On
this principle it is, that we think the followers of Christ should
give more to supply those who are suffering for want of the bread of
eternal life, than for those who are deprived of physical enjoyments.
And another reason for this preference is the fact that many who give
in charity have made such imperfect advances in civilization and
Christianity that the intellectual and moral wants of our race make
but a feeble impression on the mind. Relate a pitiful tale of a family
reduced to live for weeks on potatoes only, and many a mind would awake
to deep sympathy and stretch forth the hand of charity. But describe
cases where the immortal mind is pining in stupidity and ignorance,
or racked with the fever of baleful passions, and how small the number
so elevated in sentiment and so enlarged in their views as to appreciate
and sympathize in these far greater misfortunes! The intellectual and
moral wants of our fellow-men, therefore, should claim the first place
in general Christian attention, both because they are most important,
and because they are most neglected; while it should not be forgotten,
in giving personal attention to the wants of the poor, that the relief
of immediate physical distress, is often the easiest way of touching
the moral sensibilities of the destitute.
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