Youth and Duty by C. P. Bollman

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Dec 4, 1884

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 10, No. 46.

Youth and Duty.

By C. P. Bollman

"Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes; but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment." Eccl. 11:9.

SATAN, the god of this world (2 Cor. 4:4), is ever striving to blind the eyes of all, and especially of the young, by the pleasures of this life; and in this he has been so successful that a vast majority of our young folks, and many who are not young, act as though life was given to them solely for the pursuit of pleasure. These persons forget, if they ever knew, that "Life is real, life is earnest," and spend hours and days, yes, even months and years of the precious time which God has given them, in foolish talking, joking, and jesting, until, frequently, you do not know when they are in earnest. The more silly anything is the better they seem to like it; and their frequent attempts at wit would certainly be disgusting even to themselves if they would but pause to consider that "for every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of Judgment." Not only is this true of the world, but professed Christians and even ministers of the gospel are found in the van of the pleasure-seeking, sin-serving host, seeming to think that youth is a sufficient excuse for any amount of frivolity.

If the young folks fail to attend regularly the stated and popular means of grace, there must be a special campaign of church fairs, festivals, and sociables inaugurated to get them interested in religion! But does it do it? No; on the contrary they are more than ever wedded to the so-called pleasures of this life. The average young man or woman fails to see much real difference between hilarity and nonsense clothed in the garb of religion, and that which makes no such profession.

The language of the world is, "Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth;" the language of God is, "Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth." Eccl. 12:1. With which of these must the true Christian be in harmony? Paul says, "The carnal mind is enmity against God," and to be "carnally minded is death;" again he says, "If ye live after the flesh ye shall die." To "live after the flesh," no doubt, means the same as to "walk in the ways of thine heart and in the sight of thine eyes." John says, "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof; but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever." 1 John 2:15-17. The great apostle to the Gentiles was not in harmony with the modern idea that "boys must sow their wild oats;" for he says, "Be not deceived; God is not mocked; for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting." Conformity to the world is contrary to the spirit of true Christianity; the apostolic injunction is, "Be not conformed to this world; but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God." Rom. 12:2.

The mystery of iniquity, the papacy, was conceived and brought forth by lowering the standard, and corrupting the primitive simplicity of the religion of Jesus, in order to make it popular; and the result is a formal and apostate church, as dead to true religion as were the Jews when they rejected Christ. And may not the same be truthfully said of the popular Protestant churches, who instead of rigidly adhering to the native simplicity of the teachings and discipline of Christ and the apostles,

tone down the plain, straight truths of the gospel; and, practically eliminating the law, they not only tolerate but encourage a formal profession of religion, so largely adulterated by the pursuit of worldly pleasures as to render its votaries scarcely distinguishable from the world, except by reference to the church roll.

People love to hear "smooth things," and dwell much upon the mercy of God, forgetting his justice and the immutability of his law, seeking first the pleasures of this life and expecting that eternal life will be added thereto; satisfying themselves with the thought that they are about as good as their neighbors, or as the majority of professors, forgetting that "for all these things God will bring" them "into judgment." Truly, 2 Tim. 3:4, 5 is fulfilled in these days: "Lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness but denying the power." May God grant us grace to obey the admonition, "From such turn away."

C. P. BOLLMAN.