"BEGIN—BEGIN"
A ROUSING TALK BY H. T. W. PELHAM
Could we have a more appropriate watchword than the following?—
Cease to dawdle, begin to run.
Cease to talk, begin to fight.
Cease to dream, begin to do.
A certain bad place has been said to lie paved with good intentions, and certainly, if noble deeds always followed good intentions, this would, indeed, be an heroic age. Some of you boys have not yet begun to take a serious view of life.
I came across some lines the other day which are rather descriptive of some of the people I have known:
"He revelled beneath the moon,
And slept beneath the sun.
He lived a life of going to do,
And died with nothing done."
Let us consider a few of the things which we might begin to do now.
Begin to Take Trouble
If you do not take some trouble about your career, it is certain that no one else can do it for you. Moreover, if you make no effort, you will find it difficult to keep out of the many pitfalls which be along the road.
Have you ever noticed a barge, or string of barges, floating with the tide up or down the river? Do you know why the bargemen are working so hard with those long oars, or sweeps, as they are called?
The explanation is that the barges cannot be steered unless there is some way on. The rudder will not act unless the barge is travelling faster than the tide, and but for the rowing the barge would sooner or later be carried broadside against some bridge, or stranded on the mud.
So it is far more difficult for the boy who is idle, or who takes little interest in his work, to resist the many dangers which surround the path of life.
If you have ever played chess, you will know how important it is to look on ahead, to plan out a scheme of attack, and, at the same time, to try to discover what your opponent's scheme is.
You will have little chance of winning your game, if you only think of your next move. So, in daily life, you must, to some extent, make out a plan for the future.
For instance, you may find it better to put up with lower wages now, if you get a chance of learning a trade; and it is certainly worth while to refuse a place with higher wages, if you find that you will be called upon in that place to say or do what is wrong, or will be exposed to exceptional temptation.
When the time of sowing comes, in the winter or spring, the farmer has to think what crops he wishes to gather in the autumn. Think out in the same way the plan of your future life, always remembering that the plan must be goal for the next world as well as for this.
Begin to Trust
Has it ever occurred to you how much greater the unseen powers of the world are than those which are seen?
How small is the power of a steam engine when compared with the unseen power of gravitation, which makes things fall to the ground, and the rivers run down to the sea.
Look again at the trains on the Underground Railway. There is nothing which you can see to account for the quick starting and travelling of these heavy cars. The electric power comes through the rails; but, if you examine the rails, there is nothing to sec of the wonderful current which comes through them from the far distant generating stations.
Now, the power which you need for your life is not to be found in yourself. No self-development will produce it. That power is away in God, but it can be obtained by you through faith in Him, through Jesus Christ.
But let your prayers be real; give up "saying" your prayers, and take to praying. Think for a moment what it is you need, and then just kneel down and ask God to give it to you, and expect to get it. Let your prayers be real business prayers.
Begin to Be Men
What foolish ideas some boys have of being manly. Many think it manly to drink and use bad language, and some lads waste their money in buying cheap cigarettes, which are generally made of very bad tobacco, just because they think it manly to do so.
There was a picture in Punch a little while ago of a big boy smoking a cigarette, and asking for a half ticket at the railway booking office. The clerk had a good look at him, and said, "Disgraceful; a kid like you smoking!" "Kid!" replied the boy; "why, I'm over fourteen." "Then," retorted the man, "you will take a man's ticket."
Now, it is not wicked for a boy to smoke, but it is injurious to your health, and bad for your pocket. But, above all things, there is nothing manly about it. The manliness which I want you to cultivate is a very different thing. Courage is my idea of manliness; courage to face danger, courage to persevere, courage to admit that you have done wrong, courage to stand alone, to be pure in thought and word, and truthful and honest in business, whatever the customs of trade may he.
"Quit ye like men."
Stick to It
"Begin" has been my motto. It is really a most important point.
But "stick to it" is also a very important maxim.
So my last word is "persevere." It is not all plain sailing when you have passed the harbor oar. There are hidden rocks and shallow waters even in the open sea.
A man is converted, and gives his heart to God. It is all-important that a man should do this, and realize that he has done it; but I would say to those who do not feel that their position is very secure—persevere.
Begin now, and persevere to the end.
