Our moral life becomes a conquering force. The Bible speaks of humble shepherds, farmers, unknown men. Under the action of God and the power of the Holy Spirit, they became commanding characters in the controversy between truth and falsehood, between Christ and Satan. They became men with firm resolutions and convictions, intellectual and military geniuses. Righteousness exalteth a nation.
Sin is a reproach.
At no time is sin a positive factor for the improvement and the exaltation of man. Wealth without integrity, without compassion, without spirituality, destroys and degrades. Outward splendor and luxury without character can only falsify life. Pleasures that compromise one's character are a ghastly fiction. The end is ruin and spiritual bankruptcy.