Too Much Strain, Not Enough Staunchness
Story★★★★Every summer when I go up to my Maine island I find some trees that have blown down—too many branches above ground and not enough rootage below ground. And every fall when I come back to New York I find some lives that have broken down for the same reason—too much strain, not enough staunchness; too much modern life, not enough deep religion. Some of you who are not conventionally religious but who do care about the moral welfare of this nation may well listen to John Ruskin on the downfall of Venice. “The decline of her political prosperity,” he said, “was exactly coincident with that of domestic and individual religion.”
Unidentified
Found in New sermon illustrations for all occasions, G. B. F. Hallock · page 377
The point
Like trees blown over with too many branches and shallow roots, people and nations decline when they have too much modern life and too little deep religion.