Unwise Marriages
97
Christian is laid aside, spirituality dies, and the judgment and eternity
lose their awful significance.
Every faculty of those who become affected by this contagious
disease—blind love—is brought in subjection to it. They seem to be
devoid of good sense, and their course of action is disgusting to all
who behold it. My brother, you have made yourself a subject of talk
and have lowered yourself in the estimation of those whose approval
you should prize. With many the crisis of the disease is reached in an
immature marriage, and when the novelty is past and the bewitching
power of love-making is over, one or both parties awake to their true
situation. They then find themselves ill-mated, but united for life.
Bound to each other by the most solemn vows, they look with sinking
[111]
hearts upon the miserable life they must lead. They ought then to
make the best of their situation, but many will not do this. They will
either prove false to their marriage vows or make the yoke which they
persisted in placing upon their own necks so very galling that not a
few cowardly put an end to their existence.
Associating with the vain, the superficial, and the skeptical will
be productive of moral depravity and ruin. Bold, forward young
gentlemen or ladies may have something pleasing in their address;
they may have brilliant powers of mind and skill to make the bad
appear even preferable to the good. Such persons will enchant and
bewilder a certain class, and souls will be lost in consequence. The
influence of every man’s thoughts and actions surrounds him like an
invisible atmosphere, which is unconsciously breathed in by all who
come in contact with him. This atmosphere is frequently charged with
poisonous influences, and when these are inhaled, moral degeneracy
is the sure result.
My young brother, would that I could impress upon you your true
condition. You must repent or you can never see the kingdom of
heaven. Many young men and women who profess godliness do not
know what it is to follow Christ. They do not imitate His example in
doing good. Love and gratitude toward God are not springing up in
the heart nor expressed in their words and deportment. They do not
possess the spirit of self-denial, neither do they encourage each other
in the way of holiness. We do not want young people to engage in
the solemn work of God who profess Christ but have not the moral
strength to take their position with those who are sober and watch unto