Editorial August 1, 1903 Issue

"Thou art the Man."

Few human impulses are more alive to opportunity than that which leads us to dispense to others the counsel or rebuke which is peculiarly fitted to our own needs.

We feel much gratified sometimes that the sins and weaknesses of others are being opportunely reproved, when the same weeds of error, perchance, are growing even more rank in our own gardens, and at the moment when we might profit by the gracious ministry of Truth we are remembering our neighbors so generously that our own wants are wholly neglected.

David could wax indignant at the recital of the petty thievery and imposition portrayed in Nathan's story, and pronounce immediate and unreserved condemnation upon it, and yet remain so wilfully stupid and self-forgetful as to find no reminder in the tale of his own hideous and much-loved sin. He thus illustrates in vivid colors a characteristic tendency and disposition which we all very much need to recognize, and against which we should be on our guard. The temptation to part with that which begets a sense of humiliation and self-contempt is peculiarly subtle and alluring, and it easily becomes controlling, unless we learn rightly to value rebuke, and see clearly that the unworthy self it reveals is our greatest enemy; then the appeal of both humility and gratitude will lead us to welcome the sword that cleaves to its center this coddled seeming of sin.

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