Show Love Oft Often n O Only ly Selfishness Gene Stratton Porter Declares A vigorous Christmas Christmas' message from flom Gene Stratton Porter in wh which ch she warns that what is called love is often merely selfishness is contained in McCalls McCall's Magazine The noted writer says in m part What people are aie pleased to consider consider consider con con- sider love nine times out of ten is pure se selfishness Often Otten our friends talk about loving us and very frequently frequently frequently fre fre- fre- fre what they love us for is the things that we can and will do for them If It a day comes when we are no longer able to do for them when them when our gifts and our benefactions bene bene- factions are interrupted what about the love then It speedily de develops develops develops de de- very frequently that what we receive for what we have at attempted attempted at- at tempted to to give in this world is not no We lo but hate It Jt has been m mw experience so far as f t have gotten on my Journey journe of life that some of the very dirtiest deals I 1 have ever had in all aU this came not not- from my enemies but from those w whom I considered my I devoted friends I have never had hadan hadan hadan an enemy so bitter that he or she would have done to me sonie some of the things through which I 1 have lived at the hands of ot people I supposed to be the best friends I r had in il inthe the world So there you are It is not what you can do with money that will accomplish very much The history of ot the world amply demonstrates the fact that people I live lie with can very little money or none at all The thing that they I live without is just plain simple old fashioned fashion love love love-love love of I the kind that was in the heart of God when He gave His Son afe a t. t our ransom I From the depths of a heart troubled beyond ond expression over the prevailing tendency at the present t. t hour hom- to banish God from our schools to neglect Him Himin in our churches to leave Him out of our home lives when such an era of ot lawlessness and selfishness and greed of corruption in office and andall andall andall all sorts of excesses are being tolerated tolerated tol tol- to- to in high places I appeal to every man arid md woman wl who o reads these lines s to try this year ear to give more move largely of ot the tho gift of love than thane ev e r before Try to give love so perfect and anU deep that it tightens t the e lips oon the cruel cutting words t t deeper than the thrust of I a k Try iTry to gi give ve tenderness V Vj r j j it r r J r consideration try to give fellowship fellow fellow- ship try to give help try to give sive comradeship which sweeps away th the lines set by wealth and position try to give gi to your family family- and your your I fellowmen love love just Just plain old fashioned God given loreAn love lore And An l when your heart is filled with the rad radiance nce o of this love then surely s for the sake fo the crucified little Child of the manger for the sake salce of your own little children and those of your neighbors and of all I this broad lovely l land nd with will 11 U your heart a and d might try to do something to stem the tide of vulgarity vulgarity ul garity and immoralIty and ani Intoxication ca cation ion and nd self sel indulgence of all sorts th that t Is sweeping like a great gleat engulfing wave and that so surely surely sure sure- ly as God lives will eventually end in the fall faU of our government and the corruption of our people people people-if if something is not done promptly r. r So this then is the thing that I would suggest suggest that that all of us s try for the coming holidays when we celebrate the birth of the Baby ni itt in the manger the one great outstanding outstanding out out- standing fact fo history Since He was t a gift of this kind to us let lot us try if it a more perfect Christmas than we ever have known before lefore cannot be brought about by all of us us' us giving Ing in an unusual degree the greatest gift in m the whole world the the gift that can be had without with with- out money and and without price price- The gift of kindness the gift gilt of ot self sacrifice the the gifts gifts gifts' of a loving heart Just the gift of ot which we talk most and truly give least the least the great shining outstanding gift of love |