The Pulpit Speaks: August 25, 1956

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

Some years ago, a prominent American said “I’d rather be right than president.”

To me, this is a repetition of the great requests made by David of old. On any number of occasions, we hear him crying out for a clean or a pure heart. One of his most frequent requests was that he might be an upright man. What a great thing it would be today if that same flame had become a part of each of us!

But one needs only to take a look or, shall I say, a glance at this modern world of ours and he will immediately see that it is not righteousness that people want now but, rather, popularity.

EVERYBODY ELSE

Call any young man or young woman in question about an act today and the first statement he or she will make is “Well, everybody else is doing it.” He is saying, in his feeble way, “I’m only doing what is popular.” But how far can we go with this matter of popularity? Can we not see that, with the present rise of crime and delinquency, we are largely indebted to this idea of popularity? How long are we going to be dragged around by the chain of popularity Somewhere down the line we must wake up.

I grant you that doing what is popular is most rewarding here and now but what about your future? What are you going to do when the occasion demands a man or a woman of integrity? What are you going to do when you get old and feeble and, because of your constant craving for popularity, you have killed yourself as far as influence is concerned? What are you going to do when human decency speaks out in your very conscious and you can’t answer because you have chosen to do what is popular rather than what is right?

Time and time again I see men and women stake their entire future on things they deem will carry them a long way up life’s highway only because it is popular. Many of our modern alcoholics, dope fiends, and sex fiends are what they are because they have chosen to do that which is popular rather than that which is right.

Yes, that man who said “I’d rather be right than president” had something.

No man in this world without the correct outlook on life as far as life is concerned will ever amount to anything. Glance back through your history books, if you please, and you will find that those people who have made lasting contributions to their and our day have been men who have the right outlook on life.

FOOLISH MEN LAUGHED

When Noah was building his ark, foolish men stood around and laughed at him. When Henry Ford tampered with the idea of a horse-less buggy, men talked about him on every corner. When Louis Pasteur talked about innoculating people against certain diseases, people called him a fool. But all of these men, and countless women, too, have labored under the comfort of what they were doing might not have been too popular but at least it was right. Today is no exception – we need men who are concerned about righteousness in our pulpits, around our operating tables, pleading our cases in court, digging our ditches, scrubbing our floors, or whatever place one might find himself. The very thing that has made for the downfall of individuals and nations is knocking at our doors this very day. While we are concerning ourselves with the popular, immorality, crime, delinquency, sin in high and low places and many other things are eating at our society like a cancer on the loose. Somewhere down the line we must back up and make a new start. The world has been good to many of us. We are enjoying things many would love to enjoy. Continuance of these great joys will be only in proportion that we set our sails to do that which is right rather than that which is popular. I grant you that doing what is popular will get you many places. But doing what is right will KEEP you there.