A Christian student must understand that it is sin for him to be lazy, for mental laziness is a sin. If a student has a brain capable of earning a grade of A, it is a sin for him to get only a B. If he is capable of earning a B, it is a sin for him to get only a C. If this be true in our mental life, it is also true in our spiritual life.
During the first world war the soldiers near the front line trenches learned to know the whine of the different types of shells as they screamed their way over to bring death. When a shell was heard, men flung themselves into the nearest hole without any worry as to what kind of filth or death might be in the hole. Nothing in the hole could be as bad as the exploding steel.
If you were walking down some important street in the midst of great crowds, and should see a dirty beggar child holding out his hand toward you, your heart would be moved to pity. But if that child kept running after you and called out to you "Mother," or "Father," when you have never seen the child before, you would be stirred to righteous indignation. What right would that child have to attract attention to you and turn the gaze of all the passersby from the child's filth to you? Desire on the part of a child cannot create a parental relationship.
Just outside the town in California where I was born is a creek that winds across the country, eventually flowing into the Pajaro River. Many a spot along this creek would make a magnificent swimming hole, but no boys are ever seen there. It is not even necessary for parents to tell their boys not to go near these waters. Were any new boy to suggest a swim, others would quickly tell him that the name of the creek is Salsipuedes; Spanish for "Get out if you can."
During my late teens I observed the corruption of sin in a rescue mission in Los Angeles. I listened to the testimonies of men with criminal records: The first said that he had been in prison three times, and had lived a life of sin; the next had been in prison four times, and had sinned even more; the third man had had six imprisonments, and added dope to the alcohol of the first two. I was uneasy; these men seemed to be exhibitionists, though I did not know the meaning of the word at that time.
