God’s Payroll
Samuel Logan Brengle and Billy Sunday had much in common. Both were raised by godly mothers on Midwestern farms after their fathers had perished in the Civil War. Both became famous preachers who gave the credit to their Lord and to their mothers. And both were very familiar with skid row. Brengle preached there. Sunday lived there awhile.
Billy Sunday initially gained fame as an outfielder for the Chicago White Sox, but his career was marred by drinking. One night, staggering down the street, he heard a Salvation Army group singing a song his mother used to sing : “Where Is My Wandering Boy Tonight?†Later that evening at the Pacific Garden Mission, Sunday gave his life to Christ. He soon left the baseball diamond for the pulpit.
Among his inimitable, bombastic sermons is one from Exodus 2:9 about Moses’ mother : “Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.†Thinking of his own mother, Sunday said : Being a king, emperor, or president is mighty small potatoes compared to being a mother. Commanding an army is little more than sweeping a street compared with training a boy or girl. The mother of Moses did more for the world than all the kings that Egypt ever had. Oh, you wait until you reach the mountains of eternity, then read the mothers’ names in God’s Hall of Fame. I tell you women : Fooling away your time, hugging and kissing a poodle dog, drinking a cocktail, and playing cards is mighty small business compared to molding the life of a child.
“Take this child away and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages.†God pays in joy that is fireproof, famine-proof, and devil-proof.
“Take this child away and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages.†If you haven’t been doing that, then get your name on God’s payroll.
Today’s Suggested Reading
Exodus 2:1–10
Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages. Exodus 2:9
From:
Morgan, R. J. (2000). From this verse : 365 scriptures that changed the world (electronic ed.). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.
