Oct. 31, 1954 B attle or B etter
Oct. 24, 1954 H ome and H onor
and a card on which “ THE FEAR OF THE LORD/’ is printed. LESSON: When a person wears a col lege cap, such as this, indicating that he has graduated from a college, he is supposed to have wisdom. Wisdom is skill in using knowledge. Nearly everybody would like to have wisdom, but not everybody knows how to get it. Here is a card that has the first three letters of the alphabet on it. There are some who would tell you that the first thing which must be done to gain wisdom is to learn the letters of the alphabet. Others might tell you that you must work hard, suggested by these gloves. You must work hard, if you are to get wisdom, and you, must learn the alphabet, but neither of these is the starting place on wisdom’s road. Here is a roadmap. If you are to take a trip, you look at the map, locate the place where you are, and the place where you are going, and trace your journey along the high way. We want to take a journey to the land of wisdom. We must first find where to start this important trip. This card gives us the answer. It reads, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Prov. 9:10). We are living in a day when more young people are being trained in schools than ever before, but it is sad to know that many of them will never reach true wisdom, because they are not starting with the fear of the Lord. The word “ FEAR” does not mean that we are to be afraid of God. If we are Christians, we do not fear Him in that way. It does mean that we should trust Him, and desire to please Him. It is wonderful to have .wisdom. However, if you are ever to secure it, you must begin with the fear of the Lord. If a person has true wisdom he will remember what is said in Prov erbs 3:5,6, “ Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”
OBJECTS: A work glove, a boxing glove, a piece of steel about 4 inches long, and a strong magnet. (Hide the piece of steel in the finger of the work glove.) LESSON: What is a glove such as this one used for? “ For boxing,” I hear someone say. Boxing is one form of fighting, and in it men are often injured for life. If boxing were always entered into just for physical exercise, it would be different, but it almost always be comes actual fighting. Men often fight with gloves as truly as soldiers fight with guns on the battlefield. God does not like any form of fighting. What is a glove like this one used for? “ It is used to work with.” It is much better to work than it is to battle. These two gloves remind
OBJECT: A piece of paper 81/jj x 11 inches. (Fold each end to within V\ inch of the middle, leaving a gap of V 2 inch. In this space print the word “ HONOR.” Open the folds, and using the word “HONOR,” complete the fol lowing words, “ FATHER, MOTHER, LEARN, LESSONS, and CHILDREN,” allowing the word “ HONOR” to be more distinct than the other words.) LESSON: This piece of paper contains a very important word. In fact, it is so important that God included it in the Ten Commandments. Not everyone realizes the importance of the word “HONOR,” as applied to a child’s attitude toward his parents. If we open these flaps, we will find something more about the honor spoken of in the Bible. We now learn who is to be honored and by whom. We read, “ FATHER, MOTHER, LEARN, LESSON, and CHILDREN.” It is our parents who are to be hon ored. Children are commanded to learn this lesson. To honor our par ents means to respect, obey, and love them. I am afraid that many chil dren have not learned this lesson, although few lessons pay more for the learning. Some men study to be doctors in order that they may be paid large amounts of money for helping peo ple get well. Others study to be en gineers in order that they may erect great buildings, and be paid large amounts. You are wondering what a child receives who honors his par ents. He may not receive great sums of money, but he will receive some thing better than money, for we read,
me of a verse in the Bible, “ And they shall beat . . . their spears into prun ing hooks: nation shall not lift Up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more” (Micah 4:3). In Proverbs 6:6-9 we are told to work, “ Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, provideth her meat in the sum mer, and gathereth her food in the harvest. How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?” When the Lord Jesus comes back to earth, the nations will use their strength in work instead of in war. We will let this large magnet re mind us of Christ when He comes. It comes to the boxing glove and shoves it out of the way. The magnet next comes to the working glove, picks it up, and carries it along. It will be a happy day for this old world when Jesus Christ comes back to rule and reign and the nations of earth learn war no more. Until that day comes, God will have us use our strength to work for Him, instead of in fighting others. This is something better than a battle.
“Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee” (Ex. 20:12). The nation of Israel is still on the earth, partly due to the fact that they have honored their parents. If the young people of our nation would honor their parents, it would help to preserve the life of our country. In Proverbs 4:1, 2, we read, “Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know under standing. For I give you good doc trine, forsake ye not my law.”
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