The other day, in one of our "youthspiration" rallies, I asked a young man who had just returned from the war zone the following question: "What would happen, soldier, if you were given the task of guarding a group of men in the war zone while they were getting a few hours' sleep, and you dropped off to sleep yourself?" Very quickly he answered, "I would be court-martialed sir, and probably condemned to death."
Yes, fellow workers, those words are true, but do you know that it is possible that some of us are going to sleep on the job in guarding "well the avenues of the soul"? Today, in the hustle and bustle of life, it is so easy to allow the cares of life to creep in upon us, and to be so excited about the news events of the day that we spend much more time in listening to the news on the radio and in reading the newspaper than we spend in studying the Word of God and the prophecies pertaining to our day. There is a growing tendency among us all to listen to the radio and to the thrilling stories told there, and to read in the newspaper the exciting happenings of the day. But I am wondering whether we should be spending our time in this way.
Would it not be well for us to take inventory of our own selves and ask, "Am I spending more time reading the newspaper than the Bible and the Spirit of prophecy? Am I spending more time listening to the radio than I am in letting God talk to me through His Word? The wise man tells us, "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life," and, "As he [man] thinketh in his heart, so is he." The psalmist prayed most earnestly, "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me." How can we e a clean heart? How can we be ready to see God? Only "the pure in heart shall see God."
The Spirit of prophecy, in Patriarchs and Prophets, page 460, and Messages to Young People, page 285, says : "We have a work to do to resist temptation. Those who would not fall a prey to Satan's devices must guard well the avenues of the soul ; they must avoid reading, seeing, or hearing that which will suggest impure thoughts. The mind should not be left to wander at random upon every subject that the adversary of souls may suggest."
To follow this counsel, you and I have a great work to do, and we will need to use every ounce of will power we possibly have. Notice the words, "We have a work to do to resist temptation." How true this is, for we must work our will power to the place where we will not be found reading anything that will suggest impure thoughts. Much in the newspapers should not be read. Yes, and it will require work to keep from seeing anything that suggests impure thoughts. As we travel by bus, train, auto, and plane, we hear people talking and jesting and joking, but as workers of God seeking for entrance into heaven, we must, by God's grace, keep our hearts pure. To do this, we must work, putting ourselves and our minds away from hearing anything that will suggest impure thoughts.
We are living at a time when it is popular to read the comics, but should we as followers of Christ read these untrue, uncouth words and symbols? The Chicago Daily News of May 8, 1940, writes editorially concerning comics as follows:
"Badly drawn, badly written, and badly printed—a strain on young eyes and nervous systems—the effect of these pulp-paper nightmares is that of a violent stimulant. Their crude blacks and reds spoil the child's natural sense of color; their hypodermic injection of sex and murder make the child impatient with better, though quieter stories. Unless we want a coming generation more ferocious than the present one, parents and teachers throughout America must band together to break the 'comic magazine.'
"One pupil (high school) said that she was 'collecting comic books and at the present had 198 copies. Every dime I get goes for funny books,' she said. Such misdirected enthusiasm is a reproach to school people as well as parents."
The foregoing quotation and other interesting statistics are given to us in the book Library Guidance for Teachers by Walraven and Hall-Quest.
The American News Company reports that there are seventy-six different titles in these comic books, and that upwards of ten million copies are sold monthly. Surely, with the ever-increasing popularity of these comic books, we as workers not only need to help the boys and girls and youth, as well as adults, to stay away from these evil teachings, but by example we must show them better things.
The popularity of the radio serials, not only among children but among parents as well, is increasing. Housewives, and perhaps ministers' wives and workers, are listening to these serials through the morning hours. I was called to visit a home in the interest of the son, who was then eleven years old. The parents were concerned about their boy. He was showing a dislike for school, a carelessness in Sabbath school attendance, and disinterest in religious things. On knocking at the door of this home one morning, I was soon greeted by the mother. She came to the door with tears in her eyes, weeping as though her heart would break. I asked her, "Sister, what is the trouble this morning? Has something gone wrong?"
She replied, "Oh, no, that dizzy serial turned out wrong this morning." Ah, had that mother been spending the time in the closet or the bedroom, praying earnestly for her son, I feel sure that she would have been able to accomplish much more in the home from day to day in the saving of her boy. Other mothers hurry their children out to play so they can listen to the radio. Yes, and children, too, are spending much time listening to the radio. There are good programs, it is true, but they are few and far between.
It will be of interest to you to read the following statistics, tabulated during a study which a radio council made of school children in one county in a Southern State. This report includes school children in their largest city.
1,300 children reported that they listened to all programs.
872 studied their school lessons with the radio on.
596 liked serials best.
1,120 preferred complete stories.
700 dreamed of the programs.
1,200 had bought articles because of the radio advertising.
24 listened to news reports.
Think of these findings ! Over half of the boys and girls who listened to these programs dreamed of them at night. Late one afternoon I was playing touch football with my son Canis, and his next-door playmate, a lad twelve years old. While Canis left the playground for an errand, I visited with his playmate, Bill. I mentioned that I had been traveling almost all night and had only about six hours' sleep.
At this he said, "Oh, I didn't sleep at all last night; I was too scared to sleep. I saw the worst show yesterday I have ever seen." I talked with the boy, and he confessed that following attendance at any theater he dreamed almost all night concerning the picture, and that now it seemed he dreamed about something he had seen at some show almost every night. You could tell it in his play, in his speaking, and in his life. Surely, we as workers have a work to do in resisting temptation ourselves and in helping boys and girls to break away from the colorful snares the devil has set for them.
How timely are the words of Paul for us all today. Would it not be an excellent thing for us as workers to bring this text before our people, urging them to place all their reading, all their seeing, and all their hearing to the test of Philippians 4 :8 : "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."
Yes, "We have a work to do to resist temptation." We must "guard well the avenues of the soul." We must "avoid reading, seeing, or hearing that which will suggest impure thoughts," for only "the pure in heart shall see God."
Fellow workers, you and I have come to a time when we must have such a Christian experience, such a union with God, and such power in our lives that we, too, can say as did Paul, "Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do : and the God of peace shall be with you."
