lso do some good. Heaven is a reward, and we must do
something to merit it. Suppose a man employed a boy to do the work of
his office, and when he came in the morning found that the boy had
neglected the work assigned to him, and when spoken to about it simply
answered: "Sir, I did no harm"; do you think he would be entitled to his
wages? Of course he did not and should do no harm; but is his employer
to pay him wages for that? Certainly not. In like manner, God is not
going to reward us for doing no harm; but on the contrary, He will
punish us if we do wrong, and give no reward unless we perform the work
He has marked out for us. Neither would the office boy deserve any wages
if he did only what pleases himself, and not the work assigned by his
master. In the same way, God will not accept any worship or religion but
the one He has revealed. He tells us Himself how He wishes to be
worshipped, and our own invented methods will not please Him. Hence we
see the folly of those who say that all religions are equally good, and
that we can be saved by practicing any of them. We can be saved only in
the one religion which God Himself has instituted, and by which He
wishes to be honored. Many also foolishly believe, or say they believe,
that if they are honest, sober, and the like, doing no injury to anyone,
they shall be saved without the practice of any form of religious
worship. But how about God's laws and commands? Are they to be despised,
disregarded, and neglected entirely, without any fear of punishment?
Surely not! And persons who thus think they are doing no harm are
neglecting to serve God--the greatest harm they can do, and for which
they will lose Heaven. God, we are told, assigned to everyone in this
world a certain work to perform in a particular state of life, and this
work is called "vocation." One, for instance, is to be a priest;
another, a layman; one married; another single, etc. It is important for
us to discover our true vocation; for if we are in the state of life to
which God has called us, we shall be happy; but if we select our own
work, our own state of life without consulting Him, we shall seldom be
happy in it. How are we to know our vocation? Chiefly by praying to God
and asking Him to make it known to us. Then if He gives us a strong
inclination--constant, or nearly constant--for a certain state of life,
and the ability to fulfill its duties, we may well believe that God
wishes us to be in that stat