December 31

Taking inventory

“Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves” (2 Cor. 13:5).
“But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another” (Gal. 6:4).
“Examine me, O Lord, and prove me” (Psa. 26:2).

I believe this is about the time of the year in which men take account of stock, in everything except their souls. In the shoe and leather business they know just how much has come and how much has gone, and where they are. In the book business they know the whole account. So in every great concern and establishment of various businesses. They want to know how they stand as it regards riches. But alas! where is your bookkeeper and your cashier, that shall take account of stock so that you may know whether you have been gaining in knowledge or idling away your time; whether you have gained in a stable conscience, or have let your conscience be like a weather-vane, blown about by custom or by the breath of men; whether you have been brought nearer to men, and into more loving relations with them, or whether you have been disintegrating?
—Henry Ward Beecher.


To leave the old with a burst of song,
To recall the right and forgive the wrong;
To forget the thing that binds you fast
To the vain regrets of the year that’s past;
To have the strength to let go your hold
On the not worthwhile of the days grown old;

To dare go forth with a purpose true,
To the unknown task of the year that’s new;
To help your brother along the road,
To do his work, and lift his load;
To add your gift to the world’s good cheer,
Is to have and to give a Glad New Year.
—Words and Deeds.

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