Lure of Pleasure
401
Sabbathkeepers Will Be Tested and Proved—Young Sabbath-
keepers who have yielded to the influence of the world will have to be
tested and proved. The perils of the last days are upon us, and a trial
is before the young which many have not anticipated. They will be
brought into distressing perplexity, and the genuineness of their faith
will be proved. They profess to be looking for the Son of man, yet
some of them have been a miserable example to unbelievers. They
have not been willing to give up the world, but have united with the
world in attending picnics [
Note: the simple outdoor gathering of
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families or church members is not referred to here, but that in which
church members “united with the world” in a carnival type of commu-
nity gathering quite common then.
] and other gatherings for pleasure,
flattering themselves that they were engaging in innocent amusement.
Yet it is just such indulgences that separate them from God and make
them children of the world....
God does not own the pleasure seeker as His follower. Those
only who are self-denying and who live lives of sobriety, humility,
and holiness are true followers of Jesus. And such cannot enjoy the
frivolous, empty conversation of the lover of the world
The All-Important Consideration—Let none begin to believe
that amusements are essential and that a careless disregard of the Holy
Spirit during hours of selfish pleasure is to be looked upon as a light
matter. God will not be mocked. Let every young man, every young
woman, consider: “Am I prepared today for my life to close? Have I
the heart preparation that fits me to do the work which the Lord has
given me to do?
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14
Counsels to Teachers, Parents, and Students, 327, 328
.
15
The Youth’s Instructor, August 14, 1906
.