HAVE you ever been mislead by following a street sign that had been turned in the wrong direction by some prankster? William Barclay tells of an old man as he lay near death. He was obviously troubled. When asked what was disturbing him he replied, "One day when I was young I was playing with some other boys at a crossroad. We reversed a signpost so that its arms were pointing in the wrong direction, and I've never ceased to wonder how many people were sent in the wrong direction by what we did."
A loss of time and mental exasperation may be the only results of changed sign posts. But when it comes to spiritual matters we would do well to reflect on the direction we may point people by what we say and do. There will be untold numbers of people eternally lost because someone pointed them in the wrong way. As leaders of God's remnant people, how necessary it is to guard constantly our mental equipment from absorbing error and repeating it. Preachers in the pulpit, teachers in the classroom, members in the pew, are sowing seeds that will yield a harvest of one type or another. No man lives to himself.
Those who give free expression to some belief or thought that has not been thoroughly tested by the Word or the Spirit of Prophecy are like those described in Job 24:2, "Some remove the landmarks; they violently take away flocks, and feed there of." How much better it is to heed the command of God, "Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set" (Prov. 22:28).
These texts strongly support the idea that there is value to past experience. It is interesting how scientists profit by the experiments and knowledge of former generations. Astronomers would never think of casting away the findings of their predecessors. The physicist would be dumb founded if the accumulation of scientific data in his field were suddenly swept into the fire.
Yet when it comes to the realm of the moral and the spiritual, the madness of some in the human race is exhibited by their attempts to cast off all the findings and experiments of our forefathers.
The great cry that "times have changed" is heard on every side. It is mumbled by children, mouthed by youth, and moaned by the aged. Certainly times have changed. They always have changed! But the ancient landmarks of truth have not changed and never will change. If only today's generation could realize this.
Carlyle B. Haynes in one of his sermons put it beautifully when he said, "What a wonderful thing it would be if, when one generation had won by trial and hardship and labored experience and conquest a store of moral and spiritual wisdom, their children would be able to take it to them selves, and start from the point their fathers had attained. But in experience it is not found to be so. The fathers may have gained a sane and strong manhood through the training and teaching of experience, but their children do not start from the level their fathers have gained. They begin with the same passions, the same evil tendencies, the same illusions, as their fathers began with, and they have to learn in the same hard school." Review and Herald, March 1, 1934.
Times have changed, but hot stoves still burn hands, sharp knives still cut fingers, and rough stones still lacerate knees that fall on them. Times have changed, but overeating still produces indigestion, alcohol still befuddles the brain, tobacco still destroys a man's body. Times have changed, but immorality still ruins lives, infidelity still destroys marriages, and uncontrolled lust and passion still produce a devastating harvest. Times have changed, but the mind still degenerates when it feeds on novels, fantasy, indecent literature, and motion pictures containing error and evil. Times have changed, but immodest dress, extravagance, artificiality, and jewelry is still contrary to the teachings of the Scriptures and the Spirit of Prophecy writings. Times have changed, but dancing, theater-going, competitive sports, and card playing still tend to disconnect the soul from God. Times have changed, but the great pillars of truth that give reason for our existence as a separate and distinct denomination are still true. Times have changed, but a lie is still a lie, stealing is still stealing and murder is still murder in the sight of God. Times have changed, but a judgment day is coming, Christ is going to return, and a remnant will triumph at last. That remnant will never remove the ancient landmarks.