5 Dangers for young men.

1. Pride

“Young men, do not be too confident in your own judgment. Stop being so sure that you are always right, and others wrong. Don’t trust your own opinion, when you find it contrary to that of older men, and especially to that of your own parents. Age gives experience, and therefore deserves respect. “

2. Love of Pleasure

“Youth is the time when our passions are strongest—and like unruly children, cry most loudly for indulgence. Youth is the time when we have generally our most health and strength: death seems far away, and to enjoy ourselves in this life seems to be everything… ‘I serve lusts and pleasures’, that is the true answer many a young man should give, if asked, ‘Whose servant are you?’”

3. Thoughtlessness

“Not thinking is one simple reason why thousands of souls are thrown away forever into the Lake of Fire. Men will not consider, will not look ahead, will not look around them, will not reflect on the end of their present course, and the sure consequences of their present days, and wake up to find they are damned for a lack of thinking. Young men, none are in more danger of this than yourselves. You know little of the perils around you, and so you are careless how you walk. You hate the trouble of serious, quiet thinking, and so you make wrong decisions and bring upon yourselves much sorrow.”

4. Contempt of Religion

“This also is one of your special dangers. I always observe that none pay so little outward respect to Christianity as young men. None take so little part in our services, when they are present at them—use Bibles so little—sing so little—listen to preaching so little. None are so generally absent at prayer meetings, Bible Studies, and all other weekday helps to the soul. Young men seem to think they do not need these things—they may be good for women and old men, but not for them. They appear ashamed of seeming to care about their souls: one would almost fancy they considered it a disgrace to go to heaven at all.”

5. Fear of Man’s Opinion

“It is terrible to observe the power which the fear of man has over most minds, and especially over the minds of the young. Few seem to have any opinions of their own, or to think for themselves. Like dead fish, they go with the stream and tide. What others think is right, they think is right; and what others call wrong, they call wrong too. There are not many original thinkers in the world. Most men are like sheep, they follow a leader. If it was the fashion of the day to be Roman Catholics, they would be Roman Catholics, if it was to be Islamic, they would be Islamic. They dread the idea of going against the current of the times. In a word, the opinion of the day becomes their religion, their creed, their Bible, and their God.”

~ J.C. Ryle

Been struggling with these danger's lately.

Trustworthiness of the Scriptures.

[2:1] For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, [2] that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ, [3] in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. [4] I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. [5] For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.
(Colossians 2:1-5 ESV)

Without Scripture(that is, true writings from God about God), how are we to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ? In other words, how do we know God, without being able to know Him, to Study Him? I'm not insinuating that reading the Scripture is like looking at the face of Christ, rather, I am saying that the Study of Scripture is how we find out about Him, both what He commands and what He has done. It's akin to me getting out some of my grandfather's letters to my grandmother to try and get a better picture of what he was like. Only in the case of the Scriptures, we are dealing with the Living God, and not studying someone else's relationship, but studying our own. What am I to do with this Person Jesus Christ? How am I to know Him?

I need to think more.

I'm starting this blog to put a fire in my mind, a spiritual fire.

As many of you who will read this know I work in an industry which denies it's employees the ability to talk about anything aside from work and sex. The idea is you're not supposed to create division within the company, so religion, politics, and philosophy are things you're not supposed to talk about.

So I'm left five days a week with nothing but a bombardment of often disgusting jokes(of which I participate), with no good things to set my mind on. I often find myself thinking about how great I am, comparing myself to others at work who aren't as fast or strong. Or I find myself resenting those people who I serve(more on the nature of my job later). As with everything I do I find ample opportunity to sin.

"Romans 7:21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. 22 For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, 23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin."

So I'm writing this blog to make a war on my sin, though the renewal of my mind, I want to seek Him, and set my mind on Him, as I make war with this flesh of mine.