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being poisoned by what you see and
hear a round you!
Just imagine! This International
Year was generously dedicated to
you with all kinds of promises: You
were told that grown-ups would be
much more concerned with your edu–
cation, your health, and your well–
being. That was very encouraging' to
you, 1 am sure- but do you really
feel or notice any difference? Did
you witness a ny· real improvement in
your life? Do you now have a clearer
understa nding of what life is all
about ? In other words, have you
learned a little more how to live- the
way God wants you to live?
A tree is known by its fruits; unfor–
tunately, the fruits of this world's
system of education have not been
too good! Far from it! A man's integ–
rity is measured by the faithfulness
with which he keeps bis word- but
grown-ups who don ' t obey God often
break their word (whether among
themsclves or toward you).
In this specia l year (keep in mind it
was dedica ted to you!) , endless confer–
ences were hcld to discuss your educa–
tion and welfare. Even your future.
But just what is meant by
education
and
welfare?
What kind of educa tion
can grown-ups offer you in a world
where they themselves put the accent
on the "getting" rather than giving–
or on being served rather than serv–
ing--or on making a living ra ther than
lea rning how to live?
Children can' t choose the world
into which they are born. You had to
accept it the way grown-ups gave it
to you- a world which you don't nec–
essarily like. Neither do we. You are
often unhappy; so are most people.
They make life miserable for one an–
other, don' t they? Orown-ups often
think your behavior is odd. Most
proba bly you find theirs- just as
odd- i
f
not more so!
When we were your age-at least
those of us who now have gray hair–
we lived in a somewhat different
world. l t was a little more peaceful
and a little less materialistic.
Today a ll of us are living in an
increasingly polluted world- and a
noisy one! We are deafened by the
noises we make. Even though much is
known about their devastating ef–
fects, nevertheless little is done about
The
PLAIN TRUTH December 1979
noise pollution. Scientists speak of
decibels (a word which was unknown
to us when we were your age) , and
they take a certain pride in being
able to measure the intensity of a
noise. This is all very sophisticated
and very scientific-but also terribly
dangerous! Somehow, you are told
not to worry too much about noise
pollution. After all , scientists think
that "universal deafness" is not ex–
pected before the second half of the
next century!
Today, men have polluted just
about everything they come in con–
tact with. The water we drink and
the air we breathe are filled with all
kinds of poisons, dirt, and dangerous
particles. Do you know that the
amount of lead the air now contains
is truly frightening? But once again,
you hear encouraging words. You are
told that the human body- this mas–
terpiece of. creation-can adjust it–
self to everything! So why shouldn't
you go ahead and break the laws of
nature?
This is the way grown-ups reason
when they are cut off from God.
They want to change the
effect
of evil
rather tban removing the
cause.
They break laws and try to find a
way of avoiding the penalties they
must pay. In fact , this world's system
of education is founded on this type
of logic. That's what you usually
learn in school.
Most of you who will read this
"open letter" live in rather prosper–
ous countries-the "have" nations
we call them. Y.ou enjoy modern con–
veniences. Believe it or not, there are
· a ltogether two billion children in this
world, the majority of whom live in
the "have-not" countries where there
is much poverty, squalor, and starva–
tion.
Perhaps you are not aware of it,
but 85 percent of the world's rural
population do not have drinking
water in their dwellings- and there
are, today, more children in the
streets than at school. They have
been called "the children of hunger ."
Their life expectancy is very short.
Strange as it may seem, it is hard
to say which of the two groups–
those living in prosperous countries
or those belonging to the third
world- is actually more handi-
capped! All things considered, is
there much advantage living in coun–
tries where pollution, corruption, and
synthetic products all abound- and
where the food has been artificially
preserved and colored with al! sorts
of poisonous ingredients?
This type of technology does not
solve the most important problems in
your life. Science wíthout a proper
guiding hand only makes things
worse. There is much more to life
than mere existence. You must learn
to work with your hands, to use your
mind, to think ahead, to discipline
yourself!
Each of us- and that includes
every single one of you-has been
made in the image of God, after His
likeness. And God has given you a
mind which is able to discern and to
choose. As you grow older, you can
be master of your own destiny-if
you wish.
In a world which seeks its own
pleasure, sorne of you may already
have been addicted to drugs. Yet,
when you were born, you had no idea
what a drug was. Society has made it
easy for you to obtain drugs-and to
use them. What a shame!
Today, sin is advertised as being
something pleasant and good-some–
thing much to be desired. Is it any
wonder so many of you become delin–
quents, or choose a life which is
wasted? In the movies or on televi–
sion, you can see just about every–
thing concerning sex-so-called
"!ove" in its most intimate ph,ases!
All the while, you are expected to
grow up to be honorable citizens, to
respect the laws governing marriage,
to be good husbands and wives and
not to commit adultery.
In dedicating this special year to
you, grown-ups have "assured" you
that efforts are being made to take a
closer look at your individual con–
cerns-without discrimination of
race, color, sex or religion. What a
dilemma! How can they promise you
tbat when mankind, as a whole, has
never truly learned to enjoy, without
discrimination, the same privileges?
As you see, wben man separates
himself from God, he acts in strange
ways. He tells you one thing, but does
something else.
Statistics s how that more and
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