Chapter 125—The Love of Worldly Pleasure
It is an alarming fact that the love of the world predominates
in the minds of the young as a class. Many conduct themselves as
if the precious hours of probation, while mercy lingers, were one
grand holiday, and they were placed in the world merely for their own
amusement, to be gratified with a continual round of excitement. They
find their pleasures in the world, and in the things of the world, and are
strangers to the Father and the graces of His Spirit. Many are reckless
in their conversation. They choose to forget that by their words they
are to be justified or condemned. God is dishonored by the frivolity
and the empty, vain talking and laughing that characterize the life of
many of our youth....
Satan makes special efforts to lead them to find happiness in
worldly amusements, and to justify themselves by endeavoring to
show that these amusements are harmless, innocent, and even impor-
tant for health. He presents the path of holiness as difficult, while the
paths of worldly pleasure are strewn with flowers.
In false and flattering colors, he arrays the world with its pleasures
before the youth. But the pleasures of earth will soon come to an end,
and that which is sown must also be reaped. Are personal attractions,
ability, or talents too valuable to devote to God, the author of our being,
Him who watches over us every moment? Are our qualifications too
precious to devote to God?
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The Way of Wisdom
The youth often urge that they need something to enliven and
divert the mind. The Christian’s hope is just what is needed. Religion
will prove to the believer a comforter, a sure guide to the Fountain
of true happiness. The young should study the word of God, giving
themselves to meditation and prayer. They will find that their spare
moments cannot be better employed. Wisdom’s “ways are ways of
pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.”
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