Article April 6, 1907 Issue

FROM OUR EXCHANGES

[The Standard.]

The difficulty of living the unselfish life is revealed not only as we examine our hearts and detect the presence of unworthy motives, but, as well, when we study the expressed life of the Christian world. The followers of

Christ are divided into denominations. It is charitable to assume that these denominations came into existence because of sacred convictions; that each one is begotten of sincere desire to advance the interests of God's kingdom in the earth. Assuming this, does a calm examination of denominational life reveal the dominance of the same spirit now? We sincerely hope that this is the case, and have no inclination to deny it, at least here and now. But granting the dominance of this spirit of devotion to the things of God, we cannot refuse to recognize the existence of the spirit of selfishness to a degree that is more than a little distressing. Who has not listened to eloquent speakers as they descanted upon the glories of their respective denominations? That Christians should rejoice in the service that this or that sect has rendered the cause of Christ is natural. That they should boast of the bigness, the wealth, the prominence of a special division of the Christian Church, reveals something that is absolutely alien to the spirit of our Lord. That a denomination should seek to do all that lies in its power to evangelize, that it should be incessant in its labors to save that which is lost, is to be expected. That it should undertake to extend its borders simply for the sake of enlarging an ecclesiastical system, betrays a purpose that finds no warrant in our divine Teacher. Possibly some one will say that the mere suggestion of such a posibility is untrue to fact and dishonoring to the noble Christian men and women who make up our denominations. With humility we reply that there seems to be warrant in fact not only for the suggestion, but for the explicit statement that representatives of our denominations do sometimes forget the great end for which denominations exist, and devote themselves rather to the enhancement of denominational prestige than to the good of men.

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