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Show THE ANNUAL BALANCE-SHEET. When Xew Year day comes it is - natural and right that men should make up the tale of the year and take stock of their achievements, their failures, their prospects and their needs. In eveiy business enterprise the annual balance sheet tells the whole story; and upon its accuracy and truth-ftilness truth-ftilness depends a man's knowledge of his, own affairs. af-fairs. A good many of us have known men who simply sim-ply could not bring themselves to face the actual conditions of their own business. -In making their inventories they would value old stock at cost prices instead of recognizing the loss due to change in seasons or style; they would not write off the real losses in book accounts or depreciation in the value of their plant. Their balance sheet was fictitious, not because they were, dishonest or untruthful, but becou.se they were too cowardly to face facts. In much the same way a good many men scoff at the, notion of Xew Year reflection and resolution. resolu-tion. They don't like to sit down and consider ! seriously the mistakes of the past year and take a moral balance sheet. In the inventory of their deeds they put too high a value on their own virtues vir-tues and gloss over the short-comings that ought to figure in the. depreciation account. The things they ought, to have, done are omitted from profit and loss when they should appear in strong figures on the loss side. They hate to face the fact that possibly the balance is against them when the tale of the year is made up, so they pass by the New-Year New-Year day and let things drift on because they are moral cowards and fail to do their duty in life. It is right that men should take time at the close of the year to see where they stand and plan to do better for the future. . It would be more profitable still if they contemplated their condition daily, as some business establishments get daily reports re-ports of what they have done; but, in any event, the man who is to make a success of his life, who is to realize the best that is in him, will not let the Xew Year come without making up his balance bal-ance sheet. Has the year been one of good deeds? Have there been wrongs to others charged against you ? Have you done to others as j-ou would be done by? Have you been faithful in the spiritual obligations that make up so large a part of the final reckoning? reckon-ing? And if the answers to these questions are not satisfactory have you determined with God's help to do better for the next twelve-month? Are you resolved to be more generous to those vho need help, to be gentler in your honie, more charitable char-itable in your judgments'of others, and, above all, have you decided to keep your face turned, resolutely reso-lutely toward the better part of life in every relation rela-tion ? 1 The Xew Year resolution has been treated as something humorous by the thoughtless and cynical, cyn-ical, hut be sure that no man ever achieved anything any-thing big, either good or bad, without an initial resolution as his starting point ; and if. you are to live well and leave an honorable name behind you, it will be due to resolution, either conscious or unconscious. un-conscious. ' - . |