The Authoritative Life of General William Booth Part 46

"The times and friends of long ago are sometimes said to have been brighter or better than those of to-day. This may have been the experience of some. It has not been mine. It is true that in the early years of my Salvation Warfare there were battlings and victories of deep interest and value, but no conflicts or triumphs in those far-back times exceeded, or indeed equalled, in value and interest the conflicts and triumphs of my later days.

"It is true that from the beginning I have been a.s.sociated with many remarkable men and women--men and women whose ability, affection, and devotion to G.o.d have been of the greatest service to me. But with, perhaps, one or two exceptions, I have had no co-workers who have excelled, or even equalled, in ability, in affection or devotion, the Comrades who at the present hour are struggling with me all over the world for the highest well-being of their fellows, and for the advancement of the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ.

"Sixty-five years ago I chose the Salvation of men and the extension of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ as the supreme object for which I would live and labour.

"Although that choice was made in my early youth, in much ignorance of the world, and of the religious needs of those about me, still, it was not arrived at without much thought and some information; and that purpose is still, and will be to the end, the object which has shaped and mastered the thoughts, ambitions, and activities of my whole life.

"From the hour of my first Prayer Meetings in one of the cottage homes of my native town, down to the present moment, that object has been the governing principle of my life. The adornments and flowers and music and other pleasant things connected with religious service have all been secondary to efficiency in the search for that object and success in attaining it.

"My hourly usage with regard to every effort I put forth has been to ask myself: What does this action contemplate? What will it achieve? Can it be improved upon? I believe I can say that every conversation and prayer and song and address and Meeting I have had a hand in have been valued in proportion to their ability to promote the realisation of that great purpose.

"No greater mistake can be made with respect to The Salvation Army than to suppose that it is not a school for thought. Perhaps more theories have been produced and more schemes invented by us for gaining the highest ends of the Christian faith (bearing in mind our age and the extent of our work) than by any other religious movement in existence. Indeed, as I have often said in public, when we have so many thousands of hearts inflamed with the love of Christ for sinning, suffering, and dying men, and possessed with a pa.s.sionate desire for their rescue, you must have the constant evolution of new plans and contrivances for that purpose.

"But, while thus inventive, The Army does not content itself with hopes and theories merely; it seeks to put every fresh idea to the test of practical application, waiting for the issue, before it regards it of permanent value. At least, that has been my own usage, and the practical character of my mind and work has come to be generally allowed.

"While, then, I glory in the fact that our religion is Divine in origin and manifestation, I equally maintain the necessity for human skill, human energy, and human enterprise, in the efforts put forth to establish and extend it; and, accordingly, I have only adopted any efforts so far as they have proved themselves effective in the school of experience.

"So with this confidence in my convictions I proceed once more to push them upon your attention."

In the _Orders and Regulations for Soldiers_, perhaps the concisest description of earnest living ever written, he says:--

"The Salvation Soldier must have been converted or changed by the power of the Holy Spirit from the old, worldly, selfish, sinful nature, to the new, holy, heavenly, Divine nature; and not only must he thus have received a new heart, but he must have the Holy Spirit living in that heart, possessing it, and working through it, to will and to do the good pleasure of G.o.d.

"This is the first and main condition of Soldiers.h.i.+p. It is understood that every Soldier has come into the possession of this true Religion by pa.s.sing through that change which is usually described in The Army as being 'saved.' There is nothing more common throughout our ranks than! the expression, 'I am glad I am saved!'

"As it is impossible for a Salvation Soldier to perform the duties hereafter set forth with satisfaction to himself, and profit to others, unless this change has been experienced, it will be well to describe it rather particularly, so that every Soldier who reads these Regulations will be able to satisfy himself whether he has really undergone this change.

"If on reading this description, any Soldier should have reason to believe that he has not experienced this change, and is still in his sins, or that he has been unfaithful since he did realise it, and is, therefore, a backslider, the first business of such an one will be to go to G.o.d and seek Salvation; otherwise it will be impossible for him to be a good Soldier.

"Salvation implies the devotion of the whole life to the accomplishment of the purpose for which Christ lived and suffered and died. It means that the Soldier becomes His disciple.

"Enlisting in His Army, the Soldier receives not only power to walk in His commandments for himself, but to subdue other men to the Lord.

"His new nature now continually cries out, 'What wilt Thou have me to do?' and carries him forth with the feet of cheerful obedience in the service of his new Master, to weep and suffer, and, if necessary, to die, to bring others into the enjoyment of the Salvation which he himself has found. He lives the same kind of life and is actuated by the same purposes as G.o.d Himself."

In _Religion for Every Day_ he writes:--

"I am always talking to you about what we call religious duties, such as praying and singing, making efforts to save your own soul and the souls of the people about you. In these letters I propose speaking of the things that men call secular, and which many people reckon have nothing to do with Religion. But I want to show you, if I can, that the Salvationist's conduct ought, in every particular, to be religious; every meal he partakes of should be a sacrament; and every thought and deed a service done to G.o.d. In doing this you will see that I shall have to deal with many quite commonplace subjects; and, in talking about them, I shall try to be as simple and as practical as I possibly can.

"The first topic to which I shall call your attention is your daily employment, and by that I mean the method by which you earn your livelihood. Or, supposing that, having some independent means of support, you are not compelled to labour for your daily bread, then I shall point out that special form of work, the doing of which Providence has plainly made to be your duty. Because it is difficult to conceive of any Salvationist who has not some regular employment, for which he holds himself responsible to G.o.d

"Work is a good thing, my comrades. To be unemployed is generally counted an evil--any way, it is so in the case of a poor man; but it seems to me that the obligation to be engaged in some honourable and useful kind of labour is as truly devolved upon the rich as upon the poor, perhaps more so. Work is necessary to the well-being of men and women of every cla.s.s, everywhere. To be voluntarily idle, in any rank or condition of life, is to be a curse to others and to be accursed yourself.

"You would utterly condemn me if you thought that I engaged in my work in The Army merely to make a good show, or for some personal profit, and did not care about what G.o.d thought of the matter. My comrades, there are not two different standards of work--one for you and one for me. You must, therefore, be under the same obligation to do your work in the house or in the mine or in the warehouse, or wherever the Providence of G.o.d has placed you" to please your Heavenly Master, as I am on the platform, in the council chamber, or wherever my duty may call me.

"But here another question arises. Do you accept Jesus Christ as your Master in the affairs of your daily life? If not, of course, this part of my argument will be thrown away; but if you do, then it will be the most powerful of all.

"At the commencement of His ministry, Jesus Christ announced that He was about to establish the Kingdom of Heaven on the earth. By the Kingdom of Heaven He meant a Kingdom consisting of heavenly government, heavenly laws, heavenly obedience, heavenly power, heavenly love, heavenly joy. These, taken together, const.i.tute the chief characteristics of this Kingdom, and instead of being confined, as it had been hitherto, to a handful of people in Jerusalem and Judea, it was to cover the whole earth.

"Now the subjects of that Kingdom must accept Jesus Christ as their Master and Lord. No one can either come into that Kingdom or remain in it without compliance with this law. You cannot be a son without being a servant.

"But you have written yourselves down as His servants, and said you will 'no longer live unto yourselves,' nor to please the world, but to do the will of Him who has redeemed you; that is, to please Him.

Now the Master's province, everybody knows, is, not only to choose the work of His servants, but to get it done, if possible, to His satisfaction.

"He has appointed me my work. He has arranged that I should direct the movements of this great Army, preach Salvation, write Letters for you to read, save as many sinners as I can, and strive to get my Soldiers safely landed on the Celestial Sh.o.r.e. Before all else, I must do this Work, as nearly as I can, to satisfy my Lord--and nothing short of the best work I can produce will accomplish that.

"And as with me so with you. He has chosen your work, if you have put your life into His hands, just as truly as He has chosen mine, although it may be of a different kind. I am writing this letter in the train. I am a poor writer at best. When I was a child my schoolmaster neglected to teach me to hold my pen properly. In this respect he did not do good work, and I have had to suffer for it ever since. Still, I am doing my work as well as I can, in order that it may profit you and please my Lord.

"In settling how much work he will do, a man must have due regard to the claims of his own health. If he rushes at his work without due discretion, and does more than his strength will reasonably allow, he will probably break down, and so prevent his working altogether, or for a season, at least. Whereas, if he exhausts no more energy than he can recover by sleep and food and rest, at the time he can go steadily forward, and by doing so, accomplish a great deal more, in the long run, than he would by temporary extravagant exertion. When speaking on this subject, I sometimes say that I use my body as I should use a horse, if I had one--that is, I should not seek to get the most labour out of him for a week, regardless of the future, but I should feed and manage him with a view to getting the most I could get out of him all the year round.

That is, doubtless, the way a man should use his body, and to do this he should take as much time for his food and daily rest as is necessary to replace the energies he has used up by his work.

"In the leisure taken for this purpose, it will be necessary to have specified hours, as otherwise, those who are without principle will take advantage of the weak, and anything like system will be impossible.

"Then, again, when the proper performance of a particular task depends upon the united labour of a number of individuals, who have agreed to work in co-operation, it will be necessary, in the interests of the whole, that each should conform to the regulations laid down, always supposing that such rules are in harmony with truth and righteousness.

"The wishes and interests of employers have also to be taken into consideration. But, in every case, the principle is equally obligatory upon all.

"These duties will demand, and must have devoted to them, a measure of the time at our control. What that amount of time shall be, must be determined by the relative importance of those duties.

For instance:--

"There is the work a man can do for his earthly employers, over and above the amount that is considered to be a strict and just return for his wages. Here, again, he must be guided by Jesus Christ's rule, and to do unto his master as he would that his master should do unto him.

"There is the work that he ought to do for his family, apart and beyond the bare earnings of their daily bread. This is work which no one else can do so well, and which, if it be neglected by him, will probably not be done at all.

"There is the effort that every workman should put forth for his own personal improvement. For instance, a youth of seventeen works, we will say, ten hours a day for his employer, who would very much like him to put in another hour at the same task, and would be willing to pay him extra for doing so. This, we will suppose, the youth could do without any injurious effect to his health. But then, by reading his Bible, or cultivating his mind, he might qualify himself to become an Officer, or to fill some other important position, in either case fitting himself for a field of greater usefulness, in the future, than the one he already occupies. Under such circ.u.mstances, it must be the duty of that youth to take that hour for his own improvement, rather than to use it to enrich his master or increase his earnings.

"Then, every Soldier of Jesus Christ must duly consider and obey the claims of the Salvation War. That is, he must strive to take his fair share in that conflict. Whether he is his own master, having the direct control of his time, or whether he works for an employer, who only allows him many hours for leisure, he must conscientiously devote much of that time as he can to saving his fellow-men, settling this question, he must use his common sense, and claim the promised direction of the Holy Spirit. G.o.d will guide him.

"What I protest against here is the notion, born of indolence and selfishness, which affirms that we should do little, rather than as much, work as is consistent with the maintenance of health, and with the claims arising out of the relations in which we stand to those about us.

[Ill.u.s.tration: {Handwriting}

Soldiers. G.o.d and a sinning suffering world cal you to rise up and meet your great opportunity. Do it and do it with your might.

For the present I must say farewell; but always think of ****

Your affectionate General Williams S. Booth

Cape Town, _October 12, 1908_

AN AUTOGRAPH MESSAGE FROM THE GENERAL]

"However, circ.u.mstances will transpire, during the earthly career of every one of us, calling for self-sacrificing work that must be performed, regardless of consequences to health or any other interest.

"Supposing, by way of ill.u.s.tration, a s.h.i.+p has sprung a leak, through which the water is rus.h.i.+ng rapidly in, endangering the lives of both the pa.s.sengers and crew. Under such conditions, would not every man on board be justified in working night and day to prevent the threatened calamity? Nay, further, would not the laws of humanity call upon every one concerned to do so at the risk of crippling themselves, or even sacrificing life itself, in order to gain the greater good of saving the vessel from destruction, and rescuing a number of their fellows from a watery grave?

"My contention then, is, that whether in the shop or on the s.h.i.+p, in the parlour or in the kitchen, in the factory or in the field, on the Salvation platform or in the coal mine, whether Officers or Soldiers, we are all alike, as servants of G.o.d, under the obligation to do all we possibly can in the service of men; and to do it with the holy motive of pleasing our Heavenly Master.