Math. '7:14.

EVERY MAN should have an ideal or a hero. If there is one who has none and desires none, do not trust him too far. A man who has no ideals does not wish to be any greater than he is, and will in time prove a detriment to others. Abraham Lincoln is the ideal hero for the American youth, and that applies to any youth from six to sixty or over.

Lincoln came from the lowliest and poorest of stock and yet rose to the highest office in the land that we as a people can bestow. There is hardly a boy or a man today who cannot say that he has as many or more natural gifts and opportunities than Lincoln had. He was plain and honest and determined to get along in his world. He had many faults like all of us. He would rather rest his lanky body in some comfortable position and proceed to tell yarns than to do any work. He was neither as polite nor as polished as his wife wanted him to be. He had but a few dollars in his pocket when he moved into the White house as our President. But money does not make a man. Polished manners do not make him. Even education does not make great a man whose soul is small.

Abe's soul began to grow from the seed of thought that was placed in his mind when yet a small lad by his mother, who made it a point to teach him what she could when she was able. One day Mrs. Lincoln became very ill, and, knowing that she was dying, called her family around her bedside, then placing her feeble hand upon little Abe's head she said to them, "Be good to one another." She expressed the hope that they live as she had taught them, loving their kindred and worshipping God. She had done her work and, stoop shouldered, thin breasted, sad, at times most miserable, without prospect of better conditions on earth, she passed away. She may have dreamed, but little realized the grand future that lay in store for the ragged, hapless boy who stood at her side.  TOP

Though Abe was quite young at her passing, he never forgot his mother. She taught him a lesson that he carried with him through life. She taught him that the beginning of wisdom is not imposed by discipline, but the beginning of wisdom is first the desire for discipline, the love of it, the voluntary choice of it. Thus he learned that discipline is the highroad that leads to everything that makes life worth living.

Go to a concert or opera today and listen to the Voice that captivates the music lovers who hear it voices of such artists as McCormick, Lily Pons, Thomas, Eddy, McDonald, Moore, and your favorites that you can name. How do they ever happen? Ah, they do not happen. Granted that they may be especially gifted, but those final magical results come not by chance or accident, but from discipline. Discipline that is consciously chosen, ardently desired, and patiently persisted in.

Yet we hear it said that we are an undisciplined generation of people. This, however, is not true. In every realm of life we enjoy the fruits of disciplined research and toil, with results far greater than our forefathers ever dreamed. I shall never forget the thrilling experience I had one evening sitting in my home before a cozy fireside. The radio was beside my chair and I casually reached over, turned it on, and selected a prominent station. To my keen surprise I heard a voice calling Richard Byrd in the Antarctic regions at the South Pole. I then heard the Commander tell of the hazards and difficulties they had met the day before as they unloaded supplies and hauled them to their new home, Little America, over the slope of broken ice and drifted snow. Had he written a detailed report and sent it by letter it would have taken months to reach us, yet here in less than a second his voice vibrated through the air and I, like many others, heard him report the happenings of the day. The old miracle workers never dreamed that such as this could happen. Happen that is not the word; discipline that is it. It was painstaking, scientific, technical discipline that produced such a result. TOP

We are not an undisciplined generation in any realm except one, and that is in our morals. In science, in art, in athletics, in any practical endeavor we know the worth of discipline. Yet we let ourselves go, we must have our fling, we unleash our instincts and throw off restraint. It is the denial of discipline that characterizes much of our moral life. Men everywhere are awakening to the necessity of disciplining their thoughts and acts, We train domestic animals carefully, we harness the forces of Nature to serve us regularly and well, and yet when it comes to ourselves, the most valued of all, we let our thoughts run wild. No one can attain his ambitions until he learns to discipline his mental force and is able to control his thinking. No one can be truly religious before his mind is in order and his ideals are brought in harmony with the Divine mind. No one can gain wisdom and understanding of life except that he seeks it in God's appointed way according to the Law.

First let us note one simple fact. SOMETHING ALWAYS HAS TO BE SACRIFICED FOR SOMETHING ELSE. Everything in life has its own price and is ever up for sale. We have to purchase it at the price it demands. Day after day we go up to life's counter and say," I will give you this if you will give me that." This bartering has another name more familiar perhaps; we call it "sacrifice." Sacrifice, then, is not what our preachers have made it out to be. It is an unescapable necessity. It is a definite law that we must obey. We are sacrificing every day of our lives whether we want to or not, whether we know it or not. No matter what we want of life we have to give up something in order to get it.  TOP

From one of the Master's sayings the modern mind shrinks back and tries to avoid. "Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there are that findeth it.,, How we dislike to hear such words. We are through with narrowness, we say. We are more liberal today, we want the broad open ways. We claim our freedom and declare there is no need for us to be so narrow. We will not go through the small and narrow way. Yet there are few statements that Jesus uttered that are more accurate and complete that that one. No man will ever find the richness of life in any realm by loose and casual wandering. Always he will have to go down a narrow way and through a strait gate called discipline.

Go hear Kreisler play his violin and listen to music that is almost divine. Watch the skilled surgeon at his delicate task of repairing a broken body that it may hold its life a little longer for the soul to grow stronger. Consider the scientist in his laboratory with his scientific formulas.

Remember George Eliot saying that she was a young woman when she began "Romola" but an old one when she finished it. Or think of Admiral Byrd flying over the South Pole and talking to us about it by means of radio. Are such experiences life? Indeed they are, Liberated life of an attained achievement, the most satisfying sort of living man can ever know, but strait is the gate and narrow is the way of discipline that leads to such a life.

When this law of sacrifice is carried over into the moral realm, it is commonly presented one sided. We are taught that if we want to live a good life we have to give up so many pleasures. How familiar that sounds to some of us. The result is that we rebel, and when we think of sacrifice we think of the ones who have had to give up so much pleasure for goodness. Who are some of the great sacrificers in history? Well, there was Socrates who drank the hemlock; there was Jesus who was crucified on the cross; there was Paul who was beheaded; there was Peter who was crucified upside down; there was Luther and Wesley and Calvin, all religionists; there were Livingstone, Nightingale and scores of others. But think for a moment, are they the ones who made the most terrific sacrifices?  TOP

We speak of the supreme sacrifice of Jesus upon the cross; we read of the martyrdom of Saints Peter, Paul, and John but what about Judas Iscariot? Think of what he had a chance to be come. Think of the companionship he once possessed, and the place he might have occupied. Think of what he threw away. Think of what he got for it. I say to you, the Cross was not a sacrifice to be compared with what Judas paid. For but thirty pieces of silver and utter disgrace he cast aside the richest opportunity of any man in all history. A youth who had disdained discipline, had cast aside restraint and had his fling wrote as he sat behind prison bars, "A thousand, thousand times I have paid in full for those few hours." This young man and his nephew, a few years his junior, had attended a revival meeting in a town not far from me, and on their way home they argued the question the minister had talked about at the meeting. The argument grew into angry words, and when they reached home this anger had been fanned to a murderous heat. The younger man went to his room, and got a gun, and shot at the uncle. The uncle in turn wrestled for the gun and turned it upon the youth and killed him. I say this is costly living. We should take this earnestly unto ourselves and realize how the word sacrifice touches every one of us.

A man called at my office seeking help in a very serious problem. He had a fine home, a lovely, devoted wife, and two splendid children. It is true that the wife had taken up much of her time with the children and the husband was going out to his club and social affairs alone. He had met another woman and thought he was in love with her.

This was his problem, what about the family and the home? There is only one answer, and it is not for me or any mortal to decide. The Law will determine it for you. You cannot have a lovely home, a devoted family and enjoy loose living. If you will not sacrifice or give up the loose living for the lovely home, you will be forced to sacrifice a lovely home and loved ones for loose living. You cannot enjoy the satisfactions and pleasures of a true friendship and indulge in a bad temper. If you will not sacrifice your temper for friendships, you will sacrifice your friendships for a bad temper. One cannot have a sterling character that friends will respect and trust and resort to crooked practices. If he will not give up his crooked ways for trustworthiness, he will have to sacrifice his trustworthiness for crookedness.

You may ever be sure of this: no matter how far you may go before the rope gets tight, no matter how wild or how lax you may live, even though you think you are getting away with it and do, you cannot fool the Law. SOMETHING ALWAYS HAS TO BE PAID FOR SOMETHING ELSE. All fine living, all success and happiness is like fine art; you must choose the spiritual beauty to be created and desired, then go the strait and narrow way to gain it. For, the beginning of wisdom is first the desire of discipline.  TOP

Some say then, that if you want to enjoy the pleasures of life, this means that your freedom is impossible. It means on the contrary that you, who think this, have not found what real freedom

is. This reminds me of a drunkard who was giving a stump lecture to the amusement of a few on the subject of freedom. He declared he wanted his freedom and that he had a right to drink all the liquor he wanted and no government could stop him. He was having his freedom and yet he was so drunk he did not know what he was Saying or doing. Freedom is not living an obsessed, undisciplined life. Freedom is in being able to control your life and in making it what you want it to be.

If you wish to become a skilled athlete, an efficient teacher, an expert lawyer, or a beautiful singer, the beginning of such success is first the desire for discipline of your time and thought. If you want that rich, radiant, and worthwhile specialty in living life, the rule is just the same. AN UNDISCIPLINED LIFE IS AN INSANE LIFE. We must pull ourselves together around high Ideals of clean, serviceable, and effective living under the highest leadership we know, or under the teachings and the example of a master.

The highest example of a master is the Christ. In all His work and teachings He proved that discipline, self control, and self mastery ever precede wisdom and achievement. Mrs. Lincoln had taught His words to little Abe, and it was because Abe grew into manhood and sacrificed his life of laziness, looseness, and careless meanderings for the strait and narrow way of a disciplined life of principle and honesty and justice that caused him to become a great soul. It was the law of sacrifice working through him that enabled him to become the President and Savior of a great Nation.   TOP

Evidence of this greatness was seen in his work at Washington. During the war a young Vermont boy, whose name was William Scott, was sentenced to face the firing squad for being found asleep at his post. Now it wasn't Scott's post but that of his buddy whom he had relieved when he became

ill. Double duty was too much for Scott, so he fell asleep. He was so well liked by all that his captain and friends appealed his case to the President. Lincoln decided to go to Chain Bridge and handle the case in person. He went to the camp and talked to Scott. Scott said he was the kindest person he had ever met. He said the President had asked him about his home, the farm, his friends, and lastly his mother. He said he was glad he could draw a picture of her out of the bosom of his shirt and show it to him. Mi'. Lincoln told him how thankful he should be to have a mother and how he should make her a proud mother and that he should never cause her another sorrow or tear. Scott thought it very strange that he did not speak of his fate in the morning. Strange that he should advise not to cause his mother another sorrow or tear when he was about to die. Finally he mustered up his courage and asked the President if he would grant one favor, namely, that he would not have to face his friends, but that a firing squad be drawn from another company. Mr. Lincoln wheeled about, and facing Scott said, "My boy, you are not going to be shot tomorrow. I am going to trust you and send you back to your friends. As I have been put to considerable trouble to come up from Washington, how are you going to pay the bill?"

The boy stammered his gratitude; he suggested he could send him his savings; he could borrow money by mortgaging the farm; his friends would help, too, and there was all his army pay. Then Mr. Lincoln put his hands on the boy's shoulders, and looking sorrowfully into his face, he said, "My boy, my bill is a very large one; your friends cannot pay it, nor your bounty, nor the farm, nor your comrades. There is only one man in all this world who can pay it, and his name is William Scott. If from this day William Scott does his duty so that if I were to be there when he comes to die, he can look me in the face as he is now doing and say, 'I have kept my promise,' then my debt will be fully paid."  TOP

William Scott kept that promise. He had learned the secret that Mr. Lincoln's mother had taught him when a boy. It was this law of sacrifice, and that the beginning of such wisdom was first the desire and love of discipline; that it was the strait and narrow way that led to the high road of everything that makes life worth living. It was the road that led Mr. Lincoln to the White House. It was the road that leads back to the Vermont hills, to home, to happiness, and to mother. It is the road for all who persevere and find it. It is the road that Jesus followed to triumph and mastery. It is the road I recommend to you, for on it you will find the Law of Sacrifice ever working to bring to you the joys and the pleasures that result always from the wisdom and understanding that accompany it.

"Blessed is the man who endured temptation, for when he is tried he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord (Law) has promised to them that love him."

INVICTUS

Out of the night that covers me,

Black as the pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be

For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance

I have not winced nor cried aloud. Under the bludgeonings of Chance

My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears Looms but the horror of the shade,

And yet this menace of the years Finds, and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how straight the gate, How charged with punishment the scroll.

I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul.