Chapter 27—An Honored Minister
Loss of Influence and Reputation—Dear Brother H: I have
somewhat to say unto thee....
My brother, you have had the respect of the church, old and young.
But your course is condemned of God, and you have not had His Spirit,
and you are not a free man. You have pursued a course that has caused
your good to be evil spoken of. The very things that transpired at the
Piedmont Sabbath school reunion, I would not have [had] occur for
thousands of dollars. You, a gray-haired man, lying at full length with
your head in the lap of Georgie S. Had I done my duty, I would have
rebuked you there. Many saw this and made remarks about it. After
such exhibitions as this, of what value would be your admonitions to
them to be guarded against everything of this free and easy familiarity?
You have yourself neutralized your efforts to elevate the young by your
example.
The course of intimacy with Sister S and her family has been a
subject of remark. And how could you expect to have influence with
the young as a father when such manifest want of judgment and such
weakness has been exhibited by you? If you will only be a man in your
old age instead of a sentimental lover; if you would only be guarded,
God would not remove His wisdom from you as He has done. Your
reputation would have been dearer to you than your very life. Better,
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far better, go down to the grave with honor untarnished, than to live
with a reproach upon your name.
When the Lord Is Not Supreme—Now look, my brother, at the
years you have been living in unlawful sympathy and love with another
man’s wife. And you have a daughter who would be glad to give you
attention and sympathy and make a home for you, but you have been
so completely infatuated that everything in this life that was sensible
and proper has been distasteful and insipid to you. I do not feel that
the charm is broken, that you are a free man. You have not broken the
snare. The Lord is not supreme with you.
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