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Editorial

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Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Nov 12, 1914

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 91, No. 47.

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Editorial

By Editor

The Week of Prayer

ANOTHER week of prayer has rolled around. Similar occasions have brought many blessings. They have been times of seeking God, of putting away sin, of renewing consecration, of refreshing from the presence of the Lord. What will the season this year bring to the members of our church? It is fitting that we should pause and with the aid of the Spirit of God consider our needs as a church and as individuals.
What are our needs as a church in this year 1914? Are we keeping pace with the message of truth and with the leadings of God's providence? Some we believe are. Others we fear have lost their first love and are drifting. It cannot be denied but that many of our people have lost that simplicity of life and Christian living which once characterized this denomination. The appeal of the world has found a response in many hearts. The spirit of worldliness, the spirit of pleasure and of commercialism, the love of riches, the desire for social prestige, have made strong appeal to some of our dear people. There is not that careful regard for plainness and simplicity of dress which was once manifest among us. We see some of our sisters, a few even the wives of those who occupy leading positions in the church, catering to the fashions of the world in the wearing of jewelry and fashionable worldly attire. In many homes the altar of family prayer has been broken down. The reading of the Bible and Testimonies is neglected.
We would not represent by any means that these conditions are general, or that even the majority of our brethren and sisters have yielded to these influences. God has a loyal people in the membership of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Thousands have given themselves unreservedly to the promulgation of the gospel message; they have placed all upon the altar.
But it must be admitted that these leavening influences which we have mentioned have made altogether too great inroads, and in many of our churches are found those whose feet are set in the paths of retrogression. It is to these that we appeal today to return to their first love; to break away from the influences which are slowly drawing them away, and to make straight paths for their feet lest they themselves be turned out of the way and become responsible for leading others astray.
And to our faithful brethren and sisters who sense these dangers that confront us we appeal to put forth earnest efforts for those who need help. We believe that the straight testimony against these disintegrating influences should be revived. We hear little said today emphasizing the need of plainness of dress, against the dangers of worldliness, against the inroads which worldly sports and pleasures are making in the lives of our young people. The watchmen on the walls of Zion need to give the trumpet a certain sound. Our church elders and those in responsible positions need to realize that God has made them shepherds of the flock, and that to the extent of their influence he will hold them responsible for souls committed to their care.
It is not for us to labor in a spirit of censure and faultfinding. This will only defeat the object we are trying to accomplish. It is for us to labor in love and patience, even as Christ labored. Nor should we from the pulpit denounce in scathing and unsparing terms these evils. True, they should be pointed out; their danger should be plainly set before our people; but let it be done in love, and with an appeal that will move the heart as well as convince the judgment.
Under the blessing of God, we may make the coming week of prayer a season of great refreshing in our individual experiences and in our labors for those in need. And as we put forth this labor for the unconverted in our own homes, for those needing help in the church, and for our neighbors, let us see to it that we remove from their pathway stones of stumbling which perchance our wrong example has placed before them. We may need to make confession to our husbands, our wives, our children, our parents, our brothers and sisters, to those in the church with whom we have unkindly differed, to neighbors whom we have wronged.
Heaven's ordained way of getting rid of sin is through confession. We cannot get out from under its incubus by any human invention. Confession may require the crucifixion of our feelings, the humbling of our hearts; but O, the reward will pay for all the sacrifice! It will bring to our hearts the consciousness that we stand clear before God and before our fellows; it will add to our testimonies a power as we witness to those around us.
We have come to solemn times in the history of this world. We are admonished by the events taking place around us that the day of the Lord hasteth greatly. Our great danger in the past was in putting off that day. We shall be tempted to do this in the future. The message of God today to Seventh-day Adventists is to prepare their hearts and lives for his coming. We cannot afford to delay longer. We cannot afford to spend precious time in conserving selfish interests. We have no promise of the future. Today only is ours in which to flee to the city of refuge. May God help us to do thorough work, first in eliminating sin from our lives, and then in seeking to help our fellows to find in Christ Jesus salvation from sin now, and eternal salvation in his coming kingdom.
F. M. W.