10 Sermon Illustrations on Selflessness

Terantius, captain to the Emperor Adrian, presented a petition, that the Christians might have a temple by themselves, in which to worship God apart from the Arians. The emperor tore his petition, and threw it away, bidding him ask something for himself, and it should be granted. Terantius modestly gathered up the fragments of his petition, and said with true nobility of mind, "If I cannot be heard in God's cause, I will never ask any thing for myself." Arcine.

A man who emigrates from the low country of selfishness, where are perpetual chills and fevers, to the high lands of benevolence, goes from sickness and barrenness to the realm of health and plenty and joy, where his hand can almost pluck the fruits from the tree of life itself. Beecher.

Two boats, some time ago, were sent out from Dover to relieve a vessel in distress. The fury of the tempest overset one of them, which contained three sailors, and one of them sunk. The two remaining sailors were floating on the deep; a rope was thrown to one of them from the other boat, but he refused it, crying out, "Fling it to Tom, he is just ready to go down; I can last some time longer." They did so; Tom was drawn into the boat. The rope was then flung to the generous tar, just in time to save him from drowning also.

We translate the following anecdote from the Berlin Evangelische Zeitung. To a learned man, particularly if he is much of a recluse, nothing among all earthly possessions lies so near the heart, as the manuscript upon which he has spent the flower of youth and the strength of manhood. Regens, a venerable German divine, had, in the year 1809, a very learned manuscript work upon the Prophets, lying in his cloister, and with it many costly books, which he had acquired by the pains and sacrifices of almost a whole life. In another part of the town there lay, after a battle which had shortly before taken place, many persons severely wounded and dying, to whom Regens had afforded divine consolation and refreshment for the mind as well as the body. By means of a heavy bombardment, the town was set on fire in different quarters, and the monastery, in which were the manuscripts and books, was in flames at one and the same time with the buildings in which lay the sick and dying. While others were intent on their own safety and that of their property, this noble disciple of Christ soon decided what he should do; he let his manuscripts, this labor of many years, and the costly books, burn, and carried the sick and dying, upon his own shoulders, forth from the flames!

See PATRIOTISM, DISINTERESTED; SELF-FORGETTING.

UNSELFISHNESS, EXAMPLES OF

When Peter Cooper, who founded the Cooper Institute, New York, had completed his apprenticeship, his employer esteemed him so much that he offered to give him the capital to start in business, but Cooper refused because of his invincible repugnance to debt. At the end of three years he had saved up $500, but his father being prest with debt, young Cooper gave the entire amount for his relief. He purchased a glue factory and soon obtained the reputation of making the best glue in the country. He became interested in many successful enterprises, employing thousands of men, and conceived the idea of an educational institute for the advancement of the sciences. Abram S. Hewitt, with a son of Peter Cooper, took over the father’s iron business, and at one time over 3,000 men were employed, and for six years they ran the business at a loss of over $100,000 a year rather than bring upon their employes the distress incident to shutting down the plant. Partly for this reason the business was run for forty years with only sufficient profit to pay the men, and still by judicious foresight in buying iron the firm cleared over $1,000,000 in one year. Their policy toward their workmen was always to take them into their confidence.--JAMES T. WHITE, “Character Lessons.”