Lopsided Religion by Harvey Newcomb,
The Young Lady's Guide to the Harmonious Development of Christian
Character, 1843. There is, perhaps, a peculiar
tendency to lopsided religion in our age of excitement and
activity. Nothing delights the senses like
harmony. The eye rests with pleasure on
the edifice which is complete in all its parts, according to
the laws of architecture, and the sensation of delight is still
more exquisite on viewing the harmonious combination of colours
as exhibited in the rainbow or the flowers of the field. The
ear also is ravished with a harmony of musical sounds, and the palate
is delighted with savoury dishes. The beauty and loveliness of
Christian character depend on the harmonious culture of all
the Christian graces in due proportion. If one is deficient and another
too prominent, the idea of deformity strikes the mind with painful
sensations, like harsh, discordant musical sounds, or like the disproportionate
combination of colors. where all the graces exist in
due proportion, they will form a lovely character, harmonious
and beautiful as the colors of the rainbow. The beauty of the
Christian character greatly depends on its symmetrical proportions
A person may be very zealous in some things and yet quite
defective in his Christian character, and the probability is that he
has no more true religion than shows itself in its consistent
proportions. The new energy imparted by the
regenerating grace of God may unite itself with the strong
points of his character, and produce a very prominent development,
while, in regard to those traits of character which are naturally
weak in his constitutional temperament, grace may be scarcely perceptible. The error lies in cultivating,
almost exclusively, those graces which are most agreeable with
our prominent traits of character. We should bend our energies by
the grace of God chiefly to the development of those points of
character which are naturally weak, while we discipline, repress,
and bring under control those which are too prominent. This
will prevent deformity and promote a uniform consistency of character. The perfection of Christian character
consists in the harmonious development of the Christian graces.