Propriety of Deportment
To those who handle sacred things comes the solemn injunction,
“Be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord.” [
Isaiah 52:11
.] Of all
men, those who have been trusted and honored by the Lord, those who
have been given special service to perform, should be circumspect
in word and deed. They should be men of devotion, who, by works
of righteousness and pure, true words, can lift their fellow-men to a
higher level; men who are not unsettled by every passing temptation;
men of firm, earnest purpose, whose highest aim is to gather souls to
Christ.
Satan’s special temptations are directed against the ministry. He
knows that ministers are but human, possessing no grace or holiness of
their own; that the treasures of the gospel have been placed in earthen
vessels, which divine power alone can make vessels unto honor. He
knows that God has ordained ministers to be a powerful means for the
salvation of souls, and that they can be successful in their work only
as they allow the eternal Father to rule their lives. Therefore he tries
with all his ingenuity to lead them into sin, knowing that their office
makes sin in them more exceeding sinful; for in committing sin, they
make themselves ministers of evil.
Those whom God has called to the ministry are to give evidence
that they are fit to minister in the sacred desk. The Lord has com-
manded, “Be ye holy in all manner of conversation.” [
1 Peter 1:15
.]
“Be thou an example of the believers,” Paul writes. “Take heed unto
thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou
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shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.” [
1 Timothy 4:12, 16
.]
“The end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto
prayer.” [
1 Peter 4:7
.]
The subject of purity and propriety of deportment is one to which
we must give heed. We must guard against the sins of this degenerate
age. Let not Christ’s ambassadors descend to trifling conversation, to
familiarity with women, married or single. Let them keep their proper
place with becoming dignity; yet at the same time they may be sociable,
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