spiritual life will de-troy it all.’ Si'.oer.ty 1 is not that a virtue we all pride ourselves on po-s sung, and yet if we earnestly coin-id. r the ma ter we shall Ihul we arc wanting in this viry particular. Arc we sincere towards ourselves ? Shakespeare says:— “To thine own self be true, And it shall follow, as the night the day, Thou eanst not then be false to any man.” 1. Let us look at ourselves, as it, were, straight in the face, without humbug or hypocrisy. Let us examine ourselves, or, belti r still, ask dod to show ns hy the light of If s Holy Spirit, within ns, where we are wrong, ‘ Sea eh me, () God, and know my In art: try me, and know my though'.s.’ Most of u; have some hidden corners we would ra her keep dark, some pet sins we encourage under the name of ‘little weaknesses.’ But, a his, it is the little -ins that hurt us, like the little fo.v. s that get in and spoil the grapes We should always he thankful to he shown our faults in w ha - ever way God chooses to reveal them to us. Sometimes, most unexpectedly, we are pulled up sharply hy si me spoken or written word, ami we suddenly sec our conduct in an entirely new light. Now, if wo are girded with the licit of sincerity, we shall rejoice at and make use of every tevolution of ourselves. Jt should he our aim to keep our ‘ conscience as the noonday clear,’ lo throw open, as it were, all the windows of our soul to the heavenly sunshine, to sacrilioe everything to increased light. 2. Sincerity towards our follow men is, without doubt, at the root of friendship. Once suspect that your friend does not ‘ mean all he says—professes more affection for you than he feels, and your friendship must come to an end. And yet with most of ns there is such a ■strong desire to please, to say what we know will gratity, that we must keep a strict watch on ourselves in our intercourse with others. 3. The most important point I have kept till last—sincerity towards God. Perhaps you may think it needless to urge it as who could he deemed capable of attempting to deceive his M,ki r. The terrible story of Anuanias and ipph ia furnish us with the Biblical warning of those who ‘ lied not unto men but unto God.’ Do we think their punishment severe? They had perfect right to keep back part of the price if they bad done so openly, but they tried to deceive God in pretending, to give all. Aks ! How much religions c ut and humbug there is still ! God, who can see right into our hearts, ‘who is a diteerner of the thought",’ and known our motives for every |ac(iou, e.nnot he deceived by any pretended goodness. So with peifeet Mncerilyjand singlet e-s of bend, desiring only lhe Light of God’s Ftesccee let us rejoice with David when he said. Tor there is not a word in my longue but 10, U Lord, thou knowest it altogether. -(F).