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What is
Man?
We are
surrounded by mysteries, and not the least of these is the
mystery of our own being. "Whence did I come?"
"Where am I going?" and - greatest mystery of
all - "What am I?" are questions that have
arisen again and again in the minds of many persons. If we
try to solve the question, What am I? by our own
understanding and reason, it remains but a question. There
are within us the stirrings of strange emotions, a
reaching out after things not seen, unutterable things
that we can not interpret. Is man only a material being?
Is he a beast of the field? Was he created only to eat and
drink and to enjoy material things? or is he something
more and something higher, with relationships more
profound and far-reaching than those of the mere material?
The Psalmist viewed this question and exclaimed:
"What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the
son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him
a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with
g lory and honor. Thou madest him to have dominion over
the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his
feet" (Psalms 8:4-6). To him, man was something more
than an animal; he stood only a little lower than that
celestial host that surrounds G od's throne. And man is
something more, something higher, indeed, than those
creatures which are his servants in this time world. When
the Psalmist speaks of their death, he says, "Thou
takest away their breath, they die, and return to their
dust" (Ps alms 124:29). Of man it is said, "If
he set his heart upon man, if he gather unto himself his
spirit and his breath, ... man shall turn again unto
dust" (Job 34:14, 15). Man is a trinity, possessing
the spiritual, the mental, and the physical. He has a body
like the animal, in its functions and desires. He has
reason and intelligence, and, above and beyond all these,
he has a moral nature. This he alone of all the
inhabitants of earth possesses. And it is with this moral
nature that ma n is most concerned. His life in this world
is of few days and full of trouble, and all the races of
man look forward confidently to another and higher and
better life when this life has come to an end.
Animals are creatures of
instinct. They have implanted in them certain primary
elements of knowledge or consciousness that guide them
where their intelligence does not reach. And man also has
instincts, higher than those of the beast, but no le ss
significant. He feels intuitively that there is a power
above him which is greater than his own power. It takes no
argument to convince him of this, unless he has destroyed
this primary intuition through the subtilities of his
reasoning. He is als o conscious that he is responsible to
this higher power; that in some way he has some relation
with that power that gives moral value to his actions; and
that these actions are worthy of the praise of this higher
power or else merit retribution as being evil. He
instinctively places a moral value upon his conduct, and
feels that somehow, somewhere he must give an account. He
feels within him the stirrings of a life that is not
merely animal life. He feels capabilities and powers which
are undeveloped here and now, and to which he finds
himself incapable of giving more than partial expression;
and this consciousness speaks to him of a future life full
of greatest possibilities.
All these instincts have
a substantial basis of reality. The squirrel that has
never seen a winter is led by instinct to hoard a store of
nuts for the days to come. The bird that knows nothing of
climate save the summer, wings its way in the au tumn to a
more genial climate, led by unerring instinct. The bird
which has been reared in captivity in an artificial nest,
if given its liberty will build a nest like those of its
kind, though it has never been taught. These instincts do
not mislead the unreasoning creatures. They are safe
guides. Man's instinct is no less true, and if followed
will guide him in the fundamentals of his life as it
guides the lower creatures. Only man disregards these
instincts. He deifies his reason, and it leads him in
devious paths. He sets it up as the guide of his life and
bows down and worships it, but alas! how often it causes
him to disregard that which the truest wisdom would lead
him to value most highly! How many people live as th ough
they were only animals! "Eat. drink, and be
merry," say they. They neglect that higher and better
self. They silence the voice of conscience. They shut
their ears to God. They close their eyes to their own
knowledge. They live as though they w ere no better than
the brute. They are concerned only with this world. They
may recognize that there is a life beyond, but how little
do they consider it!
Reader, you are more than
a horse. There is in you that which is higher and better
and nobler; and there is something better for you than to
give your attention, your time, and your powers for this
world alone. As you consider yourself higher t han the
beast, so should your life be higher than his. I beg of
you, consider. How much higher is it? Are you living for
eternity, or does your life-plan reach only to the
satisfying of your own temporary and temporal desires?
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