Light for Daily Living: Studies in the Building of Character (Classic Reprint)

Excerpt from Light for Daily Living: Studies in the Building of Character

The first method by which sin may be over come is abstinence. I beseech you, says Peter, as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul. Salva tion by abstinence belongs to the childhood period of the religious life. The burned child dreads the fire. This is the experience which springs from the instinct of fear. If sin hurts you, keep away from it. If you suli'er from a sinful habit, give up the habit. This is the method of reformation. If you are the subject of worry, cease your anxiety, and settle dovvn in a life of peace. If the serpent of sin bites you, keep away from its haunts. If you do not wish to die in a foreign land, stay at home. If you would be free from harmful knowledge, abstain from association with bad men and impure books. Abstain from sinful lusts. Let not unholy thoughts enter your mind or sensual desires dwell in your heart. Strike at the roots of sin which are down in the heart, keep the inner life free from everything unholy, and look well after the desires and thoughts which come trooping up to attack the citadel of the soul.

But not only must you stop sinning. The lusts must be destroyed. Not only must the inner life be well looked after, the outer life also must not be neglected. Banish the sinful lusts and abstain from all appearance of evil. For sake the evil which is hidden from the eyes of men, as it lies deep in the soul, lay aside these forms of sin which are expressed in sinful actions, and also abstain from all kinds of acts which are not sinful, but seem so to men, as the appearance may lead weak souls astray. There are some classes of sin which wear the aspect of righteousness, and there are virtues which may be worn with the appearance of sin. As birds in building their nests are careful to avoid the use of bright-colored materials, which would help their enemies in locating them, so should the followers of Christ give no oppor tunity to their foes to attack them, nor injure their friends by engaging in any practices which may be harmless in themselves but may be made stepping-stones to a vicious life.

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