The
Christian Father's Present to His Children
by John Angell James, 1825
THE INFLUENCE OF TRUE RELIGION UPON THE
TEMPORAL INTERESTS OF ITS POSSESSOR
Godliness has the promise of the life that is to come—it
conducts to glory, honor, immortality—this is its chief commendation.
Scripture has drawn aside the veil which hangs over the unseen state, and
urged you, my children, upon the great business of true religion—by a
contemplation of the dark world of hell—and of the splendors of the
celestial city. It might seem that, after such an appeal, every other were
useless, and that to speak of other advantages than eternal life, were only
adding a drop to the ocean—or a candle to the sun. But there are people who
are more regulated by present good, however small, than any future prospect
of the greatest gain—who are more governed by illustrations borrowed from
things seen and temporal, than by those which are derived from things unseen
and eternal. In this respect also, and on this ground, true religion can
plead its advantages, for it has "the promises of the life that now is" as
well as that which is to come. I do not assert, that true religion will
conduct all its followers to wealth, honor, and health. No! Still, however,
it exerts a friendly influence on all the temporal interests of mankind, and
protects them from many evils to which, without it, they are exposed.
1. Piety exercises and improves the UNDERSTANDING.
From beginning to end, true religion is an intellectual
process. Whatever raises man above the dominion of the animal senses, and
renders him independent of these, as sources of gratification, must have a
salutary influence upon the mind. Now the objects which true religion
exhibits, are such as the mental faculties alone can converse with; and the
moment a man begins to feel solicitude about spiritual things, he begins to
experience a considerable elevation of character.
Also, the subjects of divine truth are of the most
sublime and lofty kind. They form the Alps in the world of mind. The
existence and attributes of the great God; the system of Providence,
embracing all worlds and all ages; the scheme of redemption, planned from
eternity for the salvation of millions of sinful creatures; the immortality
of the soul; the solemnities of judgment; the everlasting states of the
righteous and the wicked—these are the everyday topics of thought to a
Christian. Can a man live in the daily contemplation of these vast ideas—and
not feel an elevating influence upon his understanding? It will probably be
said, that science will have the same effect. This is admitted in part. But
how many are there to whom philosophical pursuits are utterly inaccessible!
Besides this, it may be replied that nothing but true piety will
infallibly guard the soul from being debased by wicked indulgences.
Read the missionary records, and learn by these
interesting details, what true religion has done for the Negroes of the West
Indies, the Hottentots of South Africa, the Eskimos of Labrador, the
fur-clad Greenlanders of the Arctic regions, and the voluptuous cannibals of
the South Sea Islands. It has raised them from savages into rational
creatures; it has awakened their dormant understanding; sharpened their
powers of perception; taught them the art of reasoning; and invested them
with the power of eloquence.
But why do I go to distant countries, while our own
furnishes illustrations so numerous, and so striking? How many people are
there, who were educated in our Sunday-schools, and who are now filling
stations of importance, honor, and usefulness, who—but for true religion,
would never have risen in the scale of society, or ascended above the lowest
level of poverty. Education, it is true, gave the first impulse to their
minds—but it was an impulse which would have soon spent its force, had it
not been continued and increased by true religion. It was this that gave the
sober, serious, and reflective turn of mind which has led to such mental
improvement; and they who but for the power of godliness, would have been
still earning their bread at the plough or the anvil, are filling the place
of tradesmen or clerks; or are raised to the distinction of preaching with
ability and success, the truths of salvation!
As a proof of the influence which true religion has in
strengthening and elevating the powers of even the most cultivated
understanding, I may give the following quotation from the life of Henry
Martyn, a book which I most emphatically recommend to the perusal of all
young people, as one of the most interesting publications that modern times
have produced. "Since I have known God in a saving manner," he remarks,
"painting, poetry, and music have had charms unknown to me before. I have
received what I suppose is a taste for them—for true religion has refined my
mind, and made it susceptible of impressions from the sublime and beautiful.
O how true religion secures the heightened enjoyment of those pleasures
which keep so many from God, by their becoming a source of pride!"
And it may be fairly argued, that the sublimity of
Milton's genius was owing, in no small degree, to the influence of true
religion upon his mind. This is at once far more direct and obvious in its
tendency, than any natural scenery, however bold and striking may be its
features—since piety not only brings the mind into the region of sublime
mental scenery—but fixes the eye most intently upon it.
2. True religion guards the HEALTH.
I do not mean to say that the rose will always bloom upon
the countenance of piety—but I will affirm, that where it already displays
its beauty, and sheds its fragrance—true religion will prevent those vices,
which, like worms at the root of a flower, consume its strength, and shorten
its existence. How many diseases are generated by sin! It is calculated that
even in time of war, there are more who perish by drunkenness and
licentiousness than by the sword! "You victims of voluptuousness, you
victims of lusts, who formerly tasted the pleasures of sin for a season—but
now are beginning to feel the horrors of it forever; you serve us for
demonstration and example. Look at those trembling hands, that shaking head,
those disjointed knees, that faltering resolution, that feeble memory, that
worn-out body—all putrefaction; these are the dreadful rewards which vice
bestows now, as pledges of what Satan will bestow presently, on those on
whom he is preparing to exhaust his fury."
True religion will prevent all this; that passion
which wastes the strength as with a fever; that ambition which wears
out the frame faster than hard labor; that malice which robs of
sleep; that gambling which hurries a man backward and forward between
the delirium of hope and the torture of fear; that gluttony which
brings on morbid obesity; that drunkenness which preys as a slow fire
on the organs of life; that debauchery which corrupts the whole mass
of the blood, and brings the infirmities of age on the days of youth—are all
kept off by true religion. "The fear of the Lord prolongs days—it is a
fountain of life to guard us from the snares of death." But of the drunkard
and the fornicator it may be said, "his bones are full of the sins of his
youth, which lie down with him in the dust. He enjoyed the taste of his
wickedness, letting it melt under his tongue. He savored it, holding it long
in his mouth. But suddenly, the food he has eaten turns sour within him, a
poisonous venom in his stomach." Job 20:11-14
3. True religion builds up and protects the REPUTATION.
It prevents those sins which render a man
dishonorable and despicable; it promotes all those virtues which
raise and cherish esteem. How despised is the liar, the extortionate and
deceptive tradesman, the unfaithful servant, the unkind husband, the cruel
oppressive master! Who respects the individual that is notoriously addicted
to vice, and flagrantly neglectful of the plainest obligations of virtue?
Whereas, a man of consistent piety, who is known to be a real Christian, and
whose Christianity renders him scrupulously true, honest, and upright—such a
man is always universally esteemed. The wicked may laugh at a saint—but is
he not the very man with whom they love to trade; in whose character they
find sufficient warrant for the propriety of his conduct; and in whose
fidelity they can repose unbounded confidence?
This was remarkably exemplified in the instance of the
missionary Schwartz, who labored to spread the gospel in the southern part
of the Indian peninsula. Such was the repute in which this holy man was held
by the native princes of Hindostan, that when Tippoo Saib was about to enter
into a treaty with the Company, not being disposed to place much confidence
in their agents, he exclaimed, "Send to me the missionary Schwartz, I will
deal with him, for I can confide in his trustworthiness."
How many people has the lack of true religion brought to
an untimely end! No man would ever have been exiled as a felon, or executed
as a malefactor—if he had lived under the influence of piety. No jail would
have been needed, no gallows erected—if all men were pious. Godliness may
not, indeed, guard us from poverty—but it will certainly save us from vice
and infamy. It may not advance us to wealth—but it will assuredly raise us
to respectability.
4. True religion protects our SECULAR interests.
I do not pretend that piety bears into the church the
cornucopia of worldly wealth, to pour down showers of gold on all who court
her smiles and bend to her sway—but still there is a striking tendency in
her influence, to improve our worldly circumstances.
It certainly prevents those vices which tend to poverty.
Poverty is often the effect of vice. How many have hurled themselves and
their families from the pinnacles of prosperity to the depths of
adversity—by a course of wicked and profligate extravagance. Multitudes have
spent all their substance, like the prodigal son, upon harlots and riotous
living. Pride has ruined thousands—and indolence its tens of thousands! It
is an observation of Franklin, "that one vice costs more to keep, than two
children." True piety is the most economical thing in the world—and sin the
most expensive thing in the world. How much do the drunkard, debauchee, and
frequenter of theaters—pay for their sinful gratifications! What is spent in
this nation every year in the grosser sensual indulgences, would pay the
remainder of the national debt. Piety would save all this to the nation.
Piety not only prevents the vices which tend to
poverty—but enjoins and cherishes the virtues which lead to prosperity.
It makes a man industrious—and is not this the way to wealth? It renders him
sober—and does not sobriety tend to advance our fortune? It enforces a right
improvement of time—and surely this is advantageous to everyone. It
prescribes frugality—which tends to increase. If a young man is in the
service of another, piety, by causing him to speak the truth, and adhere to
the principles of honesty—renders him trustworthy and confidential.
We have a most striking and instructive instance of this
in the history of Joseph, of whom the historian thus writes—"And the Lord
was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his
master the Egyptian. And his master saw that the Lord was with him, and that
the Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand. And Joseph found grace
in his sight, and he served him; and he made him overseer over his house,
and all that he had, he put into his hand. And he left all that he had in
Joseph's hand, and he knew not anything he had, save the bread which he did
eat." This is one of the most lively and convincing cases on record of the
influence of true religion on our temporal interests. It was his piety that
secured to Joseph this elevation and prosperity—it was true religion that
exalted him from a menial slave to a steward.
Innumerable are the cases in which people, who set out on
the journey of life without property, and without support, have by the force
of those virtues which true religion enjoins, risen to respectability and
affluence. They were first probably in a state of servitude, where by their
steadiness and good conduct they so attached themselves to their employers,
as to become in their estimation almost essential to the future success of
the business; and, the result has been a share, and, in some cases, the
whole of the trade, which they had contributed so materially to establish.
A friend of mine was once walking in the neighborhood of
a large manufacturing town on a very cold winter's morning, when he overtook
a plain man, decently clad, and wrapped in a comfortable great coat. After
the usual salutations, my friend said to the stranger, "I am glad to see you
with such a good warm covering this cold morning."—"It was not always thus,"
the man replied. "I was once a poor miserable creature, and had neither good
clothes nor decent food; now I have both, and surplus money in the
bank."—"What produced this favorable change?" continued my friend. "True
religion, sir. I used to spend half my time, and all my wages nearly at the
public-house. I was of course always poor, and always wretched. By God's
direction I was led to hear the gospel, when by divine grace the word
reached my heart. I repented of my sins, and became a new creature in Christ
Jesus—old things passed away, and all things became new. True religion made
me industrious and sober—no money and time now went for sin; and the result
is, that I am comfortable, and comparatively rich."
Here then, is a proof and an illustration, that godliness
is profitable for all things, having the promise of the life that now is, as
well as that which is to come. Nor are these proofs uncommon. Many people,
now living in circumstances of high respectability, are willing to ascribe
all they possess here, as well as all they hope for hereafter—to the
influence of true religion.
All this is seen in the case of individuals—but if the
subject be carried out to society at large, it will appear still more
striking.
What but true religion can raise men from a savage to a
civilized state? What else could have achieved the wonders which have been
wrought in Africa—and taught the crudest barbarians to til the ground, to
learn trades, to clothe themselves in decent apparel, to read, to keep
accounts, to print books, to frame laws?
Godliness alone can expel from society the practice of
cruelty, and introduce the reign and prevalence of mercy. The dark places of
the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty. Rome and Greece in the
zenith of their glory, had neither a hospital for the sick, nor an asylum
for the poor; they treated their enemies with the most insolent cruelty;
practiced the most vigorous slavery; instituted games, in which myriads of
human beings were torn to pieces in fighting with wild beasts. What a
blessing has Christianity been to the whole world—even in relation to its
present comforts! It has suppressed polygamy, put a stop to the sale of
children by their parents, and the abandonment and murder of aged parents,
by their children; it has rescued women from their abominable degradation by
the other sex, and raised them to their just rank in society; it has
sanctified the bond of marriage, checked the licentiousness of divorce,
destroyed slavery, mitigated the terrors of war, given a new sanction to
treaties, introduced milder laws, and more equitable governments; it has
taught mercy to enemies and hospitality to strangers—it has made a legal
provision for the poor; formed institutions for instructing the ignorant;
purified the stream of justice; erected the throne of mercy. "These, O
Jesus, are the triumphs and the trophies of your gospel! Which of your
enemies—Paganism, Islamism, or Infidelity—has done, or could do the like?"
Even the avowed and inveterate opponents of the gospel,
have been reluctantly compelled to acknowledge, in this view, its
excellence. Voltaire says expressly, "that religion is necessary in every
community; the laws are a curb upon open crimes, and religion on those that
are private." "No religion," says Bolingbroke, "ever appeared in the world,
whose natural tendency was so much directed to promote the peace and
happiness of mankind, as the Christian religion. The gospel of Christ is one
continued lesson of the strictest morality, of justice, benevolence, and
universal charity. Supposing Christianity to be a human invention, it is the
most amiable and useful invention that ever was imposed upon mankind for
their good." Hume acknowledges, "that disbelief in futurity, looses in a
great measure the ties of morality, and may be supposed, for that reason,
pernicious to the peace of civil society." Rousseau confesses, "that if all
were perfect Christians, individuals would do their duty, the people would
be obedient to the laws, the rulers just, the magistrates incorrupt, and
there would be neither vanity nor luxury in such a state." Gibbon admits,
"that the gospel discouraged suicide, advanced education, checked
oppression, promoted the emancipation of slaves, and softened the ferocity
of barbarous nations; that fierce nations received at the same time lessons
of faith and humanity, and that even in the most corrupt state of
Christianity, the barbarians learned justice from the law, and mercy from
the gospel." (See an interesting work by Dr. Ryan, entitled, "The History of
the Effects of Religion on Mankind in Countries Ancient and Modern,
Barbarous and Civilized." I very particularly recommend the perusal of this
volume to all young people who can procure it.)
And yet with such concessions, and after having paid such
a tribute of praise to the excellence of Christianity, these miserable men
have been so vile and perverse as to conspire for her destruction.
Thus has it been most demonstrably proved, that godliness
exerts a powerful and favorable influence over the temporal interests of
mankind. Neglect it, my children, and you know not what awaits you, either
in this world or that which is to come. You may imagine that, provided you
are moral and steady, although you are not pious, you are far enough removed
from the probability of that wretchedness which vice brings with it. But,
ah! in some unguarded moment, temptation may be successful to lead you
astray—one vice makes way for another; and the dreadful progress described
in the chapter on the deceitfulness of the heart, may be realized by you.
Neglect true religion, and you will certainly be ruined for the world to
come—and maybe for the life that now is. Vice certainly brings hell in
its train—and sometimes a dreadful pledge of its future torments—in present
poverty, disease, and misery!
I reflect with unutterable grief, as I now write, upon
many young men, who were entering life with the greatest advantages, and the
brightest prospects, whom, to use a common expression, fortune favored with
her brightest smiles—but, alas! they would not be happy and respectable, for
taking to the ways of sin, they dashed all the hopes of their friends, and
wantonly threw away the opportunities which a kind providence had put within
their reach. They went first to the theater, then to the brothel, then to
the tavern. They became dissipated, extravagant, idle. Unhappy youths! I
know not what they might have been—respectable tradesmen, prosperous
merchants, honorable members of society. I know what they are—bloated rakes,
discarded partners, bankrupts, miserable vagrants, a burden to their
friends, a nuisance to the community, and a torment to themselves!
Seek true religion, then; for, as Solomon says, "Happy is
the person who finds wisdom and gains understanding. For the profit of
wisdom is better than silver, and her wages are better than gold. Wisdom is
more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her. She
offers you life in her right hand, and riches and honor in her left. She
will guide you down delightful paths; all her ways are satisfying. Wisdom is
a tree of life to those who embrace her; happy are those who hold her
tightly." Proverbs 3:13-18.