Cled E. Wallace
Some religious suckers go into ecstasies over gold bricks. They think real religion is found in tables of statistics or in fashionable pews. They cannot thrill to anything short of hired choirs or polished declamations. A John the Baptist, with garments of camel’s hair and a diet of locusts and wild honey, is a fanatic or a mad man to them. A Christ who snubs lawyers and Pharisees and associates with publicans and sinners is both a pain and an enigma to them.
Dorcas, who was full of good works and alms deeds which she did, was a real value in womanhood. She would not fill a column on a society page today. Some of the most valuable Christians I have known have been men and women in out-of-the-way places, honest sons and daughters of toil, who reared families and were unknown outside of narrow circles. They could not express their thoughts in Shakespearean elegance, but they could show their devotion to God in practical ways most pleasing to Him.
Man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart. That is why man accepts so many gold bricks for real human value. “For behold your calling, brethren, that not many wise after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called” (1 Cor. 1:26 ASV). A man will select a painted butterfly for a wife instead of a sensible, practical woman. And the woman actually looks a lot better—especially after the paint is washed off the butterfly.
