SOWING YOUR WILD OATS.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 250, 19 October 1907, Page 10

SOWING YOUR WILD OATS.

.(By- the itev.NMordisqn- C. Peters.) "Whatsoever sl man soweth, that Shall al ?o reap."—Galatians vi., 7. .'iJ.That a young man must "sow his wild -'.TJ.fls&isf , and that those who "sow their _irSiitd::pats" atejikelytpjs.etfcledqwn afwhile; to-steady- habits, and are more' Bkely to make good men for-hav-ing sown -wild oats, is a popular delusion "which has ruined thousands. It is a monstrous impeachment of God's wisdom: "Whatsoever a man sow* eth, that shall lie also reap." The-ibta,-nical definition f wild oats is: "A species of oats remarkable for the length of time the grain will lie in the soil and retain its vegetative powers. Where if.abounds' naturally it is an inveterate weed." The only thing to do with wild oats Ss to put them carefully into the hottest * part of the fire, and get them burned to dust, every one of them. If you sow • wild oats, no matter in what ground, up they wili .Tome, ■with long, tough roots and luxuriant stalks, and as sure as the sun shines a crop will follow which turns one's heart cold to think Of. I have somewhere seen a sculptured representation of Hacchxis, -the "god of drink and revelry. He is riding on a panther at a furious bound. How suggestive and true! A man begins a career of vice, and thinks he has mounted a well-broken steed, that he has the Teins in hand and can. keep it in control and stop it when he pleases, but lo! when he sees the approaching chasm, and would fain pull up, he finds that lie is astride a savage brute that no human power can tame. There is a deep and awful mystery in the downward progress of the soul when he who was once master of sin becomes sts slave. Alas! there are scores of men that would give all they have to begin life over again. There was a time when they never intended to be vicious, but Btep by step they lowered themselves; shame, truth, and self-respect died; th<3 lower elements of their nature were freely indulged, then became importunate, then exacting, then domineering, then nnepntrallable. There is nothing young people need to cultivate so much as self-control. Carlyle says: "The King is the man who ' can." "Edgar Allan Poe died friendless and alone in the streets of Baltimore before he was thirty-eight. Alas! that ' filtal bottle. '"The Kaven," which he saw oa the bust above his chamber door, was delirium tremens —"only this and nothing more." . It is not true that "the good die young." "The wicked do not live out half their days." Benjamin Franklin saysr '"If you will not hear Reason, she will surely rap your knuckles." Virgfl says: "Cease to think that the decrees of the gods can be changed by prayers." Young men. make a sad mistake if ' they think it necessary to have a personal acquaintance witb the seamy side of life, its abominable lusts, its hideous incarnations of wit, its degrading scenes, its miserable carnalities. Nobody ever gets over the sight of these things. They rwho see them always carry scars. They are burned. The scar remains. Impelling impulse and compelling puT pose toward thetrue, the beautiful, and the good flow from pure feeling, high thinking, and slow living. That man. sees"Efe truly who gains what is best and most uplifting from his living, he who has strengthened his soul by contemplation of the great and good things "Which bless, our humanity. , KeSgionsly care for your health. Life has been compared to a voyage, the bod* being the ship in which the heart and <sul, the intelligence and emotion ■why 1 make up the inner and controlling manhood are to sail. The winds and enrrents which sweep across the sea of ISfe are to test the vitality of' this physical life ship, which carries so precious a cargo. II a.-wise captain is careful that his ship- shall be built of strong timbers, well framed together, thoroughly seasoned, and rigged in the manner best adapted to safety and speed, and sure,that no barnacles are hanging to her hull to retard her onward progress; surely the young voyager on life's ■ sea, having but this one ship, and - -but the-one chance to sail between time • and eternity, cannot afford to be careless ■of- the building, the equipment, or che skilful management of the vessel which carries the precious freightage of human life. It is just as true that God ißas given you a body to be kept from Jtaint" and impurity and to be employed .in. this present life for a noble and glorious end" as that H«e:.has given you a soul, an immortal. Your body _. is_ God's temple. _ stainless for -■ ■ Tfim. ■ .-* -■•■ ■-. ...