Our Measure of Responsibilities

Our Measure of Responsibilities OUR MEASURE OF RESPONSIBILITIES
By IRA LEE WINTERROWD.

Some one has said that "your influence has to do with your power and responsibility." It is also said that every one has influence; and that it requires all kinds of men to make a world. If these are true premises, it follows that the world is just what the combined influences of men are, and that you and I are responsible, according to our power, for the present state of affairs in this world. But all things, animate and inanimate, have more or less of power and influence. For, if science is correct, all material objects influence, in some measure, all others. The potentiality of matter, either active or passive, is stated in the law of inertia, viz: that a body at rest tends to remain at rest, and a body in motion to continue in motion in a straight line unless acted upon by some external force.

Now, stored up power can accomplish nothing unless it has an outlet. And power uncontrolled may be a dan­gerous thing. So then if influences are what they should be, there must be about power some external restraint. With normal human beings this power is mind; the door of exit is opportunity; the restraining force is responsi­bility, and the influence is but the results of life. Mind is the greatest force in the universe, because it was before matter. It acts through matter, as a medium. So in this world, we may say that where mind has to do with matter, we find the greatest influences. Mind as a cause, and influence as the effect, represent two extremes. While opportunity and responsibility are but the means between the two.

Here is involved the moral idea; for until mind acts sanely upon matter, and is responsible therefore for its influence, there can be no morality proper. But whence is this mind? And why is this responsibility concluded’ Only one reasonable answer can be given: It is of God. He, being the source of all power, wisdom and goodness, has bestowed upon men these favors, without which they would be only as dumb driven cattle, destined to tread this earth alone. But with the power of mind, and guided by the divine principle of responsibility, men stand in position to attain to the highest realms of happiness, and the eternal years with God.

Man is like God in that he is responsible for all his works. He has power to construct or to destroy, and he alone is accountable for the influence that derives from either alternative. To illustrate: The mighty dreadnought, which includes many and diverse kinds of power, engines, machinery, great guns, ammunitions and the like, is a mass of potentiality. Its purpose, destruction, can never be accomplished while it lies in the shipyard. But once launched, it can take hold in the element for which it was intended, and the whole formation speeds over the ocean to deliver its strength upon the enemy. Its launching was its opportunity, its effects, its influence, but where is its responsibility? It has none. That belongs to the men who made it and are in it.

Look at God's work. A tiny twig has life, and with the proper environment it produces fruit or shade, accord­ing to its nature. You remember the fig tree that once grew in Palestine, in the days of our Lord. Because it had no fruit he cursed it so that it withered away. It had life, but perhaps poor opportunity to thrive, and hence it bore no figs. Yet, it was irresponsible. Its curse came to teach the lesson of faith on the part of responsible beings. In the parable of the fig tree the absence of fruit brought the order that it be cut down; but the dresser of the vineyard would wait another year, dig about it and fertilize it and give it a better chance, and then if it should bear no fruit, be would lay the ax at the root of the tree and cut it down. There was no moral obligation upon that tree. But everything must serve its purpose or be disposed of in some way.

Now, there are different kinds of trees. Some bear good fruit and some evil fruit. One is to be cultivated, the other may be destroyed. You can know them by their fruits. And if a tree that is not responsible must give its place to something else, what should be expected of men, who are accountable for their deeds? In the parable of the vineyard the Lord speaks con­cerning moral beings. Here we find men who have power to work, but are all the day idle because no man has hired them. They only lacked opportunity. And when the master gave them that, they went and did his will. But they were held accountable for their work and were paid accordingly. "Did ye not agree with me for a penny? Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil because I am good?" With these words we perceive the idea that both the Lord and his servants were responsible for the work that was done in that vine­yard; He for placing them there, and they for the man­ner in which they receive their reward.

Another case in point we find in the upbraiding of the cities of Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum, because they repented not. While Tyre and Sidon, Sodom and Gomorrah had more or less of opportunity, and were responsible for their wickedness, the cities of Christ's day were more accountable than they. "For if the mighty works which were done in them had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes, and would have remained to this day." And why will it be more tolerable for the land of Sodom than for these cities? Because of their better opportunities and a greater measure of responsibility. And so on, ad infinitum.

Now to the" quotation that "influence has to do with power and responsibility." We have found the need of opportunity, and have given some consideration to this truth, which all like to include in the matter of accomp­lishing something in the world. Men are prone to dis­claim responsibility for serious things in life. They like to talk of power and influence, but forget, if they have ever realized that there are necessarily other factors which stand between these extremes. All men should face the proposition that responsibility is commensurate with op­portunity. These two factors are indispensable in the lives of men, in any moral deed whatsoever.

It is illogical to say that a man is responsible for a position that we know he has no opportunity of attaining. Will God hold men responsible for life on the planet of Mars? To affirm would be absurd. Then, will God hold men responsible for life in the Patriarchal, Mosaic and Christian ages of this world? Of course it would depend on his having lived in all these ages. This is impossible. Man is responsible for life, and that degree of light he has enjoyed, no difference where, when and under what circumstances he may have spent his existence. If his opportunity were small, so should be his responsibility; but if it is great, great will be accountability. On this proposition he must stand or fall. When God had created the heaven and the earth, there were latent powers-possibilities. But until light re­placed darkness, and life desolation, there were no op­portunities and hence no responsibilities. He must yet create man and constitute him moral before this degree of divinity could grace the earth. So in Adam we find our first example. He was a bundle of possibilities; in Eden were his opportunities; in the choice between eating and not eating of the forbidden fruit lay his responsibilities; and from his fall we derive his greatest influence. All sin is traced back to Adam. In Cain, his son, was the glow of life. His opportunity was not rightly used in his offering; the responsibility of being his brother's keeper was rejected, and his influence has ever been that of a vagabond in the earth. Noah was given the privilege of building the ark; he feared and obeyed the injunction to construct it according to pattern, and is known as the preserver of the race. Abram was a righteous man who ad a call from God; he obeyed his voice to become a sojourner in a strange land, and is forever to be the father of the faithful. What consolation have we from the as­surance that it is a blessed inheritance to rest in Abraham's bosom! And, his noted descendant, Jacob, purchased his opportunity in the birthright, met his obligation in ren­dering to God his tenth, and finally earned the time hon­ored appellation and significance of Israel. Moses, brought up in the household of Pharaoh, and in all the learning of the Egyptians, was favored above all. He bore his burden of leading out the Children of Israel and tutoring them in the ways of the Lord, and is a strong type of the meekness and importance of the Christ of God. Saul found a kingdom, cast it away in disobedience, and is ever to be known for his infamous example to Israel. David, the shepherd lad, received his anointing which made him the favorite of Israel; but he acknowledged his re­sponsibility, under God's direction, and is a synonym of kingly power and glorious humility. Solomon, with his great wisdom and wealth, was in position to do great things for God; but he allowed himself to be ensnared with the evils of idolatry, and ended his existence amid the cries of vanity. John the Baptist, being the harbinger of our Lord, fulfilled his mission, and became the first example of martyrdom for the Kingdom of Heaven. Last but not least is Jesus the Christ, who, anointed of God to be the savior of the world, made the swiftest use of his opportunity, and in four short years, so lived, and so bore our burdens, finally upon the cross, that he is forever the author of our salvation, and a shining light with saving influence in the world.

Such characteristics as we find in these ancient worthies can be traced in the lives of other individuals, in both sacred and secular history. One example from each may suffice. In Saul of Tarsus we discover a logical mind, as well as many other wonderful resources, the develop­ment of which, under the careful training of a doctor of the laws along with the strict religion of the Pharisees, proved a very great asset in the making of the Bible; and while making his struggle for the righteousness of God, he enjoyed at all times a clear conscience. And though as "one horn out of due time," he wields an influence which only the greatest of all the apostles could hope to do, and is remembered as the great martyr to the cause of the Gentile world. And of all the examples of the world's profane history, there is none more illustrious than the American idol, Abraham Lincoln. What possibilities rested in him as a child! And had the door of opportunity been opened to him earlier and wider, as it is to the youth of today, what may have been his influence after those great re­sponsibilities fell upon his rugged shoulders? Yet, the means to the end which he did attain, were just a few books, a bit of tutoring, a few hours each week of con­centrated study, and finally the practice of his profession. The result was a great statesman, not the founder of his country, but perhaps, better still, its savior. Had he been a mere politician, he could never have successfully carried out his emancipation proclamation to the enslaved fellow beings of our land. Moral restraint from personal gain, a kindly spirit toward every one, made him the people's great champion of justice to whom justice is due. He lives, though he is dead.

I make special reference to him because he belongs to our age, and illustrates so well the developments possible for the normal man, and because of his living virtues which should survive as the fittest for the world.

Now, while, as we have seen, every man has ability, yet there may not be the possibilities in many, as once there were; for the power of mind and soul, if neglected in the early years, wanes and becomes more ineffective. Still, while there is life there is a measure of opportunity and of course responsibility. So our interest should be centered in the possibilities, opportunities, and responsibil­ities of the youth of this land. Their influence upon the future is being determined by the use they are making of their faculties according to their present opportunities. In them is the hope, not only of this nation, but also of the world. We are saying that the world is looking to America today as the leader politically, morally, and spirit­ually. Then, if a nation is only what its people as a group of individuals are, it must follow that all depends upon the character of the people of America and the disposition they make of their opportunity to serve, and their respon­sibility to act. Ability means power; and to respond is to answer; so the two combined must signify to answer for power. We have some power and must answer for that power.

It is a proposition better told in the language of the parable of the talents. To have five talents implies the obligation to gain five more. Or to make the proper use of two talents reflects glory on the owner, and accredits salvation to the servant. Even one must not be neglected, or else dishonor and humiliation awaits the unhappy stew­ard. But I cannot, and you cannot answer for abilities in a community in which we do not live. "Charity begins at home". So we must look to ourselves in our own country and in our own house.

Every family is a unit in the social, moral, and eco­nomic life of America. So is the church the greatest fac­tor in America's spiritual life. Then the better the family and the purer the church, the more Christian will the na­tion be. And the influence of this nation upon the rest of the world will be found to the extent that she can dissemi­nate light, administer justice to the world, and lead on as she now has the privilege to do. But are we prepared for the service? If we are, great is the responsibility if we do not act. And if we are not prepared, greater will be the responsibility if we do not prepare. The lack of preparedness for this service must mean the failure of the home and the church—the two great social institutions, of which God is the author. But does this imply that God is responsible for our lack of preparedness? Most assuredly not; for in His establish­ment of these, He gave abundant instructions as to the purpose and nature of each. Further duty devolves upon men who should be faithful servants, as in God's house. But how men have fallen! When there was only the one, the family, dense ignorance and superstition prevailed upon the earth. And it was not until God created the second, the spiritual family, by combining the natural with the divine, that there began to be light, justice, and righteousness truly upon the earth. And who will rise up and say that the world has not been made better by the existence of the church or Christianity among men? Yet, all must admit that a greater measure of the religion of God would have prevented many of the evils of the past, and would now serve as a more healing balm for all our woes. In this land of religious liberty, where freedom in Christ can be more easily enjoyed, we find the church, or that which claims to be the church, often winks at sins, customs, and worldly pleasures, in a measure astounding to the virtuous observer. Instead of rebuking and punish­ing these who are guilty of these practices by a strict dis­cipline, they paliate, and make excuses for them, allowing their unwholesome and destructive influence to be injected into the very fibre of our social and religious life. For just as the church is in its ideals and practice so will the mem­bership be. And since it must come in contact with the world it will leaven the whole lump with the impure ele­ments of its own nature. The church must either glorify God and exalt His word, or else be a reproach unto God and blaspheme His word. When the word of God became flesh and dwelt among men, the world received its greatest opportunity. For the material things perish, and men are mortal; but Christ's mission was to give light and life to the world. He said, "The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life." And, "A man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth". So the world's brightest prospect has its origin in the fact of God's great love; and its responsibility rests in the accep­tance or non-acceptance of the great principle and truth that "Whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have eternal life." For having furnished the grounds of evi­dence that are extant in His word, it remains that "without faith it is impossible to please Him." And as Paul says, "we make it our aim to be well pleasing to Him"; but to do this we must not only "believe that He is, but that He is a rewarder of them who diligently seek after Him." This is true of churches as well as individuals. A church today without faith,—true faith in God—is,like a ship without a pilot; it is drifting o'er the deep in the darkness, and is in a condition for swift destruction. But the church with the faith is one with a guiding star, for Christ will pilot it to its haven in heaven. It is the ark of safety, with pearls from many seas and jewels from many lands—the souls of mortal men. God's protection is about it, and it needs to fear no shipwrecks.

Yet, the ship that is laden with such a cargo is the one that has visited all lands through all seas. It has launched out into the deep. It has been sent on a voyage, and has a definite purpose. The church that saves people is the one that was sent of God in due time, and has reached them under varied and trying circumstances. Are we sent? Have we a commission with authority to gather in the precious souls of earth? If not, we cannot take the glad tidings, for "how shall they preach except they be sent?" But if we have it, then are we responsible for it. To whom is this "Go ye into all the world and preach the gos­pel to every creature"; and "Go make disciples of all the nations"? Are we going? Or do we intend to go? We must answer for the opportunity that today is ours. When Jesus sent the twelve over Israel, saying, "Go ye only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel", those wicked cities were living in their disbelief, unjustifiable as it was, and yet they were very closely joined to idols, and their opportunity to know the nature of the Kingdom of Heaven was meagre, compared to that of the cities of this day, who enjoy the favor of a world-wide commission, "Go into all the world—go teach all nations". Their respon­sibility is commensurate with their opportunity. Then what would be the imprecation pronounced upon the world to­day, having two thousand years of evidence of the divinity of Christ, and the facts of Christianity? Measuring on the same scale, would they not be "weighed in the balance and found wanting" in a much greater degree? Yet, these modern cities and nations are very largely what the church allows them to be. We have not gone to them, though we have known the command. Then are we "sent" disciples of Christ? Can we reach them? The world never saw better opportunities for travel and transient service. Con­veyance is quick and accessible. If necessity is truly the mother of invention, the demand for even better facilities would be created, were we to make a better use of what we now have. The necessity of the world war revolution­ized methods, and made such demands of science that the unbelievable was brought about. Such a pity that the warfare of the Lord cannot be made so effective as to do even as much! Can we be called a Christian nation with much con­sistency, when half of the people are non-religious? Re­cent estimates show that about 58,000,000 of America's in­habitants are without any church affiliation. And a large per cent of the nominally religious classes are certainly not acceptable with God. Though this government was founded by people who desired to worship God as they believed would be acceptable with Him; and though we boast of our freedom from religious tyranny, we have not yet put into practice what we have for so long been at liberty to do. With our lauded greatness and power, and with the wonderful opportunities we have enjoyed for over a century, we have not shouldered the responsibility that belongs to us. And until we do, we shall continue to have the same slight influence that we thus far have wielded among other nations. But we are more interested in the Americanization than in the Christianization of our own people, to say nothing of those whose allegiance is not with us. There is no difference between Americans, English­men, Frenchmen, Germans, or the rest of mankind; for this idea is not germane to the subject of righteousness. God is good, and his goodness is to be told to every nation and every creature. "God is no respecter of persons; but in every nation, he that feareth him, and worketh righteous­ness, is accepted with him". The Christianization of any people is an educative pro­cess. We are alive to the need of education, and we are stressing it more and more continually. The result is that we can educate more thoroughly, because we possess greater facilities in material equipment as well as in scientific de­velopments. Trained teachers today are legion. The stan­dards of the educational world have been highly exalted in the last century. The youth who crave knowledge are numberless, and the people are educated to the point of believing strongly in education. The curricula have been so arranged as to provide for every possible need except that of the famishing souls of men. Who will write into these courses, prepared for the lovers of wisdom, those never dying principles which are found in the Word of God alone? If Christians, who know the word, do not write them, then who will? Christ is looking to his friends to take care of this part of the world's redemption. And since we have obtained a foothold in the door of opportun­ity, shall we not go forth in this moral obligation and do greater things for God?

Truly the state has not for its purpose the spiritual welfare of its people, except that it provides a law which gives the people the right and authority to live as they choose, religiously. We should ask for no better opportun­ity than this; for the world has suffered enough in the dark ages, without the blessing of separation of church and state, for us to desire to return to such a regime. Neither do we need the state as dictator and legislator in matters religious. The iniquities of a religio-temporal domination, as it was in mediaeval times, created the ne­cessity of reform. There were no schools by either state or church which provided enlightenment for the people. Mar­tin Luther, under adverse circumstances, stealthily gleaned from the true word of God the salient truths that have given light to the world. Out from that covert of dark­ness did the human race arise, even through the efforts of a very few men. "Few there be that find it." But God, with a few, even the weak, can confound the mighty in the wisdom of this world.

God has schooled His people from the days of Moses, by the prophets, and in these last days by his son. Jesus himself said, "It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall be all taught of God'" He also said, "I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me"; and, "Take my yoke upon you and learn of me". Then Jesus as the teacher, and his apostles as the learners, constituted the most effective school the world ever knew. The curriculum was practically of four years duration, and the subject matter was the word or the seed of the Kingdom of Heaven. And at the close of that pre­paratory school, there began that universal church of dis­ciples which has continued to grow till now. And we, if we are his disciples, are in that school. And just as the Jews were responsible to the school-master which brought them to Christ, in the moonlight; so are we the spiritual house accountable for our conduct toward him in this sun­light age of the world. For in the proportion of the de­grees of light and opportunity do we find our measure of responsibility.

Now, if it has been God's wisdom to lead the race from darkness to light by the means of a school-master, how can we improve on his plan in the education of the people in some particular part of His service? We have had our schools of philosophers, of poets, and of scientists. Why should we not have schools of Christians, not as differ­ent sects or beliefs, but as groups of individuals, brought together for the purpose of instilling the divine principles of God into their lives and characters? Since the Reforma­tion of Luther, which brought the world out of the abyss of darkness to a better knowledge of the light, there have been many schools inaugurated to propagate knowledge. All wisdom, whether pertaining to natural or divine things, is of God. And it has always been considered proper for the naturalists to form themselves into schools for the in­vestigation of the truths of nature. It likewise is indis­pensable for Christians to labor together for the purpose of ascertaining the greater truths of divinity.

It is a matter of history that great religious move­ments have had their beginning in the atmosphere of scholarly influence. Moses had the advantage of all the learning of the Egyptians. He was called upon to write the law for the Israelites. Saul of Tarsus learned from Gamaliel the logic and wisdom of the Greeks and Romans. And because of his attainments, which influenced his character, he was a chosen vessel to the Gentiles, and wrote the greater part of the scriptures which were for the instruction of the church for future ages. Luther was the scholar who translated the Bible into the German language, and thereby started the great protestant move­ment which has not ceased to spread over the earth, though it has met the enemy on many fields of conflict. Wesley of England, while in college, was moved to inflame a religious zeal, which is perhaps unequalled in the history of the church. Campbell of Bethany, educated in a university of Scotland, was prolific in his writings, as well as power­ful in the oral defense of the doctrines of the holy Scrip­tures. And even since the great restoration movement inaugurated by the Campbells, Stone, Scott, and others, there has been great need of scholars to maintain the equilibrium and regularity of such a religious awakening. We should be thankful that we have had the blessings of just such characters. l or in this fact we hold in our possession the invaluable legacy of advanced enlighten­ment in the words of holy writ. As a concrete example of how these men have util­ized the natural or social advantages of the times in which they lived, for the propagation of the sacred doctrines, I mention Paul's continuing in the school of Tyrannus for the "space of two years; so that all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Creeks.'' But for a space of centuries there were no such opportunities to teach the word as Paul did then. However, just three centuries ago our Pilgrim fathers were at Plymouth Rock, for the sake of serving God as they thought they should. Our great school system grew out of the tendency which they manifested, in building schools and colleges where they taught their religion systematically and continually. We had drifted so far from this tendency that the state was building the schools instead of religious groups or individuals. The result was schools of infidel­ity, skepticism, or agnosticism. But to offset this influ­ence, there were those men who recognized the destructive- work that was being done, and who began to arrange to retrace our steps back to the old plan, namely, to teach the wisdom and righteousness of God, according to the Bible, along with the arts and sciences known to men. An instance, which means so much to us. can easily be cited in the establishment of the Nashville Bible School, by the venerable and valiant soldier of the Cross, David Lipscomb. Seeing the need of this method of education, be made use of his opportunity to teach in a private manner the things conducive to Christian character and conduct. Setting aside a considerable portion of his worldly possessions for the maintenance of this institution, and giving freely the ripe experience of his life, and the best of his knowledge of the will of God, he rendered to God his talents with interest, and met his obligation to his fellowmen. Perhaps it was the practical beginning of a system of Christian education that will mean the salvation of primitive Chris­tianity from the throes of infidelity and materialism. And now that we have solved many problems incident to such an undertaking, and have still the privilege of en­larging our borders throughout this land of religious free­dom, in the matter of religious education, shall we not arise and carry on the cross of our responsibilities? What we do now points to the future. We can not help the past. It is very true that we are responsible for the unused opportunities of the past; and there is only one way by which we may divest ourselves of the guilt. The antidote for the sin of neglect can be only the remedy of repara­tion. Today we must take care of our own and the world's salvation. We live in the present, not in the past. But what we do now will influence the future. Therefore we will be largely responsible for the future condition of the generations yet to appear. I am talking to the servants of God, who have heard and believe, and "have tasted that the Lord is gracious."

Today the church of the living God has within its numbers more men and women prepared in a special way to lead and instruct in the ways of righteousness than ever before. Those who have these blessings are responsible in the greatest measure, no doubt. Much learning brings greater obligations. And yet, these trained ones can not do their best if the entire body of Christians will not stand behind them, or send them into this field of en­deavor. Every dollar, every material possession must be utilized in accomplishing this task. They represent tal­ents. And woe is unto the one who does not answer for the ability he enjoys!

Then what is our measure? It is world-wide. Our leaven, good or bad, is working. Does the individual Christian drive away souls, or does it help to draw them to God? Hear the Lord: Not every one that sayeth unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father who is in heaven." And what is the Father's will? "And this is the will of Him that sent me, that every one which seeth the son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life." Then Christ Was sent that he might be seen of men, and believed on in the world. Why did He send His apostles? That the world might see Him, by faith and glorify the Father in heaven. Why did He send the Church? Without doubt it was for the same purpose. "And with what measure ye mete withal, it shall be measured to you again." It would be good for us to realize our obligation with regard to this matter. I am made to think about this as we read; To him that knoweth to do good, and, doeth it not, to him it is sin." Shall we fail as an individual, as a church, as a school, or as a nation? "And that servant which knew his lord's will and prepared not himself, neither did accord­ing to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required." Then, seeing with our very eyes the ravages and wages of sin, in the downward, sweeping influences about us, will we not, under God, arise in His strength and move forward against the tide of wreck and ruin while it is our privilege to do so? "What thou doest, do quickly." "And be­hold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be." Amen.