The Pulpit Speaks: January 9, 1960

An article written by my father, the Rev. C. Thomas Paige, as it appeared in the Tri-State Defender on the date shown.

Upon one occasion, Jesus said, “the night cometh and no man worketh.” In so many words he was saying that He had a date with destiny. How true it is that each of us has a date with destiny. This is the one indisputable fact that faces each of us today. There will come a time in life when none of us will be able to work and it is at this point that we will have to give an account of our stewardship.

Many of us now enjoy the best of health and happiness. Health and happiness are only passing things. One day we will awake to find to a degree that both of these and many of the things we enjoy are gone. It is at that point that we will have to stop and really evaluate our efforts in terms of what we have done. The question foremost in our minds at this point will be what have we done in these hours when we have had the benefit of all of our faculties.

How tragic it is that life offers us so much yet so many of us will do so little to warrant all of the benefits that God has given us. The evening shadows have begun to gather for most of us. The health and faculties that we have enjoyed are slowly becoming a thing of the past. Life’s energy is not what it used to be. At last we wonder what we will be doing from now on. One thing stands out: it is at this point that we must fight here and now for a life that will be worthwhile.

Life can mean nothing to any of us unless we have objectivity. This objectivity must make us mindful that every day counts. We must not dally along! The things that make men worthwhile must become a definite part of each of us while it is day. Day, to many or all of us, must represent the time when each of us will have to be fruitful. Night represents that stage in each of our lives when working hours are all over.

The night cometh when no man will work. Night is not necessarily a time of darkness but it is a time of inactivity. We cannot deny that.

One of the greatest tragedies of modern living is that many people go through life as if we believed that there would be no night in our lives. Contrary to this belief, there will be night in all of our lives. Physically, mentally, and in many other areas of humanity we come to that place where we will not be able to work. Oh, yes, I am fully aware of the fact that many of us are indifferent to what is going to happen, but all about us we see people who have reached the stage of inactivity. For all of us it is only a matter of time. The things that should really concern us is that we must work while the things are in favor of us working.

All of us have something for which we and we alone are responsible. There are tasks that are our peculiar duties. Maybe we do not dedicate ourselves to the point that we are aware of our responsibilities. But we must become aware. We must fight and toil against all obstacles in order to do our duties and do them well. We must, here and now, seek out our responsibilities and do them with all our hearts.

There are vacuums in the lives of people throughout the world. These vacuums are the result of many of us not working while it is day. We have failed to be the kind of people that God would have us to be. In this day of immorality, infidelity, deceit and the like, those of us who stand for something must work because even for us, the time is running out and, one day, the night will come. With the coming of night we will only be able to remember. It will be in this hour that we will be able to really know how fruitful and worthwhile we have been. The night cometh – let us rise and work!