The Social Perspective

“Without faith it is impossible to please God,” and without faith it is impossible for you to become great. The distinguishing characteristic of all really great men and women is an unwavering faith. We see this in Lincoln during the dark days of the war; we see it in Washington at Valley Forge; we see it in Livingstone, the crippled missionary, threading the mazes of the dark continent, his soul aflame with the determination to let in the light upon the accursed slave trade, which his soul abhorred; we see it in Luther, and in Frances Willard, in every man and woman who has attained a place on the muster roll of the great ones of the world.

“Without faith it is impossible to please God,” and without faith it is impossible for you to become great. The defining quality of all truly great men and women is unwavering faith. We see this faith in Lincoln during the dark days of the war. We see it in Washington at Valley Forge. We see it in Livingstone, the missionary with a physical disability, as he made his way through Africa’s maze-like interior. His soul burned with determination to expose the cursed slave trade, which he hated deeply. We see this faith in Luther and in Frances Willard. We see it in every man and woman who has earned a place among the world’s great people.

Faith—not a faith in one’s self or in one’s own powers but faith in principle; in the Something Great which upholds right, and which may be relied upon to give us the victory in due time. Without this faith it is not possible for any one to rise to real greatness. The man who has no faith in principle will always be a small man. Whether you have this faith or not depends upon your point of view. You must learn to see the world as being produced by evolution; as a something which is evolving and becoming, not as a finished work. Millions of years ago God worked with very low and crude forms of life; low and crude, yet each perfect after its kind. Higher and more complex organisms, animal and vegetable, appeared through the successive ages; the earth passed through stage after stage in its unfoldment, each stage perfect in itself, and to be succeeded by a higher one. What I wish you to note is that the so-called “lower organisms” are as perfect after their kind as the higher ones; that the world in the Eocene period was perfect for that period; it was perfect, but God’s work was not finished. This is true of the world to-day. Physically, socially, and industrially it is all good, and it is all perfect. It is not complete anywhere or in any part, but so far as the handiwork of God has gone it is perfect.

Faith is not faith in yourself or your own powers, but faith in principle. It is faith in the Something Great that upholds right and can be trusted to give us victory in time. Without this faith, no one can achieve true greatness. A person who has no faith in principle will always remain small. Whether you have this faith depends on your point of view. You must learn to see the world as the result of evolution. The world is still evolving and developing, not a finished work. Millions of years ago, God worked with very simple, crude forms of life. Yet each form was perfect for its kind. More advanced and complex organisms, both animal and plant, appeared over the ages. The earth developed through stage after stage. Each stage was perfect in itself, and each would be followed by a higher stage. Notice that the so-called “lower organisms” are just as perfect for their kind as the higher ones. The world in the Eocene period was perfect for that period. It was perfect, but God’s work was not finished. The same is true of the world today. Physically, socially, and industrially, the world is all good and all perfect. No part of the world is complete, but God’s work is perfect as far as it has progressed.

THIS MUST BE YOUR POINT OF VIEW: THAT THE WORLD AND ALL IT CONTAINS IS PERFECT, THOUGH NOT COMPLETED.

YOU MUST SEE THE WORLD THIS WAY: THE WORLD AND EVERYTHING IN IT IS PERFECT, THOUGH NOT YET COMPLETE.

“All’s right with the world.” That is the great fact. There is nothing wrong with anything; there is nothing wrong with anybody. All the facts of life you must contemplate from this standpoint. There is nothing wrong with nature. Nature is a great advancing presence, working beneficently for the happiness of all. All things in Nature are good; she has no evil. She is not complete, for creation is still unfinished, but she is going on to give to man even more bountifully than she has given to him in the past. Nature is a partial expression of God, and God is love. She is perfect but not complete.

“Everything is right with the world.” That is the great truth. There is nothing wrong with anything. There is nothing wrong with anybody. You must view all the facts of life from this perspective. There is nothing wrong with nature. Nature is a great presence moving forward, working for the happiness of all. All things in nature are good. Nature has no evil. Nature is not complete, because creation is still unfinished. But nature is moving toward giving humanity even more generously than in the past. Nature is a partial expression of God, and God is love. Nature is perfect but not complete.

So of human society and government. What though there are trusts and combinations of capital and strikes and lockouts and so on. All these things are part of the forward movement; they are incidental to the evolutionary process of completing society. When it is complete there will be no more of these inharmonies; but it cannot be completed without them. J. P. Morgan is as necessary to the coming social order as the strange animals of the age of reptiles were to the life of the succeeding period, and just as these animals were perfect after their kind, so Morgan is perfect after his kind. Behold it is all very good. See society, government, and industry as being perfect now, and as advancing rapidly toward being complete; then you will understand that there is nothing to fear, no cause for anxiety, nothing to worry about. Never complain of any of these things. They are perfect; this is the very best possible world for the stage of development man has reached.

The same is true of human society and government. What does it matter if there are trusts, combinations of capital, strikes, lockouts, and so on? All these things are part of progress. They arise as society evolves toward completion. When society is complete, these conflicts will disappear. But society cannot become complete without them. J. P. Morgan is as necessary to the coming social order as the strange animals of the age of reptiles were to the life that followed. Just as those animals were perfect examples of their kind, Morgan is a perfect example of his kind. Look, it is all very good. See society, government, and industry as perfect now and advancing rapidly toward completion. Then you will understand that there is nothing to fear, no cause for anxiety, and nothing to worry about. Never complain about any of these things. They are perfect. This is the best possible world for the stage of development humanity has reached.

This will sound like rank folly to many, perhaps to most people. “What!” they will say, “are not child labor and the exploitation of men and women in filthy and unsanitary factories evil things? Are not saloons evil? Do you mean to say that we shall accept all these and call them good?”

This will sound like complete nonsense to many people, perhaps to most. “What!” they will say. “Aren’t child labor and the exploitation of men and women in filthy, unsanitary factories evil? Aren’t saloons evil? Do you mean we should accept all these things and call them good?”

Child labor and similar things are no more evil than the way of living and the habits and practices of the cave dweller were evil. His ways were those of the savage stage of man’s growth, and for that stage they were perfect. Our industrial practices are those of the savage stage of industrial development, and they are also perfect. Nothing better is possible until we cease to be mental savages in industry and business, and become men and women. This can only come about by the rise of the whole race to a higher viewpoint. And this can only come about by the rise of such individuals here and there as are ready for the higher viewpoint. The cure for all these inharmonies lies not with the masters or employers but with the workers themselves. Whenever they reach a higher viewpoint, whenever they shall desire to do so, they can establish complete brotherhood and harmony in industry; they have the numbers and the power. They are getting now what they desire. Whenever they desire more in the way of a higher, purer, more harmonious life, they will receive more. True, they want more now, but they only want more of the things that make for animal enjoyment, and so industry remains in the savage, brutal, animal stage; when the workers begin to rise to the mental plane of living and ask for more of the things that make for the life of the mind and soul, industry will at once be raised above the plane of savagery and brutality. But it is perfect now upon its plane; behold, it is all very good.

Child labor and similar practices are no more evil than the cave dweller’s way of life, habits, and practices were. His ways belonged to the savage stage of human growth, and they were perfect for that stage. Our industrial practices belong to the savage stage of industrial development, and they too are perfect. Nothing better is possible until we stop being mental savages in industry and business and become men and women. This change can happen only when the whole human race reaches a higher viewpoint. And the whole race can rise only as individuals here and there become ready for that higher viewpoint and reach it. The cure for all these conflicts lies not with the owners or employers, but with the workers themselves. Whenever workers reach a higher viewpoint, whenever they wish to, they can establish complete brotherhood and harmony in industry. They have the numbers and the power. Workers are now getting what they desire. Whenever they desire more of a higher, purer, more harmonious life, they will receive more. True, they want more now, but they want only more of the things that bring animal pleasure. So industry remains at the savage, brutal, animal stage. When workers begin to live on a mental level, they will ask for more that enriches the mind and soul. Industry will then immediately rise above savagery and brutality. But industry is perfect now at its present level. Look, it is all very good.

So of saloons and dens of vice. If a majority of the people desire these things, it is right and necessary that they should have them. When a majority desire a world without such discords, they will create such a world. So long as men and women are on the plane of bestial thought, so long the social order will be in part disorder, and will show bestial manifestations. The people make society what it is, and as the people rise above the bestial thought, society will rise above the beastly in its manifestations. But a society which thinks in a bestial way must have saloons and dives; it is perfect after its kind, as the world was in the Eocene period, and very good.

The same is true of bars and dens of vice. If most people want these places, it is right and necessary for them to have them. When most people want a world without such discord, they will create that world. As long as men and women think like beasts, society will remain partly disordered and show beastlike behavior. People make society what it is. As people rise above beastlike thinking, society will rise above beastlike behavior. But a society that thinks like beasts must have bars and dens of vice. Such a society is perfect for its kind, just as the world was in the Eocene period, and very good.

All this does not prevent you from working for better things. You can work to complete an unfinished society, instead of to renovate a decaying one; and you can work with a better heart and a more hopeful spirit. It will make an immense difference with your faith and spirit whether you look upon civilization as a good thing which is becoming better or as a bad and evil thing which is decaying. One viewpoint gives you an advancing and expanding mind and the other gives you a descending and decreasing mind. One viewpoint will make you grow greater and the other will inevitably cause you to grow smaller. One will enable you to work for the eternal things; to do large works in a great way toward the completing of all that is incomplete and inharmonious; and the other will make you a mere patchwork reformer, working almost without hope to save a few lost souls from what you will grow to consider a lost and doomed world. So you see it makes a vast difference to you, this matter of the social viewpoint. “All’s right with the world. Nothing can possibly be wrong but my personal attitude, and I will make that right. I will see the facts of nature and all the events, circumstances, and conditions of society, politics, government, and industry from the highest viewpoint. It is all perfect, though incomplete. It is all the handiwork of God; behold, it is all very good.”

None of this prevents you from working to make things better. You can work to complete an unfinished society instead of repairing a decaying one. And you can work with more enthusiasm and hope. Your view of civilization will make an enormous difference to your faith and spirit. Do you see civilization as something good that is getting better, or as something bad and evil that is decaying? The first view helps your mind advance and expand. The second makes your mind decline and shrink. The first will make you grow greater. The second will inevitably make you grow smaller. The first will enable you to work for things of lasting value. You can do great work in a great way, helping complete everything that is unfinished and out of harmony. But the second will make you a reformer who merely patches things up. You will work almost without hope to save a few lost souls. You will come to see the world you are saving them from as lost and doomed. So you see, your view of society makes an enormous difference to you. “All is right with the world. Nothing can possibly be wrong except my own attitude, and I will put that right. I will view the facts of nature and every event, circumstance, and condition in society from the highest perspective. I will take that same perspective on politics, government, and industry. Everything is perfect, though incomplete. Everything is God’s handiwork. Look, it is all very good.”