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rying about teen-age delinquency,
j uvenile dropouts, dope addiction,
drunkenness, premarital sex and
pregnancy and a veritable host of
other youthful maladies. Millions of
heartacbes and billions of tears
woul d be spared mothers and
fathers everywhere.
But what abou t the young
people? How would this law work
for them? Would they feel op–
pressed aod thwarted? Would their
darling little personalities fail to
blossom if oot given complete and
unlimited expression?
Absolutely not!
In the United States, for instance,
men like Abraham Lincoln and
Dwight Eisenhower a re merely two
among tbe hundreds of great state
and national leaders who would
have undoubtedly lacked the dis–
cipline and selflessness to ach ieve
what they did without fami ly
chores, responsibilities and dis–
cipline as they grew up.
Remember the promise: "that thy
days may be long upon the land."
How many millions ofyoung people
today are dying befare their time ei–
ther figuratively or titerally because
they have oot been taught to honor
their parents?
How many are taking drugs and
are damaging or wrecking the high–
est physical creation here on earth,
the human mind? How many are
"serving" their lusts - whether in il–
licit sex, gambling, crime or a host
of other related activities which, for
the vast majority, willlead to unnec–
essary suffering and premature
death?
Within a well-regulated, loving
but disciplined family, these young
people, too, could have the true
"freedom" they yearn for and talk
about, but which somehow always
eludes their grasp. By honoring and
obeying their parents, they need not
end up as dope addicts, penitentiary
inmates or you ng people with bro–
ken marriages, broken hearts aod
broken dreams.
The "law of Liberty" alone can
20
guarantee a ll the blessings mankind
yearns for!
An End to War?
In Exodus 20: 13, the Creator who
gives us life commands: "Thou shalt
not kill." This is the second com–
mand which shows us how to !ove
our neighbor.
Again, Jesus Chris t magnified the
law and revealed i ts spiritual intent.
He said, "Ye have heard that it hath
been said , Thou shalt love thy
neighbour, and bate thine enemy.
But I say unto you, Love your ene–
mies, bless them that curse you, do
good to them that bate you, and
pray for them which despitefully use
you, and persecute you" (Matthew
5:43-44).
Fi rst, then, the New Testament
magnification of this command
shows that we are not to kili any–
body, any time, for any purpose.
God gives life, and it is sacred.
God will fight our battles when
we learn to believe in Him, obey
Him and trust Him to be our shield
and protector. But as humans, we
are not to take human life under
any circumstances.
Can you begin to imagine the lib–
erty this suffering world would have
if - suddenly and unexpectedly -
everyone started obeying this law
and you could count on it?
The November
PLAI N TRUTH
pointed ou t in dramatic detail the
horrifying cost of war in monetary
terms alone. Key fact: The world
currently spends $300 bill ion an–
nually on war and related war ex–
penditures!
AlJ of this - yes - all could be
spent to protect and build the qual–
ity of human life and happiness if
this command were obeyed! Then
consider the fantastic liberty and
blessings which would be automati–
cally enjoyed by millions of young
men - and all peoples - in every
generation if there were no war.
They would not have to interrupt
their education and family life to go
off and be taught to bate, fight and
kili. Hundreds of thousands of them
would live - instead of die - and be
able to have normal families and
children. Additional millions would
not have to be d eformed and
crippled for the rest of their natural
lives as a resuJ t of war-related in–
juries.
Also, these young men, their
wives and sweethearts, and in many
cases the ir future children, would
not be deeply hurt by the ugly stain
of war, which separates man from
wife, child from father- sometimes
for years at a time, sometimes per–
manently. And there are a host of
other direct and indirect sufferings
which have brought untold anguish
to war-torn families from the begin–
ning of time.
Now, thinking meo deeply and
fervently realize the whole war syn–
drome is almost like a civilized form
of insanity. Yet all the reasonings,
all the philosophies, all the leagues
of nations and treaties of men have
been unable to stop war. Only when
mankind comes to know and deeply
fear - reverently respect - the God
of the Bible and His command
against war, will this continuing
tragedy come to a final end.
Liberty?
If the world could merely be " lib–
erated" from this one tragedy - war
- what an outfiowing of blessings
and what peace of mind th ere
would be!
The Positive Side
Remember that Jesus' statement
did not merely tell us to quit killing
one another. He said, "Love your
enemies ... do good to them that
hate you...." Often, we forget to
emphasize this aspect of God's per–
fect "law of liberty." lnstead of
merely thinking "Don' t
kili,"
let's
begin to think "How can
1
help my
neighbor live?" - that is, live a truly
full, abundant and meaningfullife.
What about your neighbor whose
lawn mower won' t work properly? If
you have the ability to repair it, why
not volunteer your services instead
PLAIN TRUTH Februory 1973
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