CHRISTIANITY IN BUSINESS.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 3363, 1 November 1911, Page 7

CHRISTIANITY IN BUSINESS.

THE NEED FOR MARTYRS

Rev. G. M'Luckie, at King Street Congregational Church, Yarmouth, in one of his sermons recently, dealt with the topic of “Christianity in Business,” which was discussed by his church members of their Midsummer Breakfast Conference. There are to-day, he said, not a few earnest-minded business men who find themselves forced to ask the question whether it is possible to be a true Christian under our present economic conditions Here, for example, is a man who in his busi--1 ness is employing young women, many of them ten hours a day, and is only paying them a wage of a few shillings a week, a miserable pittance, which is absolutely insufficient to provide shelter, food,' and clothing, to say notliing of anything else. That is' the problem of many a business man to-day. Thank God we are not the keepers of his conscience, but if he asks the question of a Christian preacher, “What shall I do?” surely the Christian preacher must reply, “Trust your God, and do what you believe to be right, whatever it costs.” “Ah,” he says to me, “under present conditions, that would be to break up my business; it might even mean for me homelessness and starvation.” To that I have two things to say. I say first- of all you have no adequate guarantee that your fears are well based, and I say secondly, the man who really wants and means to follow Jesus Christ must be prepared, if need be, for homelessness and starvation The disciple is not above his Lord, and even the Son of Man lias not where to lay His head. I want to ask this qestion: Is it not time that the Chrch of Jesus Christ began to have some martyrs for the Christianising of commerce? She has had her martyrs for the Christianising of other aspects of or many-sided life, why not commerce ? Would not the Wood of our martyrs he the seed from which would spring a much fairer and move beautiful commercial, industrial, and economic system than the one which we groan under to-dav.