[Chalmers C. White, in the Herald Star, Steubenville, Ohio]

The sublimest statement in the Bible is that in Genesis, ... "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." It puts first things first and crowds out many things that are striving for mastery.... In a single stroke it slays errors as to God, the world, man and his worth, life and destiny. Materialism is pierced with this sword and pantheism dies at its stroke.... It puts a rock of omnipotence at the center and origin of creation, on which it stands secure against all storms and vicissitudes. It stabilizes the universe and imparts to it permanent order, rationality, truth, and goodness. It throws over us a shelter and bids us to face fears and possibilities without trepidation.

[From the Halifax Herald, Nova Scotia, Canada]

The printed page, the pulpit, the lecture platform, the open forum, and the radio present daily a veritable chaos of diverse opinion on every subject under the sun.

It is difficult at times for the trained thinker to thread his way through the labyrinth of conflicting verdicts. What must be the plight of the uncultured, the bewilderment of the mass? Amid the conflict of voices, saying, Do this, do that, to which should we listen and give heed? Policy or Principle? Right or expediency? Self-sacrifice or self-indulgence? There is really no conflict if we are conscientiously prepared to place first things first.

The first things are those things we simply cannot do without—truth, right, and justice. Upon them we depend for all we are, and all we have. Ignore these voices and all life is confusion, the very foundations of human society are destroyed. If we seek and utilize and develop first things, everything else will fall into its proper place. "The stone which the builders rejected" completed the ancient temple. If we find the one thing which is lacking in our lives, contradictory voices will be silenced. Discord will yield to harmony, and where medley reigned—melody will prevail.

[From the Southern Florist, Fort Worth, Texas]

It is hoped we may be excused for appropriating an incident which was recorded not long ago in O. O. McIntyre's syndicated column. Mr. McIntyre quotes as follows from the letter of a casual correspondent:

"I've been pretty low down with the miseries lately.... My job is gone, and it looks like the home is going, and the effort of my life partner to chirk me up with smiles and light talk twists my heart. We have two stray dogs around the place, strays we have learned to love....

"While we were sitting on a bench with the dogs gazing up in sympathy, two shavers passed and called out to the dogs. They trotted to the picket fence for pats.

"Said one of the lads: 'Are both of these dogs yourn, Mister?' I nodded. Turning to the other boy, he said, 'Eddie, imagine bein' rich enough to have two dogs!'

"I walked into the house whistling, after first giving each of them a nickel. They taught me a lesson I could not learn from my philosophers."

If there are any lessons to be learned from this ... they are, first, that the man ... we envy may be mightily down with the miseries, and indeed may be sorely in need of some word or act which is ours to give. And, secondly, that we are never badly off until we think we are; until we let the devils of discouragement and self-pity into our mental citadel. Observe that outwardly the man was no richer as he walked back into the house—in fact, he was a dime poorer—yet what a difference in his wealth of courage, hope, and appreciation of things which, in dwelling on his deficiencies, he had ceased to count.

Well, I daresay we are all in the same case as the writer of that letter. During a time of financial stress we have allowed our thoughts to dwell too much on what we did not have, and forgot to whistle a thanksgiving for the things that sat firm like a rock in our experience. Have we retained our self-respect? Have we loyally denied ourselves in order that our creditors (whether in business relations, the home, or the community at large) might continue to carry on? Have we given thanks for the faithfulness of friends, drunk rapture from the sunset and the quiet fields? Have we refused to be overmastered by fear of the morrow, and performed resolutely the acts appropriate to today? ...

For when all is said and done, our wealth or our poverty is inside of us. If ours is the consciousness of having played life's game cleanly and with unwavering faith in the final outcome, then we are rich; we can eat our crust or our feast, as the case may be, with a sense of deep satisfaction and content; and looking up to behold the signs of a better day we have no regrets, no tasks to do over; we are ready.

[From the Church Visitor, Dallas, Wisconsin]

No man ever makes a success of a business which he does not put first in his thought and effort. Sometimes we wonder why so many people are failures in life. The reason is because they put self first and duty last. They are keen about their pleasures, but go about their business in a half-hearted way, working only when they feel like it, and exerting themselves to no greater extent than is absolutely necessary to retain their positions. You never find such men asking for more work to do, or trying to make themselves increasingly useful. The world is not looking for men of that kind. It is looking for men who put duty first, and who enter into their work with a determination to make it a success.

[John D. Rockefeller, Jr., as quoted in the New York Times, New York]

I recognize the significance, the beauty, and the helpfulness of ritual and creed as developed by different denominational groups. What gives me pause is the tendency inherent in denominations to emphasize the form instead of the substance, the denominational peculiarity instead of the oneness of Christian purpose. I have long felt that this denominational emphasis is a divisive force in the progress of organized Christian work and an obstacle to the development of the spirit and life of Christ [Jesus] among men. My faith is increasingly centered on ... [Jesus] Christ's life and teachings as set forth in the four Gospels....

If the church is to go forward, if it is to hold the young people of today who, generally speaking, are not greatly concerned about denominational distinctions and have a decreasing interest in sectarian missions, and if their support of its activities is to replace that of older givers who pass on, the denominational distinctions are bound to fade in the forward movement of a great united church, open to all who seek to follow Christ and to find in him the abundant life. Such a church will, I believe, meet the needs of young people and enlist their support of its missions at home and abroad. We of the older generation should not discourage them or be instrumental in lessening their interest by passing on the divisive elements of our present-day religion. Rather should we work with them in relegating the nonessentials to a place of secondary importance and stand with them for the fundamentals of Christian unity, feeling confident that on such a foundation they will rear a church far better adapted to the requirements of their day and generation than any we could build for them.

Relating this statement of my personal view and interest to present general trends, I am sure you will understand the action which I have taken. It does not indicate any lessening of my interest in religion and the Christian church. On the contrary, it springs from a deeper and growing desire to encourage and further those united and nonsectarian activities and agencies which emphasize above all else unity in Christian service, love for God ... and the vital translation of this love into Christlike living.

[Rev. R. J. Elwood, as quoted in Nonpareil, Council Bluffs, Iowa]

Where should God be first? God should be first in the home. The greatest need in our country at the present is godly homes. We need more homes where the Bible is studied and where the name of God is revered. God should be first in social life. George McDonald said: "Hold fast upon God with one hand, and open wide the other to your neighbor. That is religion; that is the law and the prophets, and the true way to all better things yet to come."

How can we put God first? We can put God first by loving Him. Jesus said, Love God with all the heart and soul and mind and strength. We can put God first by faith. By faith Abraham sojourned in the land of promise. By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come. By faith Moses refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter.... We too can put God first by faith.

We can put God first by obedience. Thomas Charles one day wondered if he ought to go through a storm to a little preaching service which was seventeen miles away. He asked a friend's advice. The friend said, "If you are a master you may stay at home, if you are a servant, go." "Thank God I'm a servant," he said; and he went. The Bible says, "To obey is better than sacrifice."

We can put God first by doing service for Him. One writer said, "If you do not wish for the kingdom of heaven, don't pray for it, but if you do, you must do more than pray for it; you must work for it." Jesus said, "Work while it is day, the night cometh when no man can work." If we find ourselves beginning to love pleasure more than prayer, some book more than the Bible, some building more than the church of God, some person more than Christ, then let us remember, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me."

[Editorial in the Frederick Leader, Oklahoma]

The Master was the greatest of all leaders and teachers, and one of the reasons therefor was that he did not use his superior wisdom and ability in a manner which made his disciples feel their inferiority, but in such a way as to awaken within them the dormant capacities which would enable them to do the same works and enjoy the same triumphs. He was attractive to them, not as one dwelling apart in austerity, but as a warm-hearted, sympathetic companion. He sat in their fishing boat to teach, he ate in their homes, he went on trips with them on the sea where they found their living, he cured their sick, he raised their dead—and always with an overflowing tenderness that showed the high value he set on their companionship and friendship.