Smyrna times., 1881-12-07
For the Smyrna Times
Lawful" but not Expedient. f"
BY MRS. E. E. BALDWIN.

very early in life determine upon GER
tain course of action upon all such cues
tlons of moral right, as will make US wise
and strong for right decisions in the future.
Card playing, dancing and wine are the
three great temptations that beset our
youth, and many of them do not see harm
in them. have often wondered that the
inventor of cards did not give them a
more attractive appearance, but lacking
as they are in this respect, they without
doubt have their destinations. Ihave a let
ter from a young girl of Is years, asking me
to tell her rofthe harm in card playing. We
must be ready to meet such questions. In
the simple game of skill we can see no
more evil than in game of Authors or
Chess. Such a game might be termed
lawful" but is it "expedient'? (see |
Cor. 6-12). think it can be made yery
plain by an illustration. Take family of
three girls and one boy. They are accus-
toned to play cards together at home.
This may do the three sisters no harm.
They are not to go out into the world and
come in contact with those who will tempt
them to evil through cards. But what of
the brother? From apparent harmless
playing with his sisters and friends. he
looks upon card playing as "lawful." and
he has become skilled in it He must 90
out into the world. He may have strength
OF character to resist wine and card par
ties land they very often go together but
there comes a time of severe financial
pressure upon him. He knows not which
way to turn, and then Satin, ever on the
alert, sees his opportunity, and as this man
passes gambling hell" suggests-now is
you time to use your skill in card playing.
try 1t, you may win and then YOU are a
free man! This is no fancy sketch 1t is
the real experience of many man. His
knowledge of cards is the week point
through which evil reaches him; if he did
not know how to play cards he would not
think of using them in his emergency.
This knowledge has been the ruin of MANY
man. In Germany it is the easy read
to- ruin for women who 60 to gambling
dens like men. To give one more illus
tration Of the danger of even kno,vin0 how
to do that which is used largely for evil.
| have bit of personal experience. At
school learned, from my companions, to
dance, and became moderately skilled in
certain dances. We were accustomed to
dance in one Of the music rooms on
stormy days, when we could not So out
for our usual exercise. Now so far as we
could see there was no harm to us in this.
but later, | visited friend and a party
was given for me at which there was dan
cling. A gay, giddy young man-associa-
ton with whom would not be specially
profitable though he stood high socially
came to me and asked me to dance with
him. | promptly declined saying, do
not dance (meaning in promiscuous COM
pany). He replied, Dyes you do, Ihave
heard of you dancing at school. I ex-
planned to him that I'VE girls" only
danced then for exercise and amusement.
and that that was my limit in it. He
then set deliberately to work to overcome
my will in the matter, and soon saw that
1t was then, not so much his desire TO
dance with me, as it was his determine
ton to conquer nae, and so far he was an
agent for evil. He did not conquer, but
then learned lesson as to what might be
lawful" and yet not "expedient," and
thought sadly of the girls who might have
been encouraged in this thing by my ex-
ample, and who had not my natural strong
will to resist, and so be led into undesir-
able associations and most frivolous lives.
In the drinking of wine precisely the
same argument of harmlessness TO one
and evil to another comes in. do not
like wine, it is Uery disagreeable to me,
and so l might drink the toast at the table
without harm to myself; but my friend
next to me does like it, may have iaherited
a lOve for it, and in my taking of it, have
failed to give him the help of my example
to strengthen him to say no. One thing
more. We all agree that we are always
safe in giving the sure side the benefit of
the doubt. That there Is doubt can be
proven by the controversy it stirs up. No
one doubts that tits wrong to steal, murder,
&c. But in many questions there Is doubt.
Which is the safe side in the three tempta-
tions mentioned? We all knO,v that there
is no danger in not playing cards, not drink
ing, not dancing. We haye never heard
of any one in this or any country being
benefited by doing these things. (Of
course we do not call the rare taking of
wine incidentally drinking). We do know
that many, many have been ruined by
these three evils, and the three are closely
linked and naturally go together.
Did not the. Apostle put it very strongly
when be took, Tor bis illustration as to
duty in example, not little passing pleas
ure, but meat good thing that nour-
ishes the body, and said ~ meat make
my brother to offend, Twill eat not flesh
while the world standeth"? Then comes
that other declaration in Romans ''for no
man liyeth to himself, and no man dieth
to himself.n If we take in all this means
of our power by example, for good or evil,
how very careful would we be in our
words aud acts lest what we do should
prove an opportunity for the weakness Of
brother or sister.
And just here parents and guardians
havea agreatresponsibility Young people,
as al Il.