Although not the founder of the Christian religion, a man to whom it owes much was that great traveler, lecturer, and writer named Paul of Tarsus. While other inspired teachers spread the gospel message in those early days, it was that hard-headed philosopher, Paul of Tarsus, who interpreted it in a practical way.

Paul continually insisted that theology, so far as it meant correct thinking, was all right; but it must not take the place of helping the widows and fatherless and keeping oneself unspotted from the world. Paul had a large number of parishes and different groups of people in different sections. Some were poor, some were rich, some were learned, some were ignorant. To no two groups did he interpret the gospel in the same way. He told the poor that the gospel meant that they should wake up and get busy; while to the rich he said that the gospel meant to give up and help some one else get busy.

One of the most trying parishes which Paul had was his group at Corinth. Corinth was one of the chief commercial cities of that time. He had many wealthy, learned, and very devoted adherents at Corinth. These people were called the Corinthians, and Paul wrote a series of letters to them. These letters may be found in the Bible and are called First and Second Epistles to the Corinthians. These letters are worthy of the reading of any man, especially those who have accumulated wealth. One section of them, however, I am especially desirous of including in this little book. It is found in the thirteenth chapter of First Corinthians.

Some travelers from Corinth had been to call on Paul when he was staying in another city. They had told him of the devoutness of these Corinthians, how they were willing to give their bodies to be burned; how they were anxious to give all their goods to feed the poor; how they excelled in learning and yet how they seemed to lack the right spirit. They apparently had everything that makes up life, yet they lacked life itself. After the travelers had gone, Paul sat down and wrote these Corinthian merchants, teachers, and church leaders a letter and this is what he said:

"Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not love, I am become as sounding brass or tinkling cymbals.

"Though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not love, I am nothing.

"Though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not love, it profiteth me nothing.

"Love suffereth long, and is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

"Love never faileth; but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.

"For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.

"When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

"For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face; now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. And now abideth faith, hope and love, these three; but the greatest of these is love."

The End Versus The Means

Why is pure human love greater than all things, - courage, gifts, wisdom, sacrifice, fame, power, and property? The reason is that these things are only means to an end and that the end is love. At some time in our lives all of us have known that love was the end and have started out to seek it, but we have become lost in the wilderness. We soon found that in securing love, these material things were more or less necessary, - if not necessary, certainly helpful. Then we began to seek the material things in order to have the where-with-all by which we could express our love. But the race for these material things became so keen that it absorbed all our attention and we ultimately forgot about the love that we were seeking.

A friend of mine was once very much interested in social movements. He preached, taught, and wrote of social problems. He led a simple life and was much interested in having every one lead the same life, with equal opportunities for all. He scored the idle rich, he criticized the waste of money on houses, servants, and equipage. He was truly a John the Baptist, preaching in the twentieth century; but although he talked against luxury, he had never tasted it.

He was a popular speaker and was invited about into the homes of the rich. He filled engagements in the large cities of our country. Alas! the "flesh pots of Egypt" were too much for him. Every time he returned to his simple cottage from these trips, the little place appealed less and less to him. He continually stayed away from home more and more, living in the gilded hotels of the big cities and being entertained at afternoon teas in the homes of the rich. Finally, he began to spend more and more time in one especial city, and more and more time in one magnificent home in that city. The home was presided over by a wealthy widow who had a most attractive young daughter.

This is no place to give further details of the story, but from then on not only did his simple home no longer attract him, but his good wife and family lost their charms. A divorce was secured and one day in Europe he was married to this young daughter. The strangest part of it all is that he still talks and writes on socialism! In seeking the end he became infatuated with the means, and as a result lost all.

Every man of the world has seen similar cases. No one when starting out in business ever expected to let money get the better of him. He looked upon it only as a means of making his family healthy, happy, and independent. He then realized that the end is life and more abundant life, and not things and a great abundance of things. But there is something fascinating in business which tends to make men forget that the end is really love, friends, and other intangible assets. The busy man loses sight of the end through being so absorbed by the means. The true assets, - love, friends, beauty, music, service, peace, and health, - are lost in the race for money, even though the money is sought simply in order to acquire those true assets.