University and college life is a very
wonderful opportunity coming to more and more young Christian men and
women today. This is the period of our lives in which we really start
making our own decisions. Many of the decisions that we must make bear
directly upon the spiritual training that we have had before going away
to school. There could hardly be another period in our lives in which
our minds are challenged to function so nearly at their capacity than in
our college years. We all are aware of this great challenge afforded us
to learn. However, we sometimes overlook the even greater challenges
that we meet when coming to college the challenges to our spirit.
Much has been said about the 'great
evolutionists' of our modern colleges and universities and no doubt most
of it is true. Most of us expected to find in college a great deal of
skepticism and ridicule of spiritual things and to have actually found
it has not been a great surprise. Things were no different in Paul's day
when by inspiration he wrote, "For seeing that in the wisdom of God the
world through its wisdom knew not God" (I Cor.
1:21). Understandably, this skepticism is lethal to those unsteady souls who
after swallowing a dose of unbelief fail to take the antidote of reason.
But it is not this blatant skepticism that is so very dangerous to young
men and women in college. It is something subtler than that; for indeed
it is the undermining of our spiritual character our sense of
discernment between right and wrong. The greatest danger, then, is from
the lies and temptations of Satan as he seeks to destroy our spiritual
discernment. For this reason, we must give diligence to consider the
admonition of the Lord through Solomon as he wrote in Ecclesiastes,
"Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days
come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no
pleasure in them" (12:1).
There are many 'conflicts' in college
for the Christian. There are conflicts of interests, of recreation, and
of time. For each of these conflicts there is a simple, but often
difficult, "Yes-I-will-put-the-Lord-first" answer and there is the also
simple, but tragic, "No-I-will-do-as-I-please" answer. For many the
spirit is too weak to say 'Yes' to the Lord and even less able to say
'No' to Satan. The devil thus provides some seemingly compromise answers
'if,' 'when,' and 'maybe.' Jesus said, "No man can serve two masters:
for either he will hate the one, and love the other: or else he will
hold to one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon"
(Matthew 6:24). From these words we can know that there can be no middle
ground and our compromises become simply a way of appeasing our
consciences in refusing to obey God's will.
While we are away at school, it seems
that Satan has many alluring temptations to draw us away. But with every
temptation that comes upon us, God provides a way of escape (1 Cor.
10:13).
We can find those ways of escape if we look for them. Then dear brother
or sister, hear when Satan comes with temptations to dance, drink, and
engage in reveling; when he tempts us to lie and cheat; when he would
seduce us to commit fornication by the eye or in the flesh; when he
seeks to prevent us from assembling with the saints; or when he comes
with any other of his stock in store, let us remember then our Creator
and His will for us and let us answer the devil with a determined and
emphatic 'No!' "Be subject unto God; but resist the devil, and he will
flee from you" (James 4:7). Having done these things we will be
able to affirm with Paul as he wrote, "I can do all things in him that
strengtheneth me" (Philippians
4:13).
via Truth Magazine, July 1966
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A Letter
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