May 5
Daily Cheer for All the YearLet the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.—Ps. xix, 14.
Think truly, and thy thoughts
Shall the world's famine feed;
Speak truly, and each word of thine
Shall be a fruitful seed;
Live truly, and thy life shall be
A great and noble creed.
HORATIUS BONAR.
"Evil is wrought by want of thought!" Thoughtlessness is sin. "I didn't think" is no excuse. We should have thought. "I didn't mean" is a poor apology. With the blessed possibilities God has put into our hands we should be "thinking" and "meaning" all day long; thinking how we can help, meaning to make our life a benediction to others. A frown will hurt. Scolding words will hurt. Silent neglect will hurt. A kind word, a gentle smile—and these cost so little—will cheer the sad and comfort the tired. And the blessedness of the whole matter is that the smile we throw to a little child will come back in radiance to illumine our own lives, and the kindly word will ring a chime of music in our own hearts. Let us write this motto on the portals of our life: "God helping me, I will help, not hurt my fellow-men!"