p. 203 | Gravity and Sobriety by Joseph Clarke

Pacific Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Oakland, California · Jul 11, 1878

Gravity and Sobriety.

By Joseph Clarke

“THAT the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in the faith, in charity, in patience.” Titus 2:2. We delight in consistency and beauty. We like to see everything in its place. Order is the first law of heaven. And, as in a picture, or in genuine landscape, we love a proper grouping of objects, so in individual character we want to see no vices marring the fair picture.

In the buffoon we excuse lightness, for it is his business, and we expect it from him, and shun his company; but in the good man, whether young or old, we look for sobriety. In the old, lightness is inexcusable and disgusting; and in the Christian, be he young or old, a spirit of levity is at direct enmity with the work of God; and the more elevated the person in mind, in piety, or position, the more injurious is this vicious propensity.

The writer of this has had a long warfare with this sin, this foe to grace; and it is his encouraging experience that a cheerful state of mind, when properly kept in bounds, and restrained from an outburst of levity and folly, may conduce to advancement in the Christian life, and instead of expending itself in the devil’s seething kettle of levity, it may be like a reservoir of lively thought on useful topics, and thus tend to the happiness of himself and others; while giving way to levity only leaves one despondent, and forsaken, and gloomy, until the spirits have time to recover.

“Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded.” Titus 2:6. But we should not be discouraged, if we find this a hard sin to get rid of, but persevere in opposing it. Lay it aside. What makes it harder to resist is that so many laugh at the silly jest. But I hope you will not laugh again at the jester; for if you even smile at his folly, you become a partaker in his sin, and help to rivet the habit upon him.

As Jesus wept for sinners, so we should weep when we see any one sinning against God, and especially our brethren. Therefore if there is ever a time to look down sin and frown it out of the sinner, it is when a good man jests. Be you ever so much tempted, do not even smile: This will be a severe rebuke, and will do more to convict him, probably, than many words. If you laugh at the jest, you may spare rebuke, for you would but stultify yourself.

Jos. Clarke.