Counting the Cost.

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R. M. ARMSTRONG, State Secretary Y. M. C. A. of Massachusetts.

O man, as the Great Teacher has told us, enters upon any worldly project, begins to build a tower or to wage war against an enemy, without first sitting down and counting the cost. To do so would imply folly, and invite shame and disgrace. We have been endowed with the power of thought, and to go through this world without exercising this power is to abdicate the throne of reason, and bring ourselves down to the level of the brutes that act only from impulse.

No prudent man will enter any course of conduct without first reckoning what such a course is likely to cost-both to himself and others. This would be both foolish and perilous. "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap," and he will reap much more than he sows. Would that young people might have this passage of sacred writ burned into their souls! Almost any day, unless he stop to think, a man may do some act that will cast a blight over his entire life, and perhaps determine his destiny. A man would be almost as safe in midocean on a rudderless ship, or on a flying train that had no engineer, as in living in a world like this, and in an age like the present, without thinking.

If young people would but look about them, they would see in so many families, and certainly in every community, wrecks

men (and women too) who failed to count the cost, and after a few years' of sowing to the flesh, have reaped the whirlwind. Young men and women, think. Take warning from the far too numerous examples all around you.

Youth is proverbially thoughtless. It is full of ardor, energy,

and enthusiasm. All things wear for it the charm of novelty and freshness. It sets out on the voyage of life with "hope at the prow and pleasure at the helm." While all this forms the strength of youth, it at the same time exposes it to many dangers. Just because of its ardor and whole-heartedness, it is liable in a thoughtless moment to enter upon some path, the end of which means ruin and disgrace.

Youth has had no experience in the evils of life, knows not the pitfalls that lie in the way. Many a pathway opens on either hand, which to a young man seems inviting and pleasurable, but which is extremely hazardous. The first steps in the way of sin are always attractive. "There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." Forethought is imperative. Before taking the first step in any path that opens, think of the end. Sit down and count the cost. Act not in haste.

Among the evils into which young men fall are the following:

Social Drinking. It is estimated that more than 60,000 persons in this country annually go down into drunkards' gravesan exceeding great army. Not one of this number ever intended to become a drunkard. The expression, "I can drink, or let it alone," is often heard. Reader, if you are in the habit of drinking moderately, try to do without stimulants for a week, yea, for a day. Many have tried this, and found to their amazement that they were slaves to the drink habit. Every drunkard is a person who tried to be a moderate drinker, and failed. The only safety is in letting the vile stuff alone.

Gambling. This is one of the most fascinating forms of vice, and young men unthinkingly become entangled in its meshes. A social game of cards, with a small stake "just to keep up the interest," is played-and then the larger stake follows. Defaulters and suicides are on every hand as a result of this modern curse. The only safety is-never begin. Count the costs.

Sensuality. Universal experience proves that sensuality

does not pay. Misery and crime follow in its wake. God stamps it with the mark of displeasure. The very countenances of those who indulge in it are changed. Our insane asylums are filled with its victims, and homes which might be happy, were it not for this seductive evil, are homes but in name. A deadly inheritance is handed down to the children. Oh, that men would but think before taking the first step away from virtue!

Evil Associates. To voluntarily go in bad company is to court the society of the devil. A man usually takes on the moral and mental complexion of the company he keeps. The forming of a new companionship frequently marks a turning point in a young person's life. Advice of good people should be taken in the matter of choosing associates. We sink or rise to the level of those with whom we mingle. No one can afford to associate with those whose companionship will drag him down. It costs too much. Resolutely turn away from the mean, the profane, the impure, the skeptical. Choose the good, the true, the pure, the manly. If the companionship is what it should be, the vices referred to will be avoided without much effort.

Trashy Reading. When the taste for impure and exciting reading is once acquired, it is no easy matter to break away from it. A freshet of vile reading matter floods the country. Young people purchase indiscriminately. Many a young man of promise has been side-tracked by indulging in sensational and impure reading. The books cost little, but if one counts the cost to his manhood the purchase will never be made. Seek the advice of wise counselors, who will gladly assist in the selection of healthy literature.

often called success in life "Not slothful in business, Oh, how can men forget

Worldly Success. That which is is not worth the price paid for it. fervent in spirit, serving the Lord." the direct command of God! A man says, "I am going to give my undivided attention to business for the next twenty years. I will not give time or money to benevolent objects now.

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will give much time and thousands of dollars by-and-by." That man will never give either time or money. He will grow more mercenary as the years go by. Men grow prematurely old in their greed for wealth. They lose their interest in and love for all that is good and true. Man pays too dear for so-called success when it is purchased at the expense of intellectual, moral, and spiritual development. Man is more than money, his soul greater than the world, eternity greater and more enduring than time.

Count the Costs. Use your reason. Take warning from the failures on every hand. What is the universal experience? What is the natural outcome of indulgence in the abovementioned evils? Young men, if you enter a life of sin and forgetfulness of God, you have no valid reason to believe that you will fare better than the thousands who have preceded you, and have been swallowed up in the maelstrom and are forgotten.

Wasted Energies.

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REV. JOHN COTTON BROOKS, Springfield, Mass.

ASTE in any particular means diminution of absolute possession in the world of that which counts for something

in life, the absence of which is an actual loss to the world, and to its possessor. As the world goes on becoming more and more intelligent about itself, and the number of its possessions and their value, it becomes more and more aware of its waste, and the most successful man in all departments of life is he who can lessen waste. The prevalent aim now is not to add to our present resources so much as to make the very most possible out of them. To find out uses for the persons or things which are now wasted in life is to be the glorious work of the men of the next generation, and that which will contribute most to their enrichment.

If what we have said be true, the waste, therefore, of anything begins when it does not find the end of which it is worthy, and that end, it being a possession of man, evidently must be the highest possible service of man, or, rather, the service of the highest part of man. This is all expressed in those words of the Disciples about the ointment which the woman was pouring on Christ's head, "To what purpose is this waste?" Blind spiritually though they were, their argument yet rightly takes for granted the fact that lack of purpose means waste, and they challenge her to show her purpose in dealing with this valuable commodity of the world, of which, although nominally her own, she is responsible to the world for the use. The necessity, therefore, in avoidance of waste, is the thorough knowledge of one's nature and needs, and the purpose for which one lives,