Page:Can a man be a Christian on a pound a week? - Hardie.djvu/6

 It will be seen, therefore, that the man who is most simple in his tastes, whose life is lived in closest communion with nature, and is farthest removed from the pomps and vanities of worldly display, approximates most nearly to the Christian ideal. Not for him the glare and glitter of the saloon or the haunts of vice; not for him the expensive adornment of gay apparel. His beauty will be that beauty of health which comes from closely following the laws which govern life. The acquisition of property he will regard as an impediment to the development of the soul, which is alone immortal and worth caring for. With Christ there was no wealth save life, and material things were only valuable in so far as they contributed to the production of life.

And now let us return to our

Living under a Christian system the purchasing power which twenty shillings a week represents would be amply sufficient for his every need. But the God we worship is Mammon, not Christ, which makes all the difference. In Church life, in literature, in politics, Mammon sits enthroned. We have, therefore, not to consider whether a man can be a Christian on a pound a week, that is, live a life in accordance with the will of God under Christian conditions, but whether he can do so under present conditions. My answer is No. The townsman with a wife and three children and an income of a pound a week dare not “take no thought for the morrow.” With the morrow will come the landlord demanding the rent, and if the rent be not forthcoming, out he will go into the street. In London, for the share of a very poor house, he will sometimes have to pay as much as ten