Graces of Culture and Kindness
559
left on record for our encouragement; and our rejoicing in view of the
mercy and goodness of God need not be repressed; it is a joy that no
man can take from us.—
The Review and Herald, June 10, 1884
.
[
See also pages 206-211, “Stories, Anecdotes, Jesting, and Joking.”
]
Jolly Ministers—There is one man in your conference (I know
not his name) who should not be connected with the conference as a
minister, for his influence on the minds of those seeking the truth is
[643]
unfavorable. He was pointed out to me, and these words were spoken:
“The cause of God is in no need of unconverted, jolly ministers. This
man’s spirit is not at all in harmony with the solemn work in which
we are engaged.” The truth we profess to believe needs no trifling men
to present it. One man with a light and jovial disposition will do more
in leavening the churches with the same spirit than ten good men can
do to remove the impression....
The converting power of God must come upon the hearts of the
ministers, or they should seek some other calling. If Christ’s ambas-
sadors realize the solemnity of presenting the truth to the people, they
will be sober, thoughtful men, workers together with God. If they have
a true sense of the commission which Christ gave to His disciples, they
will with reverence open the Word of God and listen for instruction
from the Lord, asking for wisdom from Heaven, that as they stand
between the living and the dead, they may realize that they must render
an account to God for the work coming forth from their hands.
What can the minister do without Jesus? Verily, nothing. Then
if he is a frivolous, joking man, he is not prepared to perform the
duty laid upon him by the Lord. “Without Me,” says Christ, “ye can
do nothing.” The flippant words that fall from his lips, the trifling
anecdotes, the words spoken to create a laugh, are all condemned by
the Word of God and are entirely out of place in the sacred desk....
Unless the ministers are converted men, the churches will be sickly
and ready to die. God’s power alone can change the human heart and
imbue it with the love of Christ. God’s power alone can correct and
subdue the passions and sanctify the affections. All who minister must
humble their proud hearts, submit their will to the will of God, and
[644]
hide their life with Christ in God.
What is the object of the ministry? Is it to mix the comical with
the religious? The theater is the place for such exhibitions. If Christ is
formed within, if the truth with its sanctifying power is brought into