p. 13 | LOVE OF DISPLAY by Pentecost Herald

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, Cal. · May 31, 1899

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 25, No. 22.

LOVE OF DISPLAY.

By Pentecost Herald

One Great Cause of the Downfall of Girls.

FASHIONABLE church-members will have much to answer for at the judgment when they face the precious souls who have followed their example in worldly attire and have been led to forsake the path of virtue in order to vie with them in keeping up with the styles. Many poor girls flock to our large cities to earn a livelihood and find that their small purse will not equal the demands of this fashionable age, and, rather than fall behind, they yield to the voice of the tempter and sacrifice their virtue to the goddess of fashion. O, what a sad state of things is this! One has but to enter the doors of many of the churches to see displayed in gorgeous colors and immodest designs, all the latest styles, when it should be a place for spiritual worship and deep devotion to God. What an example for the professed followers of the meek and humble Christ to set before a dying world, who must with them stand before Him at the judgment! What an eternity will confront them when these same wayward girls face them there!

Many precious ones who are now outcasts from society and scorned by many professors of religion, would have been noble specimens of womanhood, and living pure, unselfish, and beautiful lives, had it not been for the example of those in the church, who care more for making a display of their fine clothes than saving souls from sin. What a fearful responsibility rests on those who profess to love Christ! Their children and their neighbors' children are following the vain customs of the world, and treading in their footsteps, and being influenced by their worldly-mindedness. The indifference, the pride, and the self-indulgence manifested are keeping many young people from the cross and barring them from heaven. A deep humiliation and earnest prayer are the only avenues through which the Holy Ghost can bring about a radical change in the heart and life on these lines. O, these precious girls who might have been pure and happy to-day if only a loving, tender hand and godly life had come in contact with them! How many professors of religion, like the Levite of old, pass by on the other side, rather than forfeit their social position and reputation to lift one from her fallen condition! Precious souls will be required at our hands if we fail to set a godly example before them.—Pentecost Herald.