| The Joy of Service |
Chapter 16 |
Page 5 |
We know far less about people than we suppose we do. Here is a man in grief; he has lost a child, he is in poor health, he has suffered reverses in business, or he has had a sore struggle with adversity. You pity him. It makes your heart bleed to think of his sorrow or trial. You would like to help him, to relieve him in his hard condition. But perhaps if you could see within, you would not pity him, but would bow your head in reverence before him. His heart if filled with the peace of God. He is living victoriously. He needs no pity, no help, from you. The best you can do for him is to pray to God to keep him brave and strong in his trial.
Here is another man who seems to be the favourite of fortune. Everything he touches turns to gold. Sunshine floods his pathway. You congratulate this friend on his prosperity. You would name him as the most favoured man in the community. Ah! Perhaps, if you could see within his soul, where fierce passions and unrestrained desires hold sway, your congratulation would turn to sad pity. This man needs your prayers far more than your felicitations. Your prayer for him should be that in his worldly prosperity his soul may not perish or be hurt.
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