Thank you for visiting SNEWPapers!
Sign up free
Literary
March 21, 1958
The Coastland Times
Manteo, Dare County, North Carolina
What is this article about?
A retired man, initially content in idleness, discovers joy through voluntary community service, leading him to worship and praise God in church. The story illustrates everyday religion, portraying the man as Everyman who finds fulfillment in serving others and faith.
Clipping
OCR Quality
98%
Excellent
Full Text
EVERYDAY RELIGION By Rev. Robert W. Turner (PRAISE AND THANKSGIVING)
There once lived a man-perhaps he is still living-whose entire life was very drab and dull. It seemed to him that living was a very tiring matter of working very hard, of eating and sleeping. He often remembered the time when he was a baby and only had to eat and sleep and longed for those "good old days!" Now he felt it a great injustice that work was added to his daily round, especially when he saw other people around him who did no work that he could observe.
Finally, however, this man achieved his great life ambition! He was retired on a pension with nothing to do except eat and sleep. Surely, you will say, this man was at last content and happy to reach the stage of life where he first started.
Alas, he was not! For a time, he found pleasure in complaining to his neighbors of the injustice of others having to work, but this tale soon grew stale to him even as to his neighbors. He next applied his wit and invective to those who now worked where he once worked: it seemed certain that they were loafing on the job and there was a faint suspicion that his pension might stop if they failed to apply themselves better at the job of maintaining him in idleness. So it went from day to day, year in and year out-really a rather dismal life, we might say, but he seemed to enjoy it.
Then a wonderful thing happened! He began, quite by accident of course, to use his remaining talents for the welfare of his community! This "work" he did without any salary and discovered, for the first time in his life--the real joy of working. Can you imagine his surprise when he found ever so many people doing this? He was astounded to find others working because they thought it fun to serve others in intelligent ways!
The inner joy of this discovery was so great that he even began to worship God every Sunday in His Church (He had secretly thought that the Church was strictly for suckers) and here he offered to Almighty God the acceptable sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving in the midst of the Great Congregation! You see, this poor man now just had to have SOMEONE TO THANK AND PRAISE a need he had never felt before. You might be wondering: "Who is this man Some folks call him, "EVERYMAN."
There once lived a man-perhaps he is still living-whose entire life was very drab and dull. It seemed to him that living was a very tiring matter of working very hard, of eating and sleeping. He often remembered the time when he was a baby and only had to eat and sleep and longed for those "good old days!" Now he felt it a great injustice that work was added to his daily round, especially when he saw other people around him who did no work that he could observe.
Finally, however, this man achieved his great life ambition! He was retired on a pension with nothing to do except eat and sleep. Surely, you will say, this man was at last content and happy to reach the stage of life where he first started.
Alas, he was not! For a time, he found pleasure in complaining to his neighbors of the injustice of others having to work, but this tale soon grew stale to him even as to his neighbors. He next applied his wit and invective to those who now worked where he once worked: it seemed certain that they were loafing on the job and there was a faint suspicion that his pension might stop if they failed to apply themselves better at the job of maintaining him in idleness. So it went from day to day, year in and year out-really a rather dismal life, we might say, but he seemed to enjoy it.
Then a wonderful thing happened! He began, quite by accident of course, to use his remaining talents for the welfare of his community! This "work" he did without any salary and discovered, for the first time in his life--the real joy of working. Can you imagine his surprise when he found ever so many people doing this? He was astounded to find others working because they thought it fun to serve others in intelligent ways!
The inner joy of this discovery was so great that he even began to worship God every Sunday in His Church (He had secretly thought that the Church was strictly for suckers) and here he offered to Almighty God the acceptable sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving in the midst of the Great Congregation! You see, this poor man now just had to have SOMEONE TO THANK AND PRAISE a need he had never felt before. You might be wondering: "Who is this man Some folks call him, "EVERYMAN."
What sub-type of article is it?
Essay
Prose Fiction
What themes does it cover?
Religious
Moral Virtue
What keywords are associated?
Everyday Religion
Praise Thanksgiving
Joy Of Service
Community Work
Moral Discovery
Everyman
Faith Awakening
What entities or persons were involved?
By Rev. Robert W. Turner
Literary Details
Title
Everyday Religion
Author
By Rev. Robert W. Turner
Subject
Praise And Thanksgiving
Key Lines
The Real Joy Of Working.
He Even Began To Worship God Every Sunday In His Church (He Had Secretly Thought That The Church Was Strictly For Suckers)
Offered To Almighty God The Acceptable Sacrifice Of Praise And Thanksgiving
This Poor Man Now Just Had To Have Someone To Thank And Praise
Who Is This Man Some Folks Call Him, "Everyman."