THE METHODIST NEW CONNEXION MAGAZINE. HOW TO READ (SELECTED.) 1. Read it with prayer. We refer primarily to our own serial, and to religious papers in general. It may be taken for granted that nearly all who read them are at least religiously inclined. Hence the exhortation to pray as they read cannot be considered out of place. Pray for the Editor, and for all who assist him in making up the monthly issues, that they may have the guidance and blessing of God upon their labours. Pray that each copy may be made a means of grace to all who see it, turning their hearts to Christ and instructing them in holy things. Pray that you yourself may rise from its perusal a better man than when you sat down. 2. Read it with care. It has been prepared with great care, with a sense of deep responsibility to God, and with a strong desire to promote His cause-the cause of truth and right. It deserves attention. Do not give a rapid glance over its columns, and then fling it down, thinking you have mastered all it contains and are quite ready to criticise it freely. No; it is certain if you do so you will do great injustice and largely misapprehend what was meant. It is not at all easy under the best circumstances to convey ideas clearly by means of printed words, and it becomes quite impossible if there is lack of close attention and care on the part of the reader. Do not put the poor Editor to this extra disadvantage. Give him a fair chance. Besides, if you read hastily and carelessly you will be likely to miss something that God meant especially for you, and that it would do you ever so much good to know and feel. Furthermore, it is a bad habit to get into, this of running over a page without understanding as fully as possible what is on it. It is better to read a little well than to read much poorly and heedlessly. January, 1882. 1 VOL. LXXXV. 3. Read it with patience. You will, of course, find some things you do not like-things that you wish had not been said, or had been said in a different way. No two minds that are at all independent in their thinking will arrive at precisely the same conclusions, or see all things in exactly the same light. That is impossible. Recognise it and adjust yourself to it. Do not get angry or out of temper when you come to a sentence or a paragraph or an article that jars a little with your taste or runs counter to your opinion. It is a valuable part of education to see how a matter seems to an honest man who differs from you, and to look his ideas fairly, calmly, in the face. Answer his arguments if you can, it will be a good mental exercise. Find the fallacy in his syllogisms. Account for the mental bias or prejudice that he appears to you to have. Reflect that truth is mighty and will prevail in the long run, that things will adjust themselves all right even if this babbler is permitted to have his say; and that possibly he may be right after all, and you wrong. Hence read with patience and equanimity. Whatever comes, do not get provoked, do not fly out or flare up. 4. Read it with kindly charity. The Editor is very human, and frequently makes mistakes. He errs in what he puts in and what he leaves out, in what he says and the way he says it, in things he clips from other papers, and in the things he fondly calls"original," in his "spicy paragraphs" and in his more laboured editorials. No one knows it better than he. He continually laments his deficiencies. But after all he does the best he can, and he tries to learn to do still better. So be kind to him, and make some allowance. Possibly you might do no better if you were in his difficult place. At least you cannot be sure, not having tried it; so give him the benefit of the doubt. Though an editor, he is still a human being and a Christian brother, and he deserves, or at least he needs, Christian treatment. Put a charitable construction on what he writes. If you think he meant well, but he seems to you to have written the wrong thing, ask for an explanation before you denounce him. Do not set him down as quite a fool or a knave until you are absolutely driven to. The printers, too, make mistakes, and the proof-readers or press correctors do not note them all before it is too late. None lament them more than the editor and publisher. Be charitable. 5. Read it for others. If you find a good thing do not keep it to yourself. Make haste to tell it to somebody. Talk over the topics you read about, at the table or in the social circle. It is ever so much better than gossip or talking about people. Your own ideas will gather clearness and force as you try to express them. You will remember a fact or a thought that you have mentioned to others twice as long as if you had not. Be a distributor. "There is that scattereth and yet increaseth" is particularly true of the impartation of knowledge. One way of imparting it is by sending the magazine to others when you are through with it, and by inducing others to subscribe for it themselves. Do not tear up a good paper that has been a blessing to you. If you do not preserve it, lend it or give it away where you think it will be most appreciated. 6. Read it for yourself. It contains a message from God to you. It is not, of course, inspired in the sense that the Holy Scriptures are; yet it is largely built upon and drawn from the Scriptures. Even where there is no verbal reference to the Bible, it is Bible truth which is taken and applied to the varying conditions of modern life. It is written with believing prayer that God would guide the pen and use the type. He does. And there is many a practical lesson or suggestion in every number just adapted to your good. Do not give it all away to other people. Take it home. It means you. Think it over seriously with self-examination, and ask yourself before God if you ought not to do something about it. Perhaps a good cause is mentioned as needing funds. Well, can you not spare a little ? Perhaps the evils of some bad habit are shown up. Are you addicted to it, and can you not leave it off? Perhaps some high attainment in Christian grace is explained. Is it not for you, and should you not claim it now? This is the way to read with the most profit. Are there many that do it? 7. Read it for God. We leave off in much the same strain as we began. The first and the last in all we do should be God. Whether we eat or drink, or work or play, or sing or read, it should be to His glory. We are the better or the worse for every book or paper we look through. There is responsibility before heaven about it. Everything takes hold on eternity. If our mind is better cultured, if our stores of information are increased, if our ideas of truth are made clearer, we can do better work for the Lord. Next to the Bible and the Hymnal on every Christian's table should be a good, " earnest religious magazine. And he should read it with prayer, with care, with patience, with kindly charity, read it for others, for himself, and for God. THE EDITOR TO EACH READER. "Beloved, I wish that in all things thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth." |