Avoid Extremes by F. M. W.; W. A. S.

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Mar 31, 1910

Avoid Extremes

By F. M. W.; W. A. S.

This is an age of extremes. Almost everything, to some degree, is diverted from its natural channel or normal condition. We see extremists in the political and religious worlds, in social life, and in the field of finance. It behooves those engaged in this movement to exercise sound judgment. Wild, erratic moves, extreme positions, and unsound reasoning have always been fraught with danger to the church of God. They are especially dangerous in this age, and those who are engaged in giving to the world a great message of reform need to be particularly guarded. Continually they have to combat evil at every turn. In bringing men to the realization of the importance of truth it is necessary to take decided stands and strong, unwavering positions; but in doing this, great care should be used to avoid extremes and to exercise moderate, well-tempered judgment.

Truth is of God, but extreme teaching with reference to truth he does not inspire. “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” Extreme positions are usually taken by those who fail to recognize the great underlying principles of truth. Having a zeal without knowledge, they take some little detail, and without reference to its relationship to correlated parts, or to its setting in the great chain of truth, press that to the exclusion of all else.

Years ago the writer knew an excellent sister who illustrated this principle. She felt that a brother belonging to the same church was a terrible sinner because he drank tea and coffee, something certainly which he should not have done, while she at the same time was eating that which was probably far more injurious to her in her dyspeptic condition, making fried doughnuts her principal article of diet. This good sister had obtained a knowledge of one little detail of healthful living, but failed to understand its great underlying principles. She did not see that she was violating the principles of health reform in her experience, perhaps to a far greater extent than was the brother whom she criticized.

The experience of a brother of years ago is recalled. He criticized another member of the church very severely for running in debt, an unfortunate practise truly, and one to be avoided as far as possible, glorying in the fact that he did not owe a dollar to a single soul, but failed very sensibly to appreciate the wrong influence of his course in driving sharp bargains with his neighbors, and even taking advantage of his brethren in business deals.

We see the same spirit of extremism manifested in religious teaching. One man will see, or think he sees, some great truth upon some point of doctrine, and criticize severely all of his brethren because they do not accept it with the same enthusiasm, while other vital and perhaps more important truths are either entirely ignored in his teaching or violated in his practise. There is much in “keeping in the middle of the road” in our religious faith and principles.

There are certain great fundamental truths upon which we may rest all of our weight, and teach with emphasis. The perpetuity of God's unchangeable law, including the sanctity of his holy Sabbath; the free and glorious salvation through the worth and merit of our only Saviour, the Lord Jesus; the nature and

destiny of the human family; the ministry of our great High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary; the nearness of Christ's second coming; the perpetuity of spiritual gifts in the church; the proper support of the gospel ministry; the doctrine of Bible temperance and healthful living, together with the great prophecies relating to past history or to events now fulfilling in the world,—these are some of the great fundamentals upon which we may safely build. They form a foundation both sure and steadfast. These great truths we may preach with confidence and assurance, each in its proper setting, each with due consideration for its relationship to every other part.

But while we proclaim these excellent principles with assurance and steadfastness, let us do so without dogmatism or Pharisaical pride. While we should count these among the fundamentals, and reject as error everything which stands opposed to their teachings, at the same time, let us not consider for a moment that the avenue of revealed truth is forever closed. God will reveal no truth in coming days that will unsettle the great fundamental truths of the past and present, but he will take our limited vision, and so clarify our sight and enlarge our horizon, that we shall be thrilled again and again, as we see new beauty and power and volume in these old truths which we have believed so many years.

So while we maintain in its integrity the faith once delivered to the saints, let us keep our hearts open to the whisperings of the Spirit, and our eyes directed heavenward, that we may behold and comprehend the unfolding glory of God's great truth as he in his own time and way shall reveal it to us. The revelation may come in unexpected manner and from sources not of our choosing. God will select the instrument.

As never before in the world's history or in our own experience, we need to pray for sound minds, for unbiased judgments, for good sense, and for the spirit of loving charity. We need to pray that in this time of stress and storm, God will keep our nerves calm and steady, our hearts loyal to the right, our faith in his word of truth unwavering, our love for our fellows true and generous. God leads as in Israel of old. We can see the movings of his providence on every side. In the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night he is going before his people. May we not look back to Egyptian darkness, or be found with the mixed multitude in the rear of the march, but with our eyes fixed upon the Captain of our salvation, may we press forward to the blessed triumph which awaits us in the near future.

F. M. W.

A First Face-to-Face View

By Brother E. F. Forga, of Peru, now in England, we are permitted to print a paragraph from a letter he has received from Sister Daisy Bacon, who recently went from London to southern Peru, to engage in teaching in a private family. Writing on board the boat, after having touched at various points from Panama downward, and having visited our workers in Lima while the boat was in the port of Callao, Miss Bacon says:—

Callao and Lima are much nicer than the other places we have visited since we left New York, and yet there seems to be something terribly wrong with all the places. . . . I believe that God has a special blessing for those who give their lives for the mission work in these lands. He knows the sacrifice it must be for men to leave their homes as our ministers have done, and live in such benighted places. We speak of difficulties—they are mere nothings, compared to the difficulties in these places. I feel as I never felt before in my life that we must give ourselves entirely to this great work of saving souls. I can understand a little now of the earnestness with which our missionaries make their appeals. I am certain our people at home are asleep to the responsibility which God has placed upon us, and I can see now more than ever before, that I have never understood the situation. Hot, blinding sun, sand-storms, diseases, mosquitoes, bad water, ignorance, and immorality, and Catholicism abound in these countries. One can hardly believe that such things exist in this age of the world's history. I have not seen anything compared to what others have seen, and yet I have seen enough to convince me of the truth of all that I have heard.

This paragraph was not written for publication, but we know our sister will not censure us for passing on the description of her first face-to-face view of conditions and needs in one portion of the mission fields. Miss Bacon has known the message from childhood, and has all along been stirred with the calls from the mission fields. Our workers try to tell of the needs, of the spiritual desolations, of the few laborers, and the millions in darkness. We try to understand them. But it is the face-to-face view that tells us how little can be told in words.

Thank God, the cause is growing and spreading in these lands! Our workers do not count it a great sacrifice to live and work where needs are greatest, if only they can have the blessing of health and strength with which to work. Remember these needy fields, brethren and sisters, every week in prayers and gifts. The enlarging work calls for ever-increasing missionary funds. Many extra thousands must come in this year. Pray to God for it. The hope of this advent movement is in obeying the heavenly vision—a message flying as by an angel in the midst of heaven, to every nation and tongue and people.

W. A. S.