Sketch of Experience by Zerviah B. Chipman

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Sep 26, 1871

Sketch of Experience.

By Zerviah B. Chipman

I WISH to respond a hearty amen to the remarks of Bro. Butler in a late REVIEW upon the subject of dress and conformity to the world. As I have read and re-read, I have felt to exclaim, Thank God for this. My own experience has led me to the positive belief that the apostle James was not mistaken when he says that the friendship of the world is enmity with God; that whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. When connected with the Methodist church, previous to my embracing the Sabbath, I often felt distressed to see so much conformity to the world in dress and other things, and I could not go with them in it. But by degrees I kept yielding, conforming a little here and there, thinking perhaps I was too particular in these things; but as I did so I felt the terrible fact that the Spirit of God was leaving me; and in my heart was a void the world could never fill. I was then, through God's mercy, led to see that he required obedience to his perfect law; and I decided to obey. I then resolved that in all things I would try to be a Bible Christian. Almost my first work was to take in hand a dress that I had made a short time before, trimmed with ruffles, &c., though to a moderate degree, compared with some. I took off the trimmings, and endeavored to square it by the gospel rule. Said one to me on learning what I had done, “If I were you, I would not be a fool.” But I thought I would rather be called a fool than to go contrary to the plain teachings of God's word, and grieve his tender Spirit. I have a great love for order and neatness, and have no sympathy for slack untidiness; but I would plead that we as a people, and individually, beware of drinking in the spirit of the world, and arraying ourselves with the furbelows of fashion which will surely lower the standard of Bible piety, and lead us away from God. It does seem to me that our time would be much better spent in reading our Bibles than in making these useless things; and surely the Lord's money should not be wasted to buy them. I have often asked myself, How can any one whose heart is filled with the Spirit of God, enjoying communion with him, have such love for these vanities as some appear to have? As for the remedy for this evil, I would suggest that all who profess to have any love for God and his truth, should get so near to the Lord, and be so filled with his Spirit, that it shall lift us above the world, and destroy all our love for its pride and vanity, and make us realize that in a little from this we must give an account of how we spend both time and money; and for the influence we exert either for or against the truth. May the Lord help us to square our lives by the Bible rule. ZERVIAH B. CHIPMAN.