Laws of Abundant Life 2/9/41
Scripture: Psalm 24.
Text: John 10: 10 “...I have come to let them have life, and to let them have it in abundance.”
Have you ever heard such a remark as this: “Do you see the way Bill Prentice is doing that job? Bill is a good scout. Everybody likes him.”
When you hear a remark like that, you may not know whether “Bill” is a Boy Scout or not, but you do know that he is living under certain laws of abundant living, if that saying is really true of him.
I suppose that the one thing that every man or woman, boy or girl, desires more than anything else is abundance of life. Very few of us have it in the degree that we would like, but all of us have some enjoyment of fullness of life and most of us may have more if we consistently obey the laws of abundant life.
The principles of Scouting, as set forth in the Scout Oath and the Scout Law constitute one of the best statements of the laws of abundant living that I have ever seen. Yesterday, February 8th, we entered the Thirtieth Anniversary Year of Scouting in America. And the facts of this anniversary are being borne in mind during the various observances of Scout week. Scouting was brought to America by one who was so thoroughly impressed by the good turn a Scout had done him in London that he wanted American boys to have a chance to be like that British Scout. As it is worked out in America, the Boy Scout program is a definite offer to the boys of the country to learn and practice the laws of more abundant living. By the time any boy has been a Scout long enough to absorb the spirit of the Scout Oath and the principles of the Scout Law into his very being, he is a young man of whom his family and community and country can be proud and in whom all may place confidence.
The Boy Scout learns these laws partly by repeating them over at each meeting of his troop and on other occasions. He learns them better, however, by practicing them in camp, on trail, at troop meeting, at school, at home, at work or during his games.
He learns very soon that he is on his honor. He is on his honor to do his best to do his duty to God and his country and to obey the Scout Law; to help other people at all times; to keep himself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight.
I have had my attention called to the fact that a certain young fellow named Daniel, who lived a good many centuries ago was the kind of fellow who could have honestly repeated that oath.
Daniel was a member of a great and noble race of people. But just at that particular time they were subject to another group of people. And the king of the country caused several of the finest and most princely children of the subject race to be brought to his palace for training. He ordered that a portion of the rich foods and wines from his own table should be taken to these boys each day for three years so that they might grow in stature. He ordered the kind of training that they should have, in order that they should increase in wisdom.
But Daniel remembered the law of his own people which was much the same as the Scout Law of today. He knew that he was on his honor to do his best - to do his best. He knew that simple, substantial foods with water to drink would do his growing body more good than the rich foods and wine which were served to the king. It was a delicate task to persuade his guardians to let him have different food but the job had to be done and done well if he were true to his honor.
Of course he could have balked and told the king, and the whole court, that he would not eat what was set before him. But that would only have brought down trouble on him and his three companions. There was another way which was better and, since he was on his honor to do his best, he chose that way. He asked their trainer to try them out for ten days on simple food and water, to compare them then with the fellows who had eaten rich food and wine all along; and then to decide for himself which food would make young men appear better to the king at the end of the three years. At the end of the ten-day trial, the trainer was convinced that Daniel and his friends were stronger and more alert than the others so he took his chance on disobeying the king’s food order in order to obey the king’s other instruction to make fine young men out of those fellows. [Daniel 1: 8-16].
Daniel had done his best to remain mentally alert, and to become physically strong. Furthermore, this same Daniel managed to keep himself morally straight in spite of all the temptations to be lazy, haughty and even crooked at a royal court. He and his companions lived to be of great service to the people of that country.
To maintain one’s honor in the performance of duty, in helpfulness and in personal efficiency has always been a law for all of mankind who want to get any real satisfaction out of living. The very desire to maintain that honor helps a fellow to keep the Scout Law.
A Scout is Trustworthy. That is to say he is faithful, reliable, dependable. When he gives you his word, you know he will perform it to the best of his understanding and ability because a Scout is like that. If he were not like that, he would cease to be a Scout. And his trustworthiness is rewarded by the approval of his fellows, of his own conscience, and of God.
A Scout is Loyal. He sticks up for his family, his employers, and the fellows who work with him, for his country and his God, and he is never ashamed of any of them. He may sometimes respectfully disagree with members of his family or his employer or his teachers or the officials of his country. But he never says, or admits, that they are no good. If he is any Scout at all, he is loyal to the good in them.
A Scout is Helpful. He realizes that every human being is his neighbor. And he learns to enjoy giving a hand to anyone whose difficulties he can help to meet. He will go to a great deal of personal inconvenience to help those who are in danger. And he takes helping around his home as a matter of course.
A Scout is Friendly. He learns to be friendly not merely to other Scouts, but to all people of every sort. He loyally sticks up for his closest friends. And he learns to behave toward others as he would like them to behave toward him. Friendliness is attracted to friendliness and Scouts therefore find themselves especially friendly toward other Scouts the world over.
A Scout is Courteous. Another word for it is politeness. It is good manners and it marks one as a gentleman rather than a boor or and “roughneck.” When people observe the courtesy of a Scout, they know that he has learned that the manners of a person have a great deal to do with making life smooth and pleasant. A courteous person has learned to use good, clean language and to speak in a pleasant tone. He is able to control his temper, even when others lose theirs. He is courteous in face and manner to all people. In so doing, he makes them feel good, and he himself feels good, too.
A Scout is Kind. There are a great many people in the world who still are savage in their cruelty. Some even seem to take pleasure in the sufferings of animals and of people. But the more civilized a person becomes, the more he feels of pity, mercy and kindness to all living things. We have learned, by the teaching and life of Jesus, to think of God as loving, kind and merciful to us even in the midst of the sickness and sorrows and difficulties we have. If that is a true understanding of God, then we his creatures should normally be equally kind and merciful and charitable.
A Scout is Obedient. The only way that has ever been worked out whereby people may get along in confidence and safety and cooperation with each other is in the observance of rules, of established customs. The laws of a government are made to protect life and property. The principles laid down in the home are for the benefit of all the family members. The rules of health are to be followed if one is to have a strong body. The rules of the school and of the Scout Troop are not for punishment but are for the greatest advantage of the greatest number. Punishment is only for those who disobey and thereby throw themselves and others out of gear, or into danger. These are some of the reasons why a Scout is obedient to the laws of his country and his state and county, his school and his troop, his home and his health, his conscience and his God. And he shows that obedience in his attitude toward those who have been duly and properly placed in authority - his leaders, his parents, his teachers, his governmental officers.
A Scout is Cheerful. Nobody likes a grouch, and everyone loves a smile. One cheerful face, one pleasant remark, sometimes even one joyous “wise-crack” can make a whole gang feel better. The fellow who is lucky enough to wake in the morning to the sound of his mother’s singing, or his father’s cheerful call, has his day all oiled and running smoothly by the time he gets his face washed. And the cheerfulness which he displays to others is mirrored right back by the smiles and well-being of those others throughout the day. “A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance---and he that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast.”
How fine is the joy
Of a whistling boy!
A Scout is Thrifty. He works for what he needs. He makes good use of his earnings and avoids wasting them. What he saves, he saves in such a way as to take care that he does not become a burden on other people. If, by chance, he earns in his life more than he needs, he uses it in helpfulness to his church, his community, his country, and to those of his family or friends who need help.
A Scout is Brave. Most of us have some fear. I suspect that every living person fears some thing or other. Many people have many fears and are dominated greatly by them. But a brave fellow is one who has courage in spite of his fears because he knows his fears. He will be the boss of them rather than let his bears be the boss of him. The one who does his duty regardless of whether he may get hurt, or opposed or ridiculed - that fellow has courage. That is bravery. The fellow who will balk at doing things he knows wrong or harmful to himself or others, who will say “no!” in spite of temptation, crafty persuasion or jeers - that fellow has courage. That is bravery. To dare to do right is to be a good Scout.
A Scout is Clean. He keeps his body clean and his mind clean, knowing that this is necessary to his own physical and mental health as well as to the pleasure others have in him. A great many years ago I knew a doctor who never looked clean, who had pipe ashes all over his clothes and whose hands were frequently soiled black. You always wanted to show him to the wash basin before letting him see the patient and you wished there were a clean doctor closer than 25 miles away, for his very lack of neatness made you wonder if he were a good doctor. The same principle applies to cleanliness of mind. “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.”
A Scout is Reverent. One reason why a special Scout Sunday is set aside during the year for special observance is that this Scout law may be emphasized. Reverence is having respect for all sacred things. A reverent person reserves the name of God for the deepest and most powerful fact that he knows about. He therefore never uses it lightly or crudely. He respects religion - not only his own way of believing, but the other fellow’s faith as well. He also has reverence for human personality, for beauty, for greatness, for honor and integrity.
The observance and absorption of all these laws will open for a Scout or for anyone else, the most abounding kind of life. Disciplined by this kind of self-training we can go forward better prepared for the life we must lead.
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Dates and places delivered:
Kahului UnionChurch, February 9, 1936
Pilgrim Church, February 7, 1937 AM
Wisconsin Rapids, February 9, 1941
Wisconsin Rapids, February 7, 1943 (modified).
Boy Scout Camp Peterson, May 15, 1955
Wisconsin Rapids, February 7, 1965 (modified)
Boy Scout leaders, Camp Sacajawea, September 22, 1968