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"SAY, FELLOWS--"

Fifty Practical Talks with Boys on Life's Big Issues

by

WADE C. SMITH

Author of "The Little Jetts Telling Bible Stories"

[Illustration]

New York Chicago
Fleming H. Revell Company
London and Edinburgh

1921

Adapted from the Author's weekly Sunday School Lesson Treatments in
_The Sunday School Times_, by permission of the Editors.

New York: 158 Fifth Avenue
Chicago: 17 North Wabash Ave.
London: 21 Paternoster Square
Edinburgh: 75 Princes Street

_Dedicated to

her whose instruction and example
first inspired in me the purposes
and ideals which make for patience,
courage, endurance and faith--

MY MOTHER_

Introduction

"My teacher told me to write a composition on the last picture I
looked at," said Henry, a sixth grader, when he came in from school
the other day. "I had seen a picture of a fire engine," he added, "so
I wrote:

"'With a clatter of hoofs and a whirr of wheels, the fire engine
dashed around the corner. The driver was crouched low in the seat. He
was driving like Jehu.'

"But I could not spell Jehu, so I went to my teacher and asked,
'Please, how do you spell Jehu?'

"'Spell what, Henry?'

"'Jehu.'

"'What in the world are you trying to say, boy?'

"'I am trying to tell how fast a fire engine driver goes--as fast as a
chariot driver in the time of King David, I think it was.'

"'Well, Henry, I think you had better say the engine driver drove as
fast as an ancient charioteer.'"

"And did you?" I asked.

"No, sir; I said, 'he was driving like mad.'"

It is plain that this grammar-school teacher had never heard of the
Bible character who had interested her pupil, but the author of this
book knows how to spell "Jehu" to a questioning boy, or to a "gang" of
boys, or to a Sunday-school class of boys.

Is there any boy who does not have a motor in his mind? A writer of a
method article in a recent issue of _The Sunday School Times_ related
an incident of a chap whom he described as "a motor-minded boy." He
said that he was sitting on top of a school desk at recess, kicking
back with his heels, and when asked what he was thinking about,
replied: "I was wondering, if my legs were horses, how fast they would
go!"

It was with a realization of the fact that when a class of
Sunday-school boys assembles, their instinct is of one accord to turn
their legs into horses and to drive them as Jehu drove his pair of
Arabs, that our paper requested Wade Smith to take charge of its
Lesson Help for boys' classes. The management realized the truth of
the statement of Dr. Walter W. Moore, President of Union Theological
Seminary at Richmond, Va., when he said that Mr. Smith was the most
versatile man whom he ever knew.

Although Mr. Smith was already contributing to its columns "The Little
Jetts Teaching the Sunday-school Lesson," he was asked also to
undertake the difficult but important task of writing the lessons for
teachers of, and students in, boys' classes. His highly acceptable
performance of this work is but another evidence of his versatility.

Out of his own richly eventful and happy boyhood, as well as his
experience as a Christian father and a lifelong student of boys, small
and grown up, Mr. Smith wrote the chapters of this book. They appeared
week by week under the title of "Say, Fellows--" Letters from our
readers have testified to their helpfulness. The writer of this
Introduction teaches two Sunday-school classes--one composed of his
two boys in their home preparation for Sunday school, and the other an
Adult Men's class in the church to which he belongs. When his own boys
have finished studying their lesson in their Quarterlies, they almost
invariably come to their father and say, "Now read us what Mr. Smith
says, and then we will be ready for the lesson."

On two occasions I recall introducing the lesson to my adult class by
recounting Mr. Smith's striking stories out of his own experience
about the boy who was drowned and restored to life, illustrating the
Resurrection Lesson (See page 60), and of his first and last deer hunt
(See page 76), and both times the attention of the men was gripped in
an unusual way by these remarkable incidents. No doubt, hundreds of
teachers have had similar experiences in making use of Mr. Smith's
illustrations.

So great has been the helpfulness of the "Say, Fellows--" lessons that
the demand has come for their publication in the delightful book form
in which they now appear. In expressing my own pleasure that these
lesson treatments, having served their immediate purpose, are now to
be rescued from yellowing files and preserved under the covers of a
book, I am but voicing the hearty sentiment of the entire staff of the
paper.

May God's rich blessing rest upon the pages of this book as it takes a
deserved place in the libraries of lovers of Motor-minded,
Jehu-driving boys.

HOWARD A. BANKS,
_Associate Editor "The Sunday School Times."
Philadelphia, Pa._

Contents

1. BUILDING 13

2. WORK 16

3. INVISIBLE! 19

4. MR. ALMOST 22

5. FISHING 25

6. SHOWING OFF 28

7. KEEPING FIT 31

8. QUESTIONING 34

9. LOYALTY 37

10. A GOOD SPORT 40

11. FEASTING 44

12. STEWARDSHIP 47

13. TALENTS 50

14. FIGHTING 54

15. DRIFTING 57

16. RESURRECTION 60

17. KNOWING HOW 63

18. FRIENDSHIP 66

19. ALABASTER 69

20. TELLING IT 72

21. READY! 76

22. REMEMBERING 79

23. GETTING EVEN 82

24. GREATNESS 85

25. "PAW, I WANTA BE SOMEBODY!" 88

26. "LET DOWN YOUR FEET!" 92

27. AN "UNASSISTED TRIPLE PLAY" 96

28. FORGIVING 100

29. PARADOX 103

30. FRAUD 106

31. THE BIG TASK 110

32. POWER 113

33. CHRISTMAS 116

34. AIMING HIGH 119

35. WAITING 122

36. ACTION 125

37. A CORONATION 128

38. DO IT RIGHT 130

39. KEEPING FAITH 133

40. THE GAME THAT CAME NEAR BLOWING
UP IN THE SEVENTH INNING 135

41. THE BITTEN APPLE 138

42. MY KINGDOM 141

43. A TOOL BOX 144

44. SAUL NIAGARA 148

45. "TURNING THE BATTLE AT THE GATE" 152

46. A KING IN RAGS 155

47. SHAKING UP PHILIPPI 158

48. GO IN YET--AND WIN! 162

49. GREEN FRUIT 166

50. THE BEDOUIN SLAVE 170

I

BUILDING

Say, fellows, look at Solomon building a temple! Ever see anything
like that? Yes, I have. I saw some boys building a dam. It was a peach
of a dam when they got it finished; and the little stream that
trickled along between the hillsides filled it up by next day, making
a lake big enough to put a boat in. But, oh, how those fellows worked!
For a whole week they brought rocks--big rocks--logs, and mud. Some of
those stones and logs were dragged and rolled a quarter of a mile.
They built right skillfully, too; they ricked it and they anchored the
cribs; they piled in the rocks and braced the supports.

Work? I should think they did. From early morning until dark they
worked, hardly stopping long enough for meals. But it was truly _some_
dam when they got through. Then came the big moment for which they had
laboured and endured: they closed the small outlet protected by
several sections of terra-cotta pipe at the base--and let her fill!

Solomon went at building the temple pretty much the same way. The boys
who built the dam said they were going to make the best _boys'_ dam in
all that country around, and they did. Solomon said he was going to
put up the largest, the strongest, the finest, the best-looking
temple of all for God. He put one hundred and fifty thousand strong
men in the forests and in the quarries, getting out the finest timber
and the best stone; he had these materials brought by sea and by land;
he employed workers in brass, and stone-cutters and gold-beaters
wherever he could find the most skillful, regardless of the cost, and
he himself directed the work.

Well, it was a peach of a temple, too. Nothing like it had ever been
seen before. Crowning the highest hill in Jerusalem, overlooking all
the country around, its marble walls, its shining brass pillars, its
white chiselled columns, and its golden interior, it shone like a gem
of dazzling beauty. When Solomon had finished it, he invited the Lord
to come into it, and "the glory of the Lord filled the house."

Fellows, we are all building some kind of a temple, and we build some
on it every day. I saw a bleary-eyed dope fiend going along the street
the other day. He has built a temple--a temple to the god Appetite.
His temple is truly a sorry looking shack, but it is good enough for
the god he serves. I know a very seedy individual, going around
begging a living of whomsoever will give him a dime or a nickel. He
has built his temple to the god Idleness. It is a ramshackle affair,
to be sure, but it is plenty good for the god he serves. I know
another fellow who has built a very ordinary looking temple--rather
poor inside and out. He served the god "Let Well Enough Alone." There
are many temples like his, and little joy is in them; but they are
good enough for the god "Do-Little."

I think of one more temple builder. Early in his boyhood he learned
that the human body, with its wonderful soul, is a temple for God to
live in. Said he, "If God is to live in my body, then it must be fit."
He began to think of everything he did for his health, for the
training of his mind, his hands and other members, as fitting or
_un_fitting the temple, according to whether it was good or bad. He
quickly saw that his choices of entertainment and recreation were as
important as his work, in the building he was putting up for God's
dwelling. One day he made the most important discovery of all: it was
that after all he might do to make the temple fit, it could never be
so until the doors were flung wide and the Lord Himself should come
in. Then, like Solomon, he "dedicated" it--and the Lord Jesus came in
and made the temple fit, for "the glory of the Lord filled the house."

Which simply means that he surrendered his life to Jesus Christ. A
fellow's biggest and best and grandest work is the Temple of the Lord.

Let's get at the job.

_Read 2 Chronicles 5:1-14._

II

WORK

Say, fellows, shake hands with Mr. Work. Humanly speaking, the way in
which you meet and hook up with this gentleman will have more to do
with determining your success in life than any other one thing. Mr.
Work is a member of the most amazingly successful concern in the
community. His senior partner is Mr. Faith. "Faith and Work,
Unlimited"--that's the style of the firm, and they certainly have put
across the biggest contracts ever known to the world.

Some time I hope we may have the senior partner with us, but Mr. Work
is here to-day, and we shall get a-plenty from him. In fact, "Plenty"
is his middle name. Let's look him over. He is full of life and
vigour. See his muscles, firm and hard. Watch the flash of his eye.
Something there that inspires a fellow. Notice how he is in demand.
Everywhere, people want him. Get that cheery smile; it grew on a well
done job, and stays there by repetition of well done jobs. Observe his
steadiness, his confidence, and, withal, his acceptable humility. Why,
he looks good either in Scotch cheviot or in overalls.

I want to tell you a secret about this fellow. He is often mistaken
for another celebrated and much honoured one--Mr. Genius. Thomas
Edison says that genius is just another name for conscientious hard
work. That being so, any fellow can make a success and an honoured
name who is willing to dig--and dig intelligently.

But the best thing that can be said about work is to repeat what our
Lord said: "My Father worketh hitherto, and I work." Work is a divine
characteristic, a divine institution. Our great God works. Jesus
Christ His royal Son worked incessantly when upon earth, and works now
continually. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are
the most tireless workers in the universe. Now what do you think of
anybody who could despise work? What would you think of one who
refused the work at hand and sat idly by, or went off on some useless
excursion to escape it, while God, unwilling to lose a minute,
ceaselessly works?

Of course, fellows, I'm not saying we should never go a-fishing or
play a game of ball. Recreation is in the divine program. Every proper
recreation is a help to good work. We owe it to our job and to
ourselves to keep fit, and recreation is a part of the keep fit
schedule. We only need to be careful and keep work and recreation in
their right proportions.

The bitterest pills a fellow has to take are those produced by
idleness. Idleness usually lets down the portcullis and the devil
comes across and takes charge. Not that work alone is sufficient to
keep us clean and out of trouble; oh, no, that would be a fatal error,
and many have fallen by it. The firm, you remember, is "Faith and
Work, Unlimited." Mr. Christian Faith is the senior partner of this
firm, and is absolutely necessary to the truly successful career in
the great business of life. We are simply looking over Mr. Work
to-day.

One other wonderful thought, to me, about this matter of work,
fellows, is that when a boy is born into the world, his work is born
with him--his own particular task, his life-work. God Himself arranges
it. Isn't that fine? Who could do it so wisely? So you may depend your
job somewhere awaits you, if you have not already discovered it, and
it is a perfect fit.

How to know your task? First, ask God. Pray over this thing. Then do
the thing next at hand, the duty calling now. Do it the best way you
know and put your level best into it. It is the surest way I know for
a fellow to find his best level; and usually you _work upward_ to it
when you seek it in that way.

Listen, fellows, this is Gospel--"Well done, good and faithful
servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will set thee
over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord."

_Read Romans 12:11 and Proverbs 22:29._

III

INVISIBLE!

Say, fellows, have you ever thought what a fight you could put up if
you were invisible? Why, you could walk right up in front of a fellow
and smash his nose or knock him down before he could put up his guard
or smash back--and even then he couldn't see you to hit you. Of course
that would be a cowardly thing to do, but I'm just saying "Suppose."
And this is to introduce right here your arch enemy, the devil, who is
not a "suppose" at all, but is very real, very personal, and very
invisible,--always present and ready to do his cowardly, dirty work.

Somebody said people are like a lot of safes. We may be generally of
the same pattern, but each has a different combination. Perhaps none
of us knows the combination to any but our own, but the devil carries
them all in his note-book, and he never makes the mistake of trying to
throw a fellow with a drink when his combination is a cigarette, or
vice versa.

The devil's finger is in all our affairs, and we can keep nothing
secret from him. No matter what we try to do, he is ever present to
try to make us do it his way. Even when we worship God, or pray, or
sing, he has the audacity to try to make suggestions. You think the
Wright brothers were clever to "conquer the air," and they were; but
the devil has won the title of "Prince of the power of the air"! His
airplane is instantaneous and noiseless; he requires no special
landing field, but can light on the lobe of your ear with a precision
that is uncanny, and, lighting there, he whispers things into your
heart that you would not dare to utter with your lips. _There_ are
three points scored on the Wrights in one breath, and there are many
others.

The devil has won victories over the best men we can think of. Oh, how
he got David, and spoiled a wonderful record being made by the "man
after God's own heart." All in a trice he tripped David and led him to
break six of the ten Commandments at once--five to ten inclusive! And
he got Moses for a bad fall, and Elijah and Abraham and Jacob. He
simply crept up unseen and caught them with their guards down.

But in spite of the fact that he took a fall out of each of those
strong and saintly characters, he met his match and more than his
match when he tackled our Saviour. He made the strongest attack that
could have been made, but Jesus overthrew him and put him to flight,
and to-day's big news is that there is _a way_ for you and me to throw
this fellow down. Simple enough, if you are on your guard. Did you
notice how Jesus handled him? He quoted Scripture to him. Scripture to
the devil is just like salt on a snail. He can't stand it.

Jesus used God's Word, and that is invincible even against the devil,
our mightiest foe. Go into your Bible and select an assortment of
"devil-chasers." Memorize them and have them ready for instant use.
Like David, choose five smooth stones from the "Brook" and put them in
your scrip; then you will be ready for this giant, who stalks abroad
as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. Only, he doesn't roar:
he is noiseless and invisible--don't forget that.

_Read Matthew 4:1-11._

IV

MR. ALMOST

Say, fellows, meet Mr. Almost!

He is one of the saddest, most pathetic figures in all the Bible
story, not because he was a villain or a murderer come to judgment,
but because he was so good and fine, and so nearly perfect, "on
points," and yet--flunked!

But he was a lot lower down on the honour roll than he thought. "What
lack I yet?" he asked Jesus. Really, he couldn't see that he lacked
anything at all--and that alone was a sign of failure, if he had only
been wise enough to see it.

Think of it, fellows, here was a man clean and safe and upright, as
touching the law, yet the fires of torment were leaping up to meet
him, along with Ananias the liar, and Judas the betrayer. Ananias did
give a _part_ of his money to the Lord, and Judas threw his blood
money back into the bribers' faces, but this Mr. Almost closed his
fingers tight over all his gold when the Lord called for it.

Mr. Almost kept the Commandments from the time he was a boy. He
worshipped God only; he bowed down to no idol; was very careful to
speak God's name reverently; wouldn't carry so much as a toothpick
around on Sunday because it would be hauling wood and breaking the
Sabbath; honoured his parents; of course he never killed a person;
was pure in deed; took nothing which did not belong to him; told no
lie on his neighbours; and he never wished another's property might be
his own! Mr. Almost was _a pious man_.

Jesus saw through Mr. Almost, saw through his luxurious robe and his
clean, washed skin, clear down into his stingy heart, and put his
finger instantly on the trouble. Jesus has a way of doing that.
"Having kept all the Commandments, and wanting to be perfect," said
Jesus, "now go, sell your property, and give the money to these poor
starving, dying people about you."

Mr. Almost had actually _run_ to meet Jesus, to ask Him that question,
"What lack I yet?" says Mark's Gospel. Yes, _ran_. He evidently had no
suspicion as to the answer he would get. Doubtless he thought the
great Master would tell him of one more hand-washing necessary before
retiring, or possibly some gnat's burden which Mr. Almost had been
carrying around on his sleeve on the Sabbath. Flick that off and be
perfect! Mr. Almost wanted to make his perfection secure. He had all
kinds of earthly securities; now this one more, the security of
heaven, guaranteed by Jesus, and he would rest satisfied. He would
just nail that down in passing. But Jesus touched him _where he
lived_, and he crumpled up like some high floating dirigible whose gas
tank explodes in mid-air.

Fellows, really I didn't want to bring Mr. Almost into this volume. He
gets on my nerve--and do you know why, fellows? _He's too much like
me!_ for I am rich. Yes, rich in all the abundance of God's wealth
which He has given me. I live in a wonderful land, a land of freedom
and independence and opportunity--the richest and most powerful in all
the world--and as a citizen of it all its resources are mine. I have
plenty to eat and sufficient to wear, lots of friends and
well-wishers. Life is beautiful and bright and comfortable; while just
at my elbow, fellows, are many poor, starving, dying human
beings--men, women, little children. The world is closely drawn
together now, and there is never a time but that in some section of it
there is famine and suffering. If we have the means to give and will
give it to relieve human suffering, there are always reputable
agencies ready to properly dispense it.

None of us can despise Mr. Almost, fellows, if we eat a square meal
and turn a deaf ear to the calls to help the suffering and the needy.

This is the acid test.

_Read Mark 10:17-27._

V

FISHING

Say, fellows, the biggest and finest surprise a certain boy ever got
was on that day when he was called out of the shop to the manager's
office, and, reaching there trembling with fright, was told that he
was promoted and would from that time have a share in the profits of
the business!

It was almost too good to be true. Immediately the shop looked
different--the whole plant looked different--the men, the tools, the
materials, the very smoke from the big chimney, all took on a kind of
glory. The rows of machines looked like a parade and the mingled roar
and grinding of them sounded like a brass band at a picnic. The dull
routine of a daily schedule was suddenly changed to a thrilling
program in every detail.

Something had happened--not to the shop, but to him. His interest was
changed. Now, instead of simply doing his daily task for daily pay, he
was to share in the big objectives of the whole plant; he was taken
into confidence and partnership with the management. He was actually
to share and rejoice in the achievements of a business which exported
its products to every corner of the world! With what joy he realized
that his capacity for higher and larger service had been recognized,
and that now he would have fellowship not only with the men of the
shop, but also with the head of the plant.

Fellows, that is about what happened to Peter and Andrew and James and
John that morning on the shore of the lake. They were simply engaged
in making a living. One day was pretty much like another. Sometimes,
perhaps, the fishing was good, sometimes not so good. Life was just a
day to day affair, and rather disappointing somehow, to souls with
capacity for so much larger and finer things. Suddenly the Master, the
Creator and Proprietor of the world, appeared and said: "Boys, it's a
dull life at best--just fishing for fish; come and join me in a really
big and worth-while task--fishing for men!"

And those four men caught the vision and followed Jesus. Life for them
took on a new meaning that day. Instead of a daily grind it became an
inspiring program with a grand objective.

I am glad that God is so great and that His plans are so large that He
is still calling out men to share them with Him and work out their
fulfillment. And you and I, if we are wise, will gladly hear that call
and promptly respond, for we will realize that the transient things we
daily seek are not sufficient to give us any real or permanent
satisfaction, and that we have a capacity for larger and better
things.

Oh, I don't suppose we can all be ministers and missionaries, though
many of us may have that highest of all privileges, but we shall also
find that a merchant's life can be so planned as to be a means of rich
service to God; that a lawyer, after all, can be a force for Christ's
kingdom; that an engineer can lay out his life-work so as to make
straight the path and level the road for the King; that a
school-teacher can use his influence to bring pupils to the Master
Teacher; that a physician has peculiar opportunity to quicken the
spiritual lives of his patients; and that any legitimate occupation
can be made to serve man's chief end, which is "to glorify God and
enjoy him forever."

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