""Be not rash with thy mouth," says the writer of Ecclesiastes; "let thy words be few."
""Behold also the ships," says the Epistle of James, "which, though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth. Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity; so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature, and it is set on fire of h.e.l.l. For every kind of beasts and of birds and of serpents and of things in the sea is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind; but the tongue can no man tame."
"Let us, friends, watch this unruly member. Profanity and vulgarity bespeak a vile mind. We trust that our trouble is not so serious as this; but we still have the unkind word, the hotly-spoken word, to watch and to avoid.
"Boys, watch your thoughts and words. Do you know, I would rather see a boy with jam smeared all over his cheeks than to hear a "s.m.u.tty"
remark from his lips? Yes--the jam wouldn"t hurt him a bit, but the s.m.u.t can"t be washed off. You all want clean hands and a clean face. It is still more important to have a clean mind and clean speech."
FLYING --Perseverance --Courage
The Aeroplane Ill.u.s.trates the Necessity of Going Forward Constantly.
THE LESSON--That a life, if it is to progress, must not falter at difficulties, but push steadily forward.
This ill.u.s.tration is especially appropriate for occasions which interest the juniors and their elders, for the reason that anything which teaches perseverance and steadfastness in the right can be heard with profit at any time.
~~The Talk.~~
[Because of the details in the drawing of the aeroplane, it may be well to finish Fig. 110, complete, before beginning the talk. In opening, refer to the aeroplane in such a manner as will fit your locality. For instance, if the aeroplane is a common sight, say, "We have all been interested in seeing the aeroplane glide through the air," etc., while, if it has not yet made its appearance in your locality, you may refer to the fact that all have seen pictures of the modern invention. The talk a.s.sumes that the aeroplane has not yet visited your neighborhood.]
"Every one of us is interested in flying. Ever since G.o.d created man, man has been trying to learn how to fly, but always, until of recent years, he has suffered the sad fate of "Darius Green and His Flying Machine." For many centuries man has been impatient because he has had to stay down on earth or else go up in a clumsy balloon, which is not a flying machine at all! But, at last, he has made for himself a machine which he calls the aeroplane and the tedious problem has been solved quite satisfactorily, so that we now hear a great deal about monoplanes and biplanes, all of which are cla.s.sed under the general heading of aeroplanes. I will draw the outlines of one of these flying machines.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 110]
[If you have drawn the picture, Fig. 110, in advance, merely indicate the parts as you proceed; otherwise, point them out as you finish each part of the machine.]
"This style of machine is known as the biplane, or two-plane. This upper part is one of the planes, and this lower part is the other.
This part out in front is that portion of the steering apparatus which enables the aviator to guide the machine up or down, and this part at the back is to govern the side-to-side movements. When the machine stands on the ground it rests on these three little wheels, which are like bicycle wheels. Here sits the aviator, and directly back of him is the powerful little engine which sets the propeller whirling at the rear. The machine makes a noise like a swift-running motor boat or a motorcycle. It starts off on its wheels and rapidly increases its speed until it rises from the ground and sails away gracefully into the upper air. [Your drawing of Fig. 110 should now be complete.]
"As you look at this machine, remember that it is not at all like a balloon. The bag of a balloon, filled with gas, is lighter than the air; hence, it stays up without any trouble, unless the bag breaks and lets the gas out. But the aeroplane has no gas bag; it is heavier than the air and it must "_keep a-goin"_" in order to stay up at all. Remember this: _Just as soon as the aeroplane stops, it comes crashing to the earth_, like so many have done, bringing death and destruction.
[Quickly detach your drawing paper from your board, turn it one-fourth around and re-attach it with thumb tacks. With broad strokes of black crayon indicate the foreground. Add lines of mountains, completing Fig. 111.]
[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 111]
"You boys know how it is when you are riding a bicycle. Your wheel will stay upright as long as you are pushing ahead, but as soon as you stop the wheel topples over.
"Sometimes the aeroplane engine fails to work, sometimes a wire or rod breaks, sometimes the aviator attempts to do some fancy flying which throws the machine out of balance, sometimes the wind prevents the machine from going on in its course. Any of these things may cause the machine to stop going forward and come dashing downward.
"You, boys--and you, girls--and we older men and women, are just like the aeroplane in one great particular. In the Christian life, in our work, in our study, in our efforts to do good, we can never hope to succeed and progress if we let anything stop us in the way. How truly does all this apply to the Sunday School. The stand-still boy and the stand-still girl never get anywhere. The stand-still Sunday School is "a dead one." Life in Sunday School means movement, forward and upward. If the flying machine stops, it comes crashing to the earth. If the Sunday School stops, you will also "hear something drop." And the same thing is true of us as Christians. Praying and psalm singing are not enough. Backsliding begins when Christians stop working--stop going forward. If we would _grow_, we must _go_!
And "_keep a-goin"_!"
THE PLUM TREE --Mothers" Day --Training
The Responsibility of Motherhood--A Lesson From the Tree Nursery.
THE LESSON--That constant training and cultivation are necessary to the attainment of excellence in plant life; so, also, the quality of the child depends upon the home training.
Mothers" Day, usually observed on the second Sunday in May, is becoming valued more and more in the Sunday School as the years go by. Miss Anna Jarvis, of Philadelphia, is said to have originated the idea in her effort to commemorate the anniversary of the death of her mother. She saw, in the wearing of a carnation on a selected day, a silent and beautiful tribute to motherhood throughout the world. The custom is usually followed by the wearing of a white carnation in memory of the mother departed, while a colored flower is worn for the mother living. The school decorations should be worked out in a manner appropriate to the day and its significance. The present talk deals specifically with the responsibility of motherhood.
~~The Talk.~~
"We have come today with our hearts filled with tender memories of the mothers who have gone--memories as sweet as these beautiful flowers, whose whiteness tells of their purity; whose form brings back the thought of their beauty; whose fragrance tells again of their love, and whose enduring qualities remind us of their faithfulness and constancy.
"But today I want to speak especially of the mothers who are still with us, those whose hair is tinged with silver, and especially of those other younger mothers who are today the close companions of their children.
"The carnation, as we see it today, was not always such a perfect blossom--no, it is a development of the modest little old-fashioned pink. Men everywhere are devoting their attention to the betterment of things in the vegetable and animal world. We are constantly bringing forth more splendid cattle and horses and sheep, through cultivation; Luther Burbank and his followers are giving us each year more perfect vegetables and fruits and flowers, through scientific cultivation.
Here, for example, we find in a northern state a plum tree bearing fruit such as no other northern tree ever produced before. We ask the nurseryman how it is possible to transplant this fruit from a warmer zone to the region of rigorous Winters. He replies that this tree was not brought from a warmer locality, but that it grew here from the beginning. How, then, can it be made to produce such big, splendid plums when no other tree in the neighborhood grows such luscious fruit?
[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 112]
"Here is the explanation: The tree was found growing wild in the woods. [Draw the branch of Fig. 112 in brown and the leaves in green.]
And there in the woods it produced only very small, sour plums. [Complete Fig. 112 by drawing the plums in purple or a combination of red and blue.] But with this hardy tree to work on, the fruit experts, through grafting and cultivation, have caused it to bring forth this large, luscious fruit. [With purple, or a combination of red and blue, enlarge the plums, completing Fig. 113.] These men knew what to do and they did it. If they hadn"t done it, the tree, worthless and neglected, would still bear little, sour plums instead of big, sweet ones.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 113]
"Mothers, the nursery of your home is like the nursery where the fruit experts do their wonderful work. G.o.d has placed in your keeping these little ones. You are the expert whose business it is to see that as they grow older they will not bear the small, sour fruit of wrong living, but the large, sweet fruit of Christian service. What they are to be depends upon _you_. The plum tree in the woods could not grow better of itself. _It had to have help._ And yet, we find mothers everywhere who seem to think that the child can develop into a high type of manhood and womanhood if he is provided with a plenty to eat and wear and with the public school and the Sunday school at his disposal.
"Within the heart of each mother G.o.d has implanted a natural knowledge of how to care for the child. To fail to apply this knowledge is to fail to reach up to a parent"s highest privilege.
"The Sunday school can do much, but we must remember that home was G.o.d"s first and holiest school. It is in the home that the child receives his first and most lasting lessons. Let us not misjudge the ability of the child to perceive the inconsistency, the insincerity, of father and mother. Even though the parent be a teacher in the Sunday school, her influence cannot be for the best if her everyday life is wasted in society and unworthy amus.e.m.e.nts. The father"s praise of the Bible loses its gilt edge when the boy sees him bound up in the Sunday paper for two hours, without ever finding time to read the Scriptures.
"Let us all, therefore, look at this whole matter seriously. We may each have a part in this training, this cultivating, this producing of better minds, better hands and cleaner lives, but after all, mothers, the great responsibility is yours, for it is into your hands that G.o.d has placed the children, these innocent little ones who are a type of heaven itself."
THE HOLLOW TREE --Decision Day --Honesty
A Figure of the Deceitful Life--The True Test of Character.
THE LESSON--That stability or weakness of character are revealed when the supreme test comes.
This lesson from nature is planned to impress the truth that we must be worthy "through and through" if we are to endure the test of character which comes to every life.
~~The Talk.~~
"I want every one of you to stop looking at me and to take a good look at the wood out of which the pew ahead of you is made. [If necessary, revise the following sentences to meet your immediate conditions.]
You will notice that the pew is made up of a good many pieces of oak fastened together so nicely that you can hardly tell where they are joined. And so it is with all this other furniture, and with the tables and the chairs and the bookcases in your homes and everywhere else. A great many fine trees must be cut down every day to furnish the wood from which all the things are made. The furniture manufacturers buy the wood in the form of heavy lumber. The companies which sell this lumber to the furniture factories send their expert tree buyers into the forests to pick out the trees which will make the best lumber. These tree experts go into the forests and select the trees that they want, and leave all the others standing.
"One day a tree buyer, after examining an oak grove, told the owner that he would pay him a certain amount of money for a specified number of trees, and at the same time he pointed out the trees which he wanted.
""But," said the owner of the forest, "you have overlooked one of the nicest-looking trees of them all. Don"t you want this one?" [Draw outlines of tree, Fig. 114.]