In the novel In His Steps, Charles M. Sheldon explores the problems in society by observing the city of Raymond through the eyes of different characters. Sheldon’s goal was to “urge Christians to join forces to ameliorate social ills” (Smith 114). This essay examines the characters’ thoughts on Raymond.
The first character, who is honest and direct in his opinion, does not even have a name; he is the shabby-looking stranger who visits the Reverend Henry Maxwell on a Sunday morning. He later addresses the parish of the church and asks them what prayers and the gospel mean for the Christians of Raymond, who claim to follow Jesus but are not “suffering and denying [them]selves and trying to save lost, suffering humanity” (Sheldon 6). The man accuses the citizens of Raymond of being dishonest to themselves and Jesus and deaf to the problems of others, who die of starvation and poverty: “an awful lot of trouble in the world…somehow wouldn’t exist if all the people who sing such songs went and lived them out” (Sheldon 6). He recalls his wife dying in New York in a tenement that was owned by a member of a church: “I don’t expect you people can prevent every one from dying of starvation, lack of proper nourishment and tenement air, but what does following Jesus mean?” (Sheldon 6). And while some people enjoy “good clothes and nice houses,” others have to “grow up in misery and drunkenness and sin” (Sheldon 6). The man’s thoughts move the Reverend and others deeply, but before they can help him, the man dies, presumably of a heart attack.
After this occurrence, both Maxwell and Norman decide to ask themselves, “What would Jesus do?” before they make any decision. Maxwell preaches against the saloon, where alcohol and tobacco are sold; for Maxwell, the saloon becomes an enemy and the mirror of the city’s sins: “I never realized that Raymond had such a festering sore. It does not seem possible that this is a city full of Christian disciples” (Sheldon 40). Maxwell has never mentioned the saloon in his sermons before, but after the death of the tramp and a young woman who worked there, he tries “to fight the saloon at the polls” but fails. Maxwell bitterly admits, “More than a hundred professing Christian disciples had failed to go to the polls, and many more than that number had voted with the whiskey men” (Sheldon 70). The city chose the sin, as Maxwell sees it: “The saloon killed her; that is, the Christians of America, who license the saloon” (Sheldon 69). Nevertheless, he does not give up and continues the fight.
Edward Norman, the chief editor of the local paper, is certain that the city needs a proper Christian newspaper. Norman’s colleagues regard the new paper as “a weak, namby-pamby Sunday-school sheet” (Sheldon 79), but Norman cannot agree with this description; he is dissatisfied that the citizens of Raymond and the newspaper men “when they want to characterize something as particularly feeble, always use a Sunday-school as a comparison” (Sheldon 79). Norman’s view of the city differs from the one Maxwell has; he is certain that the Christians of Raymond will follow him and support the paper: “There are over twenty thousand church members here in this city. If half of them will stand by the NEWS its life is assured” (Sheldon 80). However, the paper loses its popularity, and Norman is astonished that “this instrument of God’s power, this mighty press…had become so largely degraded to the base uses of man’s avarice and ambition” (Sheldon 80). He prays and asks the Lord for help; later, with the help of another character, he is able to publish the newspaper again.
In conclusion, the shabby stranger’s view influenced Maxwell’s and Norman’s perception of the town. Although all the citizens were aware of the sins that dominated the city, Maxwell and Norman did their best to fix the state of affairs.
References
Sheldon, Charles M. In His Steps. Grand Rapids, MI: Christian Classics Ethereal Library, 2000. Print.
Smith, Gary Scott. The Search For Social Salvation. Lanham, MD.: Lexington Books, 2000. Print.