Of course we are to be helpful to others. No aim should be put higher
in our life-plans than that of personal helpfulness. The motto of the
true Christian cannot be other than that of the Master: "Not to be
ministered unto, but to minister." Even in the ambition to gather and
retain wealth, the spirit of the desire must be, if we are Christians
at all, that thereby we may become more helpful to others; that
through, or by means of, our wealth, we may be enabled to do larger and
greater good. Whatever gift, power, or possession we have that we do
not seek to use in this way is not yet truly devoted to God. Fruit is
the test of character, and the purpose of fruit is not to adorn the
tree or vine, but to feed hunger. Whatever we are, whatever we have,
is fruit, and must be held for the feeding of the hunger of others.
Thus personal helpfulness is the aim of all truly consecrated life. In
so far as we are living for ourselves, we are not Christians.
Then there are many ways of helping others. Some people help us in
material ways. It is a still higher kind of help which we get from
those who minister to our mental needs, who write the books which
charm, instruct, and entertain us. Mind is greater than body. Bread,
and clothing, and furniture, and houses will not satisfy our
intellectual cravings. There are those, however, who do help us in
these loftier ranges.
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