Page images
PDF
EPUB

And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.—From St. Matthew, Chapters 5—7— Bible.

A Children's Sermon entitled, "The Fox that Buried his Chain," by Rev. Howard J. Chidley, D.D., Pastor of the First Congregational Church, Winchester, Massachusetts. Reprinted by permission.

My sermon to the children is about a fox, a baby fox that was caught by a farmer and tied up in his yard with a long chain. Before he was caught this little fox had slept in his cozy nest in the ground under a tree and played about the door of his home with his brothers and sisters while his mother was off hunting food for her little family.

Then one day, as the little fox grew bigger and stronger, he ran off to hunt for himself and got caught in a trap the farmer had set, and was taken home by him as a pet.

But the little fox was not happy, although he was treated kindly by the farmer. It was lonesome to be without his mother and brothers and sisters. At night he would lie awake listening to the other foxes barking in the woods and fields, and he would strain on his chain and try to get free. At other times, when the night was very dark, and all was quiet about the great farmhouse, his mother would come and bring him dainties of food to eat-bits of chicken and such things. He was very happy to see his mother. But when she went away he would try to follow her and would

run along after her until he reached the end of his chain and it brought him up short. Then he would sit and watch her as she silently slipped away in the darkness and would feel more lonely than ever.

One day, however, he thought of a scheme by which he could get rid of the chain and be free once more. What do you think he did? He dug a hole in the ground and put into it all of the chain that he could see. Then he covered it over and thought that he had got rid of it forever. Poor, foolish little fox! That night, as soon as he started to run away, up came the chain again out of the ground. And there he was, held as fast as ever!

Now, what lesson for boys and girls do you think I am going to draw from the fox that buried his chain? The lesson is this: There are some boys and girls who do wrong and then think they can get rid of it by burying it, just as that little fox thought he was doing when he buried his chain. But, boys and girls, it can't be done. You do something wrong, and when your father or mother asks you about it you tell a lie to cover it up. Then you say to yourself, "There, that is nicely buried; I shall never have any more trouble about that." And so you run off to play, and try to forget all about it. But somehow the games are not half as much fun as before. You just get into the game so far, and you are brought up short by remembering that lie you told. You did not get rid of the first sin at all when you covered it with a lie. You simply added another sin to it. And so your conscience keeps digging it up and holding you back with it.

Don't try to get rid of your sins, boys and girls, by burying them. It is poor business. If you have done wrong, own up to it like a man, and take your punishment. If you bury your sin you will be afraid that you may any minute be found out, and that will make a little coward of you. And even though you may bury your sins from others, you

cannot hide them from your own conscience, and that will make a little sneak of you. When you are tempted to bury your sin remember the fox that tried to get rid of his chain in that way, and think what a foolish thing it is to do.

A Man's Ideal, 236

Abbott, Lyman, 179

INDEX

Addresses Italicized for Suggestion, 145-153
Aim in Speaking, 75

America in the Right, Practice Outline, 32-34
America's Reply to In Flanders Fields, 251
Americanism, 153-158

See Roosevelt, 216-221

Anecdotes

Efficiency, 87-93

Humor, 93-120

Lincoln, 120-125

Miscellany, 125–130

Patriotism, 130–135

Religion, 135-145

Arnold, Matthew, 232

Articulation, Practice Phrases for, 16-17

[blocks in formation]
« PreviousContinue »