| Devotional Hours with the Bible |
Chapter 22 |
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Take another line from the picture. “Love… doth not behave itself unseemly.” That is, it never forgets itself, is never rude, is not supercilious. Bad temper is unseemly. Did you ever notice in the story of the life of Jesus how He always respected people? He seemed to have reverence for almost every person who came before Him, even the worst? The reasons were that He loved everyone, that He saw in each the glorious possibilities of heavenly Sonship. If we had our Master’s regard for and His deep interest in the lives of men, we would never act unseemly toward even the unworthiest.
A newspaper gives an account of a new society which has been organized by a company of people. It is called “The Take Heed Society.” It seems that a member of the company boarded once in a rather sleepy New England town with a prim spinster who was a wonderfully charitable woman. She was never heard to say an unkind word to anybody. Further acquaintance showed that charity and brotherly feeling were almost universally practiced by the people of the village. The good woman made inquiry and learned that they all belonged to this organization, never met in a body as other societies do. They had no officers, paid no dues, and assessed no fines except individually upon themselves. There was a fine mentioned in the pledge, but this was to be imposed by the offending person upon himself if he ever violated the fundament rules of the organization. He was to fix His own fine, making it as large as he was able to pay, and it was to be paid, not to the treasurer, but to the first poor and needy person he met. It is said that every member of the company had eagerly joined this Take Heed Society when it was proposed to organize it. It may be worthwhile to start such societies in families, in boarding houses, in Sunday-school classes, in circles of friends. It might help much in getting this law of love — not to behave ourselves unseemly — into every day of life.
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