LOOSE TALK | AdventAI

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Mar 18, 1897

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 23, No. 11.

LOOSE TALK.

It seems to be one of the hardest habits to break and to overcome, when once established, the habit of talking in a way that, if it is not exactly vulgar, borders on it, and is an insinuation of vulgarity. A great many people think it is not wrong to laugh at a vulgar insinuation or a sentence that may have two meanings, and very much of this goes on among both sexes, unfortunately. The consequence is that our young boys and girls grow up with loose ideas, and only a little start in this line is necessary to make great inroads on pure thoughts and pure lives even; for if one’s talk is impure, either by inference or openly, it is sure to contaminate the character and hurt the influence.

We know of some excellent Christian people, otherwise, who have not yet overcome the habit of telling an occasional story that borders on vulgarity, and who would not hesitate to laugh at some one who told a story that insinuated, at least, something vulgar.

We can each settle this once for all if we will put this test: “If Christ were right by my side, would I do this? and would Christ want me to encourage by my manner or in any way, vulgarity of deed, thought or even of insinuation?”

There needs to be a strong stand taken by God’s people on this question, for it means so much. Only the other day we saw some young men greatly shocked (they were Christian Endeavorers) at hearing a good Christian, a little older than they were, make some allusion that had vulgarity in its meaning. It only takes a few such lessons to start young people in the wrong track entirely. Let us remember that this is one of the devil’s keenest and easiest ways of hindering the work of Christ in the hearts of his followers.

But what we have said is entirely aside from a great and powerful reason why we should not indulge in anything of this kind,—because the world looks on astonished and disgusted and puts us down at once as hypocrites if we do or say or countenance such things.—Union Gospel News.