The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1903-09-09
nal goodness-and yet ascribe seduction to

nal goodness-and yet ascribe seduction to
Him.
James holds up the lustful human heart
and contends that no external crcum.
stances constitute in themselves alone q
seduction to sin. They may provide the
occasion for wrong doing. They may make
a powerful appeal to the passions and ap.
petites Of men. But they would be utterly
futile to influence conduct and choice but
trouble is this, James explains: Livery
man is tempted when he is drawn away Of
his own lust and enticed Then, when lust
hath conceived. it bringeth forth sin, and
sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth
death"
But will you make no account Of hered.
ity? Certainly, the children of the opium
eater, the user of intoxicants, the giutton.
Gus. the lascivious, will bear in their en-.
feebled wills, impaired nerve centres and
scrofulous blood the foul taint of sinful
parents. And may God pity the progeny
of the vicious! But shall the victim of q
fathers sins yield weakly to the propensi-
into the turbid pool of iniquity? Will IT
excuse mans bloodstained hand that he
receiYed fiery temper from his ancestry,
and in a moment of ungoverned fury mur-
But will yod make no account of envir-
onment? Certainly. the generations rising
from the slums of the great cities can
scarcely be expected to. come naturally to
the virtues of your c.ean-faced, church
bred boys and girls. What, then-shall the
soul make no effort to rise superior to its
surroundings? Is there any environment
Do they not obtrude themselves upon the
scene of public worship and private devo-
ton? Is there exemption for any one?
Surely not, but in the last analysis the
temptation is not in the enticements of
ones environment but in heart that
lusts after evil, and which must be denied
its desires, if good character is to be made.
Temptation to evil, then, is matter in
which our personal moral fiber is in
volved, just as in trial through suffering
our powers of endurance are tested. What
is your attitude toward evil? Is it one Of
apology and condonement? How perilous!
weakness! We have duty to ourselves.
Luther used to say: eve cannot keep the
birds from flying around our heads, but We
can prevent them from building their nests
in our hair" We may not be able to keep
temptation away. but we need not let it
in the house. We should not expect God
to lock the door and keep His hand upon
it. We are the doorkeeper of our own
souls.
Naturalists tell us that. the scorpion will
| never use his sting, of which he is exceed
| ingly careful. unless he can find a spot on
| the body of his desired victim sufficiently
| soft to admit its insertion without fear of
| injury. Temptation never assails the soul
except at vulnerable points. Our own lusts
determine the spots which the enemy
strikes
But fortunately the whole burden of re-
sisting temptation to evil does not rest
with US. Divine help is promised. IF any
Of you lack wisdom, let him ask God"
| Wisdom is called by a sound writer "the
| art of Christian conduct" That art can
| be acquired of Christ Himself. He was
tempted in all points as we are, vet with.
! ont sin. He can and will imuart the power
of successful resistance. Moreover. there
is specific promise in the premises. There
hath no temptation taken YOU but such as
is common to men, but God is faithful,
| who will not suffer you to be tempted
above that We are able, but viii also with
the temptat ation make way to escape, that
ye may be able to bear it,"
For him that endures there is the blessed
recompense Of the crown of life. What the
sculptor has wrought is not to be shattered
by the hammer of judgment. When the
ship comes bounding over the stormy sea
she is not to sink in view Of the harbor
But after the struggles of this human life
will come the felicities and fulness of the
perfect life. May the victor's wreath be
ours.