STRESSING MINOR ISSUES

     The tendency with every man and movement is to be more radical at the beginning than in after years. Rev. B. T. Roberts said, "No church has been known to retain its original purity, simplicity and power longer than one generation." Youthful minds do not have the scope of vision of older ones, hence are fiery and less reliable than those of maturer years. As a rule, he who i extremely radical at the start, later becomes more changeable in his views and, consequently, more efficient in his honors. On the other hand, he who has always been "wise" and "sane," and never made bad breaks, has likewise never gained much of a reputation for breaking through dead orthodoxy, and snatching souls off the brink of hell. The first is like the buzz saw that rips and makes the dust fly, but needs ballast and power to drive through the knots and hard places. The second is like the smooth-running balance wheel that looks nice, but does not get down to detail work and lay hard things wide open. Each needs the other, to be successful.

     A mistake of my early ministry was the making too much of detail and minor issues; dealing with the outside, out of proportion with the inside. It was like spending time in cutting off the various boughs of a noxious tree, when the proper thing would have been to lay the axe at the root.

     Madame Guyon said, "Preach to the heart if you want lasting success."

     No doubt this is the reason converts under one kind of preaching have more endurance and stability of character than those under another kind. In the first instance law and righteousness are preached; in the second, the emotions are stirred and souls are encouraged to think their religion consists in a big shout and giving up a few outward things.

     The fact is, God will never send a man to hell because he got drunk, committed adultery or murdered his wife, but rather because he was all wrong at heart. The doing these and other awful things did not make the man wicked, but he did these things because he was already wicked at heart. If we can get the sinner's heart thoroughly broken and subdued, he will give up, not only all sinful practices, but all sinful desires.

     If the devil could not get me to become tame and powerless, then he was pleased to have me become such an "idol smasher" as to make people afraid of me. This closed many doors that I might have entered.

     But I must be content. Doubtless even Peter and Paul had to their dying days some things to regret.

     Popularity and human praise are more to be deplored than blunders and an imperfect understanding. Had I used more wisdom in my early preaching, I might have had a wider influence, and perhaps less grace. This is often the case.

     It is like certain kinds of fruit. That which ripens quickly is most in demand and brings a fancy price, while the sour and gnarly varieties require longer time for ripening but are, later on, appreciated more than the other, because of their lasting qualities. Perhaps it is a merciful provision of God to keep some kinds of fruit (men) from ripening too fast. The market would be glutted.

     I do not wish to be misunderstood. While I believe in taking the safest position on every question and at the proper time speaking out against every wrong departure, yet I consider it a mistake to press some things upon souls when there may be other things they need to renounce, a thousand times more important.