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I Will Set No Wicked Thing Before Mine Eyes, March
23
Guarding the Avenues to the Soul
“I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of
them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me.
Psalm 101:3
All should guard the senses, lest Satan gain victory over them; for
these are the avenues to the soul.
Avoid reading and seeing things which will suggest impure thoughts.
Cultivate the moral and intellectual powers.
Among the most dangerous resorts of pleasure is the theater. Instead
of being a school of morality and virtue, as is so often claimed, it is
the very hotbed of immorality. Vicious habits and sinful propensities
are strengthened and confirmed by these entertainments. Low songs,
lewd gestures, expressions, and attitudes deprave the imagination and
debase the morals. Every youth who habitually attends such exhibitions
will be corrupted in principle. There is no influence in our land more
powerful to poison the imagination, to destroy religious impressions,
and to blunt the relish for the tranquil pleasures and sober realities of life
than theatrical amusements.
The love for these scenes increases with every indulgence, as the
desire for intoxicating drink strengthens with its use. The only safe
course is to shun the theater, the circus, and every other questionable
place of amusement.
There are modes of recreation which are highly beneficial to both
mind and body. An enlightened, discriminating mind will find abundant
means for entertainment and diversion, from sources not only innocent,
but instructive.... The great God whose glory shines from the heavens,
and whose divine hand upholds millions of worlds, is our Father. We have
only to love Him, trust in Him, as little children in faith and confidence,
and He will accept us as His sons and daughters, and we shall be heirs
to all the inexpressible glory of the eternal world.
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