May 23

For none of us liveth to himself.—ROM. xiv, 7.

We know not half the power for good or ill Our daily lives possess o'er one another: A careless word may help a soul to kill, Or by one look we may redeem our brother.

'Tis not the great things that we do or say, But idle words forgot as soon as spoken: And little thoughtless deeds of every day Are stumbling-blocks on which the weak are broken.

We are not alone in anything we do. We are connected from the cradle to the grave with many others. We have our family and our kindred, our social friends, our business connections, our neighbors and fellow-citizens. Upon all these we exercise influence, both consciously and unconsciously. By our uprightness they are strengthened, by our courage they are cheered, by our perseverance they are confirmed in our love of right. Every person is thus a preacher to his neighbor; and the most powerful of all eloquence is that of a virtuous life. When a parent adds to the gentle precepts of true religion, delivered to his children, the practice of a just, a patient, and loving life, he preaches to his household in golden words. When a Christian tradesman shows a spirit of honor and rectitude in his dealings, a desire to afford full justice to his customers, as well as to himself, he preaches with the utmost force the sermon, "Go thou and do likewise." The best sermon any one can preach on patience, is actual calmness under provocation. The preaching of truly good lives is what the world now most needs.