Be Sober, Be Vigilant by Francis M. Wilcox

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Feb 25, 1909

Be Sober, Be Vigilant

By Francis M. Wilcox

A SPIRIT of intoxication possesses the world to-day. The lust of the eyes, the love of the world, the pride of life, the greed for wealth, the clamoring of appetite and passion, the thirst for excitement and pleasure, are the means by which Satan is ensnaring the hearts of men, and leading them willing captives.

And not only the great sinful world has fallen a prey to his wiles, but we see the spirit of the world permeating the professed church of God. By the inroads of skepticism, mysticism, and higher criticism, and various false theories, he is seeking to dim the truth, and obscure the light of God's message.

In the midst of the prevailing error and apostasy, God is sending to the world a clear, decisive message of warning and reformation. As a result of that message, a people have been developed, and a church has been established. That church he designs to stand clear of the sins surrounding it. While its members are in the world, they are not to be of the world or to partake of its spirit. They are to be witnesses against sin, a living revelation and manifestation of the truth in its purity.

Against this remnant church the assaults of the enemy will be the fiercest. By every subtle influence and intrigue he will seek to draw them from their allegiance to God. Whether he does this by leading souls to the commission of some great sin, or by starting their feet in the downward path so they will forget God, his purpose is equally accomplished. It may be by involving them in some speculative enterprise to absorb the time and means which should be given to the promulgation of the truth, or by working into their hearts a spirit of pleasure and carelessness. It may be by entangling them in political alliances, or by swallowing them up in the giddy pleasures of society. Some speculative theory, having a substratum of truth, but mingled with misleading error, may absorb the mind; or it may be some hobby, some little detail of truth itself, which in itself, its proper setting in the message serves a valuable place,—this even may be taken and so enlarged by a vivid imagination that it shall be made to appear a paramount issue, and every other principle of the message subordinated to its advocacy. It matters not by which of these means souls are switched off from the straight main track of truth; the purpose of Satan has been served, and the great message of God is forgotten and finally rejected.

This great danger threatens the church of God to-day, and will stand as a menace to its progress until the end of time. In this hour the church of God needs earnest, vigilant, sober men and women. It needs those who possess sanctified sense and sound judgment; those who can not be driven from their moorings, but who recognizing the truth in its purity and the message in its completeness and symmetry, shall pull and work in even lines.

Zeal and earnest enthusiasm need to be combined with sober thought and conservative carefulness. Enthusiasm alone will run wild and reckless. Conservatism alone will block the wheels of progress, and cause a progressive work to retrograde. Each needs to be tempered and gauged by the other. In this message all natures are mingled. The fast, the slow, the progressive, the conservative, are placed side by side in labor. The maturity and experience of age and the energy and enthusiasm of youth are to be intermingled. No man is a perfect whole in and of himself. He needs his natural weaknesses fortified by the strength of his fellows. With the union of all these elements, a band of well-balanced workers will be constituted to meet the opposing forces of the enemy.

Now is a time for quiet thought, for abiding confidence and trust, for sincere devotion and earnest energy. Let us not halt or grow weary, let us not be discouraged or become confused. Let us be faithful to our mission, and hasten to finish the work to which God has called us. God reigns; his hand is on the helm; his care is over all his church.

The conflict is about over, the storm will soon spend its fury. We can not afford now to look back; we can not afford to set sail by ourselves. This message has passed its initial stages of experiment. The ship of truth will soon reach the haven; storm-tossed and weather-beaten, it will soon cast anchor in the port of heaven. God calls his children now to abide in the ship. This is the only place of safety. The truth for which we have lived and labored, and for which some of our fellows have laid down their lives, will triumph. If it has molded and fashioned our experience, its triumph will prove our triumph, and we shall rejoice in victory throughout the eternity of God. F. M. W.