• Author: B-6594
• Editor: B-6591
• Newspaper: The Umpire volume 2
• Page Number:
• Date: 11 12 1913
• Tags:
• advice

MORAL ESSAYS By B 6594 FAULT — FINDING There is room in this world for Fault-Finding, and there are those who appear disposed always to occupy it. Nothing, perhaps, is more in accord with perverse human nature than faultfinding. Many persons see little else but the wrong, and are not at all backward in pointing it out. They have become adepts at the business, and would be discontented, their occupation being gone, were they to wake up some morning and find that the millennium had come while they slept. It was certainly out of order for it to come in that way and at such a time, as they were unable to give directions to affairs! If we are such, what use are we? Who will love us? Whom do we influence or bless? What are we born for, and where will we go when we die? There must be a chamber in space somewhere for such spirits, and it can hardly be a good place, for once placed in a realm where there is nothing to find fault about, they would be out of place and miserable indeed. If the descriptions of Dante and Milton are true, there are plenty of things in the pit of woe to grumble at. Nothing will more effectually destroy an individual's comfort, and the comfort of those around It fosters a feeling of discontent, which is injurious to the best interests. Things in this world, it is true, are not just exactly as we would have them, but, after all, they are perhaps better than we would make them, if left to our dictation. We have no need to complain of what we can remedy, and it is folly to complain of what we cannot change. We cannot comprehend all the mysteries that surround using this life; but He above us reigns; and let us trust in his divine wisdom and goodness' We should cheerfully with an uncomplaining spirit endure, as a sweet disposition is by far better than to be a constant grumbler. If we can so measure our faultfinding and equalize it with commendation for the good things that really are, we are far more likely to benefit each other than by meaningless complaint. No one thing does human life more need than a kind consideration of men's faults. Everyone does wrong at times, often thoughtlessly, and needs forbearance. Our own imperfections should teach us to be merciful. God is merciful, because He is perfect So men grow toward the Divine, they become gentle, forgiving, and compassionate, The absence of a merciful spirit is evidence of a want of true manliness. Gentle praise from one we love lightens the burden which each one of us is called on to bear. It smooths away the discouragements and perplexities. Those men who have been the most powerful agents in progress of good have been those who believed in men, and who somehow touched the wellsprings of their nature, and thereby lifted them to higher things. Those who attempted to influence by fierce denunciation have seldom exerted great power. The Divine power of love, which always lifts up, has} ever been the greatest force in all the experience of the world. A spirit of faultfinding; an unsatisfied temper; a constant irritability; little inequalities in the look, the temper, or the manner; a brow cloudy and dissatisfied—no one can tell why— will more than neutralize all the good you can do, and render your life anything but a blessing.