CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP 
IN HIGH SCHOOL 


A PROBLEM BIBLE STUDY COURSE 
WRITTEN BY SIX STUDENTS 
IN THE 

HARTFORD PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOL “HI-Y” CLUB 

Howard H. Baldwin 
David S. Butler , Jr. 

Stuart II. Chapman 
Edward G. Fowler 
J. Edvin IV. Johnson 
James A. Fay lor 


NEW Xflr YORK 
GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY 













































♦ 







CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP 
IN HIGH SCHOOL 







CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP 
IN HIGH SCHOOL 


A PROBLEM BIBLE STUDY COURSE 
WRITTEN BY SIX STUDENTS 
IN THE 

HARTFORD PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOL “HI-Y” CLUB 


Howard H. Baldwin 
David S. Butler y Jr. 
Stuart H. Chapman 
Edward G. Fowler 
J. Edvin W. Johnson 
James A. Taylor 


NEW 


YORK 


GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY 



-BW4/5 

.£3 


Copyright , 1923 , 

Zty George H. Doran Company 



©C1A759152 


CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP IN HIGH SCHOOL. II 


PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

SEP 28’23 

o 0 1 



f* 


© 



Dedicated to 
JESUS CHRIST 
Our Hero and Best Friend 


“And Jesus increased in wisdom and in 
stature, and in favour with God and 
man.”—Luke 2:52. 


0 


FOREWORD 


This course of study is essentially the work of a group 
of high school boys. It was necessary, to be sure, that 
some adult advice, suggestion and correction be available, 
and a leader was present at all the meetings of the group 
at which the work was discussed. In addition to this, 
certain changes and additions were made to the text, and 
a few illustrations, quotations and questions were sug¬ 
gested by some of the adult leaders of the Hi-Y Club of 
Hartford. Much help was also given in the selection of 
Bible passages, though the boys themselves chose most of 
them. The only chapter which was completely written 
by an adult is the one on sex problems, though even this 
was submitted to the boys, discussed very carefully and 
altered in a few places in accordance with their ideas. I 
must bear any possible criticism of this chapter. I also 
assisted, to a large extent, in deciding upon the outline 
of chapter and day-by-day divisions, and in the choice 
of project questions. For the book as a whole, however, 
the boys must be granted whatever credit is due. 

I believe that for giving this book to the young men of 
America the six students of the Hartford Public High 
School are to be sincerely thanked. Though many 
courses have been prepared by men who have given years 
of study to students’ questions, yet there is bound to be 
something fresh and stimulating in considering what the 
boys themselves think of their own problems and their 
vii 


viii 


FOREWORD 


possible solutions. No matter how sympathetic and un¬ 
derstanding a man may be, still he is not a boy and will 
never be one again. 

And after all, why shouldn’t a boy write books for 
boys? His mind may be immature, but so are the minds 
of his readers; and the thought processes of a boy are 
enough more direct and frank and unencumbered by 
prejudice and preachment than those of a man to make 
up many times over for their lack of maturity. I some¬ 
times think that if boys with the spirit and ability of these 
six in Hartford would write books for men, too, many 
men in our country would be supplied with more whole¬ 
some reading than they ordinarily get. The only rea¬ 
son that the idealism of youth receives such awful jars 
when it comes up against the realities of life is that the 
“realities of life” are often artificial and have been un¬ 
necessarily placed in the way by men who have forgotten 
the idealism of their youth. If boys managed the busi¬ 
ness of the world, there would, to be sure, be less effi¬ 
ciency, but there would be more of all that which is hon¬ 
orable and just and pure and lovely and of good report. 
It is not until a man has passed beyond his adolescent 
days that he is hardened to such phrases as “business is 
business” and “the almighty dollar.” 

In spite of the fact that it was realized that anything 
that is two-purposed is likely to fall short at both ends, 
it was the effort of the authors of this little book to give 
it a double purpose. The boys have felt the need for a 
daily help to their Morning Watch, as well as the need 
for a discussional course on high school problems. It is 
hoped that this book may be used for both. If it is 
planned to cover the period of one semester, it will be 
an easy matter to combine the two purposes. But if it is 


FOREWORD 


ix 


desired to spread the discussion course out over a year’s 
work and thought, then the leader will have a good op¬ 
portunity to see what his own boys can do in supplying 
parallel Morning Watch exercises. A division of the 
course into twenty-four weeks’ study is suggested in the 
appendix for those who wish to have it cover a whole 
school year. In such a case, the assignment may be made 
to one of the boys in the group each week to suggest 
enough additional Bible passages, “Search-myself Ques¬ 
tions” and prayers, to complete the daily devotional exer¬ 
cises for the coming week. 

It will be understood by the leader that the authors 
did not intend that all the questions asked in the course of 
the text be necessarily touched upon in the discussion. 
The questions are merely suggested, and it is hoped that 
possibly a long discussion may be provoked by even a 
single question. Other questions will occur to the leader 
and to the boys, varying with the local situation. Inas¬ 
much as this is a discussion course, intended to be used in 
connection with the “Christian Citizenship Training Pro¬ 
gram,” Boy Scouts, or other program of week-day activ¬ 
ity, little emphasis has been given to projects. It will be 
the duty of the leader to make the connection between the 
discussions and real life. A few expressional exercises 
have been suggested, though they must be modified or 
multiplied in accordance with local needs. 

It is unnecessary to add that every single one of the 
boys in our group believes very thoroughly in Jesus Christ 
as the basis of the solution for all his problems. Though 
it is hoped that the questions in the text will bring out 
the discussion from all viewpoints, and that no solution 
will be accepted blindly and without a strong reason, still 
the committee will not consider its work a success if the 


X 


FOREWORD 


book does not do something to convince those who study 
it of the effectiveness as well as of the winsomeness of 
Jesus Christ. The boys are far from satisfied with their 
work, but hope that others may be stimulated by it to do 
something much better. 

The group wishes to express its appreciation of the 
loyal help, both in a general and a direct way, given by 
W. W. Shaver, City Boys’ Executive of the Hartford 
Y. M. C. A., as well as by E. K. Mitchell, Jr., D. P. 
Hatch, Jr., K. D. Beckwith, students in the Hartford 
Theological Seminary, and Earl Spencer, all leaders in 
the Hi-Y Club. I myself wish to thank Prof. A. J. W. 
Myers, of the Hartford School of Religious Pedagogy, 
for his criticism of Chapter V. 

The Bible text, for the New Testament, unless other¬ 
wise noted, is that of Dr. Moffatt’s “A New Translation 
of the New Testament,” used by permission of the pub¬ 
lisher, George H. Doran Company; for the Old Testa¬ 
ment, the King James version. Some of the passages in 
both the Old and the New Testaments are from the 
American Standard version, used by permission of 
Thomas Nelson and Sons. 

Richard H. Ritter, 

Student in the Hartford Theological 
Seminary, 

Leader in the Hi-Y Club of Hartford, 
Connecticut . 


CONTENTS 


SECTION I: EDUCATIONAL PROBLEMS 

I THE VALUE OF EDUCATION 
II EDUCATION OUT OF SCHOOL . 

III THE SERVICE OF PREPARATION 

SECTION II: PHYSICAL PROBLEMS 

IV THE VIGOR OF PHYSICAL MANHOOD 
V SEX PROBLEMS AND MY CHARACTER 

SECTION III: SPIRITUAL PROBLEMS 

VI LIFE WITHOUT CHRIST ... 

VII HOW CHRIST HELPS 
VIII DECISION FOR CHRIST 
IX PASSING IT ON .... 

SECTION IV: SOCIAL PROBLEMS 

X SOCIAL DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN . 

XI SOCIAL AMUSEMENTS OF A CHRISTIAN 
XII SOCIAL PRIVILEGES OF A CHRISTIAN 

Appendix. 


PAGE 


13 

22 

32 


47 

56 


73 

83 

92 

102 


11 7 
127 
138 

151 


The Four Sections, as well as the Chapter headings of the 
course, were planned so as to permit being used with the 
“Christian Citizenship Training Program.” 












Section I: EDUCATIONAL PROBLEMS 


/ 







Chapter I: THE VALUE OF EDUCATION 


FIRST DAY. 

What does the Community Expect of Me? 
Can my Education ever be a Liability to the 
Community? How? 

In that night did God appear unto Solomon, and 
said unto him, Ask what I shall give thee. 

And Solomon said unto God . . . Give me now 
wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and 
come in before this people: for who can judge 
this thy people that is so great? 

And God said to Solomon, Because this was in 
thine heart, and thou hast not asked riches, 
wealth, or honour, nor the life of thine enemies, 
neither yet hast asked long life; but hast asked 
wisdom and knowledge for thyself, that thou may- 
est judge my people, over whom I have made thee 
king: 

Wisdom and knowledge is granted unto 
thee . . . —II Chronicles 1:7, 8, 10-12. 

We are all desirous of having an education; and in this 
country, most every one can get one. It was shown dur¬ 
ing the war, however, that science and education could 
be turned to destruction of human life and property as 
well as its benefit. Hundreds of chemists were interested 
in the invention and manufacture of poisonous gases. 
Would it have been better for the world if these men had 
never been trained in chemical knowledge? 

Can education ever be a destructive force in peace 
time? 


13 


14 CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP IN HIGH SCHOOL 


0 Christ, help me to take advantage of my 
opportunities to get an education and to make it 
real. And may I use my education for the bene¬ 
fit of mankind and the extension of thy work. 

SECOND DAY. 

What is My Education Going to do for Me? 
Have I a right to use My Education for my 
Personal gains? 

Some people say that they are “self-made men ,, but 
this is an impossibility. The very books that we study 
were written by those who have gone before. The money 
which builds our schools and pays our teachers is given 
by the community. We are dependent upon our parents 
for our very living. How are we to pay this debt? 

‘All things are lawful’? 

Yes, but not all are good for ui. 

‘All things are lawful’? 

Yes, but not all are edifying. 

Each of us must consult his neighbour’s inter¬ 
ests, not his own. . . . The earth and all its contents 
belong to the Lord. ... So whether you eat or 
drink, or whatever you do, let it be all done for 
the glory of God. . . . Such is my own rule, to 
satisfy all men in all points, aiming not at my own 
advantage but at the advantage of the greater 
number—at their salvation .—I Corinthians io: 

23 - 33 . 

Most of us who are selfish in our desire for education 
are so simply because we do not realize the truth of the 
above statement of St. Paul’s. We do not realize how 
far-reaching our own influence is. 



THE VALUE OF EDUCATION 


15 


O Heavenly Father, help me to utilise my time 
in gaining material education so that I may serve 
the community. Be with and guide the present 
civic administrators, who are helping me to edu¬ 
cate myself. 


THIRD DAY. 

Class Room Spirit. 

A popular student can do more to raise the morale of 
the class than an unpopular student. Should a fellow, 
for this reason, try to make himself popular at the risk 
of antagonizing his teacher? In the long run, is it pos¬ 
sible to “put one over” on the teacher? 

Let no one slight you because you are a youth, 
but set the believers an example of speech, be¬ 
haviour, love, faith, and purity. Attend to your 
Scripture-reading, your preaching, and your teach¬ 
ing, till I come. You have a gift that came to 
you transmitted by the prophets, when the presby¬ 
tery laid their hands upon you; do not neglect that 
gift. Attend to these duties, let them absorb you, 
so that all men may note your progress. Watch 
yourself and watch your teaching; stick to your 
work; if you do that, you will save your hearers 
as well as yourself .—I Timothy 4:12-16. 

Are there any “short-cuts” to popularity? 


O Christ, help me to extend my induence to 
create a better class spirit in my room. 



16 CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP IN HIGH SCHOOL 


FOURTH DAY. 

Time-budgets. 

It is no doubt true that for the most part the greatest 
men are those who, when in school, seized every oppor¬ 
tunity for study. On the other hand, no student wishes 
to be merely a “grind.” What should be the basis on 
which we should decide how to apportion our study 
time? 


To every thing there is a season, and a time to 
every purpose under the heaven. 

A time to be born, and a time to die: a time to 
plant, and a time to pluck up that which is 
planted: 

A time to kill, and a time to heal: a time to 
break down, and a time to build up: 

A time to weep, and a time to laugh: a time to 
mourn, and a time to dance: 

A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather 
stones together: a time to embrace, and a time to 
refrain from embracing: 

A time to get, and a time to lose: a time to keep, 
and a time to cast away: 

A time to rend, and a time to sew: a time to 
keep silence, and a time to speak: 

A time to love, and a time to hate: a time of 
war, and a time of peace .—Ecclesiastes 3 : 1 - 8 . 

Does this passage have any application to the appor¬ 
tionment of our time while in school or only to the use 
of it after we are out in the world? What other sen¬ 
tences would the author have added if he were writing 
with our particular high school in mind? 

We shall consider this subject more in detail in the next 
chapter. 


THE VALUE OF EDUCATION 


17 


O Christ, help me to proportion my time aright, 
giving due consideration to my home and to defi¬ 
nite school problems . 


FIFTH DAY. 

A High School Course and the Future. 

Every one agrees to the fact that it is useless for a 
student who knows that he is not going to college to di¬ 
rect his high school course specifically toward college re¬ 
quirements. It is also pretty generally believed that the 
fellow who does not know what he intends to do in life 
will want to go to college, if he can, as a means of “find¬ 
ing himself.” 

But should the student who has a definite idea of his 
life-work and who has decided to go to college, concen¬ 
trate his high school efforts on preparing for college, or 
direct them toward his training for life in general ? Should 
he plan his education on the broad principles of the lib¬ 
eral college course, or should he begin to specialize in his 
particular bent while he is still in high school ? Should a 
fellow who definitely knows that he will be an electrician, 
mechanic, bookkeeper or something else that does not 
specifically call for a college education, plan to go to col¬ 
lege anyway, if he can? 

Is it worth while to work one’s way through college? 

There are varieties of talents, 
but the same Spirit; 
varieties of service, 
but the same Lord; 
varieties of effects, 

but the same God who effects everything in 


18 CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP IN HIGH SCHOOL 


every one. Each receives his manifestation of the 
Spirit for the common good. One man is granted 
words of wisdom by the Spirit, another words of 
knowledge by the same Spirit; one man in the 
same Spirit has the gift of faith, another in the 
one Spirit has gifts of healing; one has prophecy, 
another the gift of distinguishing spirits, another 
the gift of “tongues” in their variety, another the 
gift of interpreting “tongues.” But all these ef¬ 
fects are produced by one and the same Spirit, 
apportioning them severally to each individual 
as he pleases .—I Corinthians 12:4-11. 


0 Christ, help me to t( find myself To-day as 
I prepare my lessons give me greater power of 
concentration. Bless those who are my help in pre¬ 
paring me for bigger things. 


SIXTH DAY. 

IS THERE AN EDUCATIONAL VALUE IN SERVING 
Others? If so, Should a Student Serve Oth¬ 
ers for the Selfish Purpose of Gaining Ex¬ 
perience Which Might Prove Valuable to Him 
in Later Life? 

Service is putting ourselves to our best possible use, 
and therefore demands the best possible education. 

It is no doubt true that every act of service— 

. . blesseth him that gives and him that 
takes.” 

But can a selfish act be a medium for pure service? Or, 
on the other hand, can a serviceable act ever be purely 



THE VALUE OF EDUCATION 19 

selfish? Note how Jesus, in problems of this kind, put 
everything to the test of absolute sincerity. 

Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man 
would come after me, let him deny himself, and 
take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever 
would save his life shall lose it: and whosoever 
shall lose his life for my sake shall find it. For 
what shall a man be profited, if he shall gain the 
whole world, and forfeit his life? Or what shall 
a man give in exchange for his life ?—Matthew 
16:24-26 (American Standard Version). 

What do you think Jesus meant by the word “life” ? 

0 Heavenly Father, stimulate in me a desire to 
serve. May I take advantage of every opportunity 
to help the other fellow. 


SEVENTH DAY. 

How Would Christ Use His Education To¬ 
day? 

Does He Expect Us to Use Our Education 
in the Same Way that He Would Use His? 

Do you think Christ would go through college if he 
were to come back now? If Christ were principal of 
your school, would he keep the course of study as it is? 
If not, what changes would he make? 

Note the aim which Paul, the best educated of all the 
early Christians, set for his whole life: 

My one thought is, by forgetting what lies be¬ 
hind me and straining to what lies before me, to 
press on to the goal for the prize of God’s high 



20 CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP IN HIGH SCHOOL 


call in Christ Jesus. For all those of our number 
who are mature, this must be the point of view; 

God will reveal that to any of you who look at 
things differently. Only, we must let our steps be 
guided by such truth as we have attained.— Philip - 
pians 3:13-16. 

What did Paul mean by “God’s high call in Christ 
Jesus ?” Does the answer to this question offer to us any 
suggestion as to our duty in the use of our education? 
Did Paul, in this phrase, mean more or less than Jesus 
meant by the one word “life” ? 

Why is it that when a missionary goes into a new coun¬ 
try, he opens school houses as soon as he opens churches ? 

How would you sum up the relation of education to 
Christianity ? 


0 Christ, help me to realize my duty to man¬ 
kind , and to measure up. Help me to concentrate 
my energies in preparing for a life of service . 



THE VALUE OF EDUCATION 


21 


“SEARCH-MYSELF” QUESTIONS 

Am I doing my home-work the way I ought in order 
to be able to serve the community better? 

Is my present way of living of service to any one? 

How about it in the class room? Can’t I be a little 
more thoughtful of my teacher? Were those demerits 
necessary ? 

Have I made a time-budget? Do I keep it? 

What college am I going to ? Why ? Because Charles 
went there? Or Dad? 

What is my definition of “life”? 

EXPRESSIONAL EXERCISES 

Let each fellow teach a Sunday School class in prepara¬ 
tion for this lesson, and give his views on the following 
points: 

What method did you employ,—lecture, question, or 
discussion? Why? 

What was your chief difficulty in getting your points 
understood ? 

How did you prepare your lesson ? 

Which was of more value to you in teaching,—your 
specific preparation for this lesson or your general cul¬ 
tural background? 

Let each fellow write down, his average daily time:- 
budget and submit it to the group for criticise*. 


Chapter II: EDUCATION OUT OF SCHOOL 
FIRST DAY. 

Social Activities. 

For John has come neither eating nor drinking, 
and men say, “He has a devil”; 

The Son of man has come eating and drinking, 
and men say, “Here is a glutton and a drunkard, 
a friend of taxgatherers and sinners!”— Mat¬ 
thew ii : 18-19. 

Now people brought children for him to touch 
them, and the disciples checked them; but Jesus 
was angry when he saw this, and he said to them, 
“Let the children come to me, do not stop them 
. . . Then he put his arms round them, laid his 
hands on them and blessed them .—Mark 10: 13-16. 

But when Jesus reached the spot he looked up 
and said to him, “Zacchseus, come down at once, 
for I must stay at your house to-day.” He came 
down at once and welcomed him gladly. But 
when they saw this, every one began to mutter 
that he had gone to be the guest of a sinner.— 
Luke 19: 5-7. 

Two days later a wedding took place at Cana in 
Galilee; the mother of Jesus was present, and 
Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the 
wedding .—John 2: 1-2. 

On reaching Galilee, he was welcomed by the 
Galileans, who had seen all he did at the festival 
in Jerusalem—for they too had gone to the festi¬ 
val .—John 4: 45. 

After this there was a festival of the Jews, 
and Jesus went up to Jerusalem .—John 5:1. 

22 


EDUCATION OUT OF SCHOOL 


23 


Many other examples of Jesus’ numerous social en¬ 
gagements can be noticed in the Gospels. Why did Jesus 
mix with men in such activities in spite of the fact that 
he was so busy? Did he do it merely as a diversion, or 
to establish points of contact, or because of its educational 
value to himself? 

As for us, what is the educational value, if any, of so¬ 
cial activities, such as dances, clubs and fraternities? 
Should these activities be considered only from the edu¬ 
cational standpoint ? Should we choose which ones to at¬ 
tend and which not to attend on the basis of which will 
be of educational value to us and which will not? 


0 Lord, be with me in my social activities as 
well as my religious activities. May I be a true 
Christian everywhere. May I be a good example 
to the fellows around me at all times. And may 
I be looking constantly for opportunities to learn 
about life—from people as well as from books. 

SECOND DAY. 

Reading, Thinking, Communication of Ideas. 

But the God who had set me apart from my 
very birth called me by his grace, and when he 
chose to reveal his Son to me, that I might preach 
him to the Gentiles, instead of consulting with any 
human being, instead of going up to Jerusalem to 
see those who had been apostles before me, I went 
off at once to Arabia .—Galatians i: i5 _I 7‘ 

Immediately after his conversion, St. Paul retired to 
Arabia for three years before starting his active life work, 
in order that he might think over what he had just ex¬ 
perienced. Does St. Paul mean that it is not wise to con- 



24 CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP IN HIGH SCHOOL 


suit “with any human being” before reaching our big 
decisions? Did he consult with the heads of the church 
himself at other times in his life? Why did he not here? 
Does it accomplish the same result for us as it did for the 
great apostle if we retire periodically to our books, to our 
thinking, and to serious conversation or correspondence 
with older and wiser men ? Does this thoughtful concen¬ 
tration have any educational value for us different from 
what we get in school? 

Which are of greater educational value to us, good 
books or good friends ? 


O God, help me to think clearly of clean things. 
May I read good books that I may get more 
knowledge out of my reading; and may I take all 
possible opportunities to talk with older and wiser 
men. 

Give me more knowledge that I may do more 
good in this world . 

THIRD DAY. 

What is the Educational Value of 
Sports ? 

Do you not know that in a race, though all run, 
only one man gains the prize ?—I Corinthians 
9:24. 

It is evident that St. Paul believed in sports and was 
tremendously interested in them; it is easy to guess that 
he was possibly somewhat of a sportsman himself. But 
there is another sentence in one of his letters which shows 
that he had a sense of the balance of the educational value, 
of sports, and of, other activities,; 



EDUCATION OUT OF SCHOOL 


25 


The training of the body is of small service, but 
religion is of service in all directions .—I Timothy 
4:8. 

Can we compare the relative values of sports and of 
religion as factors in our education ? Why, or why not ? 


O Father, give me strength in body and in spirit. 
May I take advantage of the value of sports yet 
not concentrate wholly in them. May I learn how 
to put my religion into my sport and my sport 
into my religion. 


FOURTH DAY. 

The Educational Value of Church. 

Are Sunday Schools and Young People’s Societies 
worth while under average conditions for the average 
high school fellow? Why do so many fellows of high 
school age leave church and Sunday School? What 
should we do to change this condition? If a fellow really 
believes that he does not get any value out of church or 
Sunday School, should he continue to attend? Why? 

It will pay us to notice how Paul acted when he thought 
the church had not given him a fair deal. In writing of 
one such unpleasant experience, he said: 

At Philippi, as you know, we had been ill- 
treated and insulted, but we took courage and 
confidence in our God to tell you the gospel of 
God in spite of all the strain. . . . God has at¬ 
tested our fitness to be entrusted with the gospel, 
and so we tell the gospel not to satisfy men but 
to satisfy the God who tests our hearts. We never 



26 CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP IN HIGH SCHOOL 


resorted to flattery (you know that), nor to any 
pretext for self-seeking (God is witness to that) ; 
we never sought honour from men, from you or 
from anybody else, though as apostles of Christ 
we had the power of claiming to be men of 
weight; no, we behaved gently when we were 
among you, like a nursing mother cherishing her 
own children, fain, in our yearning affection for 
you, to impart not only the gospel of God to you 
but our very souls as well—you had so won our 
love .—I Thessalonians 2 :2-8. 

It is evident that Paul thought of church as a place to 
give as well as to get. What influence did this attitude 
toward church have on his education? Why has there 
been such a stir about religious education since the war? 
What is the difference between moral education and re¬ 
ligious education? Is there any educational value in 
worship? In what various ways may worship be ex¬ 
pressed ? 


O Lord, if my Sunday School or Young Peo¬ 
ple’s Society is not a success, give me power so 
that I may help make it a success. Don’t let me 
get discouraged and leave all the work to the other 
fellow. May I learn the habit of going to church 
to give as well as to get . 


FIFTH DAY. 

The Use of Leisure Time. 

Every fellow in school has a certain amount of leisure 
time that he does not know what to do with. By the use 
or misuse of our leisure time our character is often made 



EDUCATION OUT OF SCHOOL 


27 


or unmade. Some people even say that the use of our 
leisure time is even more of an educational factor than 
our school activities because of the fact that we ourselves, 
and not our teachers, have the direction of it. 

How does engaging in hobbies, in the observation of 
nature, or in employment after school hours, help us, 
from an educational standpoint? Is it advisable for the 
average high school student to be employed if it is not 
financially necessary? 

Have the average vaudeville shows, movies, plays, or 
musical concerts any influence on our education ? Is this 
predominantly good or bad ? 

Then the servant who had got the two hundred 
and fifty pounds came forward. He said, “I knew 
you were a hard man, sir, reaping where you 
never sowed and gathering where you never win¬ 
nowed. So I was afraid; I went and hid your 
two hundred and fifty pounds in the earth. 
There’s your money!” His master said to him in 
reply, “You rascal, you idle servant! You knew, 
did you, that I reap where I have never sowed 
and gather where I have never winnowed! Well 
then, you should have handed my money to the 
bankers and I would have got my capital with in¬ 
terest when I came back .”—Matthew 25: 24-27. 

Does this story mean that anything at all, no matter 
how small, should actually be used in our education? 
How can our attendance at movies come under this 
scheme? Is it fair for us to demand of every minute 
what Paul demanded of every man? 

Come, brother (he said), let me have some re¬ 
turn from you in the Lord !—Philemon 20. 


28 CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP IN HIGH SCHOOL 


0 Christ, strengthen my will power so that 
movies, plays and vaudeville shows will have only 
a good influence upon me. May I get more than 
pleasure from my hobbies, and more than money 
from my after-school employment . 


SIXTH DAY. 

The Influence of the Home. 

“Why did you look for me ?” he said. “Did you 
not know I had to be at my Father’s house?” But 
they did not understand what he said. Then he went 
down along with them to Nazaret, and did as they 
told him. His mother treasured up everything in 
her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and in 
stature, and in favour with God and man.—Luke 
2:49-52. 

One of the greatest needs in the education of a high 
school student is a happy home life. Most fellows do not 
realize the great amount of help and guidance they re¬ 
ceive from their parents and also their older brothers or 
sisters. Home is not merely the place where one should 
eat and sleep but the place where a fellow should get his 
foundation for a clean-cut Christian life. What do you 
imagine would be the result on the character of the rising 
generation if our home life were broken up and divorce 
became common ? 

How should a fellow tell how many of his evenings to 
spend at home and how many at outside activities ? What 
are some of the influences to-day that take a fellow away 
from his home? How shall we meet these new condi¬ 
tions? Is it the business of the boy or his father to regu- 


29 


EDUCATION OUT OF SCHOOL 

late a boy’s home life? What has a fellow a right to ex¬ 
pect from his parents? What have parents a right to ex¬ 
pect from their sons? In what ways can we thank our 
parents for their help to us? 

Why is it that the word “education” makes us think 
immediately of books and school rather than of home 
and church and social intercourse and sports? Which 
attitude, if either, is more nearly the right one? 


O my Father in heaven, help me to appreciate 
and to love more devotedly my Father and Mother 
on earth. Help them and bless them, as well as 
my brothers and sisters. May I never grieve them 
by my actions; and may we all together form a 
family that is really Christian . Amen. 


SEVENTH DAY. 

Has Christianity any Solution to the 
Problem of Education Out of School? 

Most of us would agree that a certain amount of out¬ 
side activities is necessary to round out our education. 
Should a fellow specialize in a limited number of these 
activities or attempt to get a balance of them all? If only 
one or two, how are we to determine which ? Is there any 
one principle of living that we can apply which will, in 
general, cover all cases? Does the study of the Bible 
throw any light on this whole problem of education out 
of school? How? Is the Bible to be read as a text book 
in moral education or in some deeper capacity? Is Jesus 
to be considered merely as our great teacher, hero and 



SO CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP IN HIGH SCHOOL 


example in the formation of our lives or has he any 
other meaning for us which may help in our education? 
A possible answer to this question is hinted at in the fol¬ 
lowing quotation: 

We toil and strive because our hope is fixed 
upon the living God .—I Timothy 4:10. 

What is the Christian test, according to this sentence 
from a letter of St. Paul to his young friend, of the final 
purpose of a well-rounded education ? The answer to this 
will lead us to the fundamental problem of the whole sub¬ 
ject of education, which we shall examine more closely 
next week. 


O God, my love of thee and zeal for Christian 
living is the only solution to my problems. May I 
toil and strive for thee, with the help of thy teach¬ 
ings, and Christ as a guide. All things are pos¬ 
sible under his leadership; give me the faith to 
make them so for me. 


“SEARCH-MYSELF” QUESTIONS 

Are my standards at the club or fraternity meeting as 
high as they are outside ? 

Are the dances I attend having a bad or a good educa¬ 
tional influence over me ? 

Am I learning from the experience of others, or do I 
rely too much on myself ? 

Does everything I read benefit me in some way ? 

Would I care to have my character estimated by the 
way I use my leisure time ? 



EDUCATION OUT OF SCHOOL 


81 


To what subject do my thoughts most naturally turn 
when I have nothing to do ? 

Am I fighting the bad streaks and encouraging the good 
in my character, or do I lazily let them alone hoping they 
will work out for the best in time ? 1 

Am I a help or a hindrance or just neutral in my 
church ? 

Am I getting all I can out of Sunday School ? 

EXPRESSIONAL EXERCISES 

Assign to each fellow in the group, according to his 
own preference, one of the various projects suggested in 
this chapter (i. e., let one go to a dance, one to a “movie,” 
one read a book, one interview a worth-while man on 
some subject of current interest, one join in an athletic 
game, etc.) and let him tell the group just what of educa¬ 
tional value he received from partaking in the project. 

Each member of the group should start a diary for his 
private reading only, and put in it not only events but 
thoughts, especially those stimulated by this course. 

Is it true preparation for life to neglect studies for the 
so-called “extra-curriculum” school activities (editing 
school papers, debating, dramatics) on the ground that 
they will acquaint me with problems I must soon face ? 

Is there any difference in the educational value of just 
going to church and Sunday School and of being active 
in the work? Why do most of us fail to take advantage 
of this kind of education? 

Sum up all the influences which help to develop our 
character, whether mentioned in this chapter or not. 


Chapter III: THE SERVICE OF PREPARATION 

In considering the Christian answer to the problem of 
the best way and the supreme reason to educate ourselves, 
let us keep constantly before our minds the education of 
Christ himself. 

FIRST DAY. 

Some Elements in the Education of Christ. 

Last week we mentioned some of the necessary ele¬ 
ments of an education that do not appear in a school 
program: general observation, sports, the right attitude 
toward spare time, the reading of the Bible and other 
books, association with men, quiet thinking, home influ¬ 
ence, and church attendance. What influence did these 
elements have, as far as we know, on the education of 
Christ? If Christ were here to-day, would you call him 
an educated man ? 

A president of a well-known college said not long ago 
that Christ could assume the presidency of any university 
in America to-day. This would be a most unusual honor 
for a non-graduate of a college; for what reasons, do you 
think, this statement is true? 

In your reading of the Gospels, note how often Jesus 
was confronted by the most learned men and expert de¬ 
baters of the day, and how he confuted them all. Mat¬ 
thew, Mark and Luke each sums up the story of his in¬ 
variable intellectual superiority over his questioners by 
some such statement as this: 

After that no one ventured to put any more 
questions to him .—Mark 12 : 34. 

32 


THE SERVICE OF PREPARATION 


33 


Then think again of the four-sided completeness of 
the education of Christ, as shown by the verse which is 
the inspiration for this whole course of study; and of 
what the full implication of this verse is to us: 

And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature, 
and in favour with God and man.—Luke 2 : 52. 


My Father, I pray thee to send into my heart 
the wisdom that I cannot acquire without thee. 
Strengthen me in every right, true and pure inten¬ 
tion, and thus may I be more like thy Son, our 
Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen. 


SECOND DAY. 

How Wisdom is Acquired. 

Are we preparing for service in our small sphere in the 
same general way that Christ prepared himself for his 
large work? It was said that Daniel Webster, when asked 
how long it had taken him to prepare his famous Reply to 
Hayne, answered: “More than forty years.” Do you 
think that the Sermon on the Mount was the result of 
momentary inspiration, or of many years of unconscious 
preparation on the part of Christ ? 

With this question in mind try to recall just what ex¬ 
periences in the life of Christ, if any, might have brought 
him to the point where he could utter these immortal 
sentences: 

Blessed are those who feel poor in spirit! 
the Realm of heaven is theirs. 



34 CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP IN HIGH SCHOOL 


Blessed are the mourners! 
they will be consoled. 

Blessed are the humble! 
they will inherit the earth. 

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for 
goodness! 

they will be satisfied. 

Blessed are the merciful! : 
they will find mercy. 

Blessed are the pure in heart! 
they will see God. 

Blessed are the peacemakers! 
they will be ranked sons of God. 

Blessed are those who have been persecuted for 
the sake of goodness! 
the Realm of heaven is theirs. 

Blessed are you when men denounce you and 
persecute you and utter all manner of evil against 
you for my sake; rejoice and exult in it, for your 
reward is rich in heaven; that is how they per¬ 
secuted the prophets before you .—Matthew 5: 
3-i 2 . 


0 God, help me to realize that I have but this 
one life to live and cannot live one second of it 
over again. Help me to realize that the things I 
do to-day will influence my actions ten years from 
now. May everything I do count for Christ's 
sake. Amen. 


THIRD DAY. 

Character Preparation. 

In apparent contradiction to the example of Webster, 
we can all point to successful men, who, while in school, 



THE SERVICE OF PREPARATION 


35 


paid but little attention to their studies. They are now 
serving their generation well. Some of these men seemed 
to drift into success; others rose to it. Do these men rep¬ 
resent the average? Do you think it is really possible to 
drift into success? Do you think it ordinarily possible 
for a man to produce such a masterpiece as Webster’s 
Reply to Hayne, or the 13th Chapter of First Corinthians, 
or the Emancipation Proclamation unless he had some 
great purpose in life, for which he was preparing even 
in boyhood days? Why? Name some other examples in 
history to back up your answer. 

It is said that Paul’s chapter on love is a pen-portrait 
of Christ himself. If so, do you think that Paul was 
right in concentrating so much on this one characteristic 
of Christ’s? If not, what were some of the other of 
Christ’s great qualities not mentioned here? 

I may speak with the tongues of men and of 
angels, 

but if I have no love, 

I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal; 

I may prophesy, fathom all mysteries and secret 
lore, 

I may have such absolute faith that I can move 
hills from their place, 
but if I have no love, 

I count for nothing; 

I may distribute all I possess in charity, 

I may give up my body to be burnt, 
but if I have no love, 

I make nothing of it. 

Love is very patient, very kind. Love knows no 
jealousy; love makes no parade, gives itself no 
airs, is never rude, never selfish, never irritated, 
never resentful; love is never glad when others go 
wrong, love is gladdened by goodness, always slow 


36 CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP IN HIGH SCHOOL 


to expose, always eager to believe the best, always 
hopeful, always patient. Love never disappears. 
As for prophesying, it will be superseded; as for 
“tongues,” they will cease; as for knowledge, it 
will be superseded. For we only know bit by bit, 
and we only prophesy bit by bit; but when the per¬ 
fect comes, the imperfect will be superseded. 
When I was a child, I talked like a child, I 
thought like a child, I argued like a child; now 
that I am a man, I am done with childish ways. 
At present we only see the baffling reflections 
in a mirror, 

but then it will be face to face; 
at present I am learning bit by bit, 

but then I shall understand, as all along I 
have myself been understood. 

Thus “faith and hope and love last on, these 
three,” but the greatest of all is love. 

—I Corinthians 13. 


God, give me the passion to serve all men, so 
that my character in the future may be one whose 
chief qualities are love and service. 


FOURTH DAY. 

The Service of Intelligence. 

We have seen that it is necessary to have a purpose if 
one’s education is to get one anywhere; but not any pur¬ 
pose will do. It must be chosen and developed with in¬ 
telligence if we expect our future lives to be of any 
service. 

Is it fair to say that a man who does not serve is not 
intelligent ? 



THE SERVICE OF PREPARATION 


37 


Is it possible for a fellow who is entirely devoted to 
God's service to serve him in an unintelligent way? Is 
it not enough to be devoted and to obey orders? Is it 
better to serve unintelligently than not to serve at all? 

James, the brother of Jesus, had some suggestions to 
make along this line, both to the unintelligent and to the 
intelligent people of his day. Let us see if he can be of 
any help to us : 

Whoever of you is defective in wisdom, let him 
ask God who gives to all men without question or 
reproach, and the gift will be his. Only, let him 
ask in faith, with never a doubt; for the doubtful 
man is like surge of the sea whirled and swayed 
by the wind; that man need not imagine he will 
get anything from God, double-minded creature 
that he is, wavering at every turn .—James i: 5-8. 

Who among you is wise and learned? Let him 
show by his good conduct, with the modesty of 
wisdom, what his deeds are. But if you are cher¬ 
ishing bitter jealousy and rivalry in your hearts, 
do not pride yourselves on that—and be false to 
the truth. That is not the wisdom which comes 
down from above, it is an earthly wisdom, sensu¬ 
ous, devilish; for wherever jealousy and rivalry 
exist, there disorder reigns and every evil. The 
wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peace¬ 
able, forbearing, conciliatory, full of mercy and 
wholesome fruit, unambiguous, straightforward. 

—James 3:13-17. 


My Heavenly Father, help me to do my studies 
more conscientiously to-day. Help me to see that 
I can better serve thee with a firm foundation for 
my knowledge. Give me, like Solomon, wisdom, 
rather than riches or worldly power, so that it may 



38 CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP IN HIGH SCHOOL 


result in all that is pure and straightforward and 
fruitful. In Christ's name I ask it. Amen.. 

* \ \ 

FIFTH DAY. 

The Education of Conscience. 

Thinking of the future, why should we lead moral lives 
to-day? Cannot any man turn over a new leaf whenever 
he wants to, and begin again without reference to his 
past? 

“Strong young manhood is seldom grown in the pro¬ 
tecting shade of a sheltered life. The battle cannot be 
shirked and character won. It must be faced and 
fought.” As our conscience becomes better trained, do 
temptations increase or decrease? Is there any way of 
training conscience without facing temptation? If not, 
does this mean that we ought to go out and look for 
temptation ? 

What we will be is largely determined by what we want 
to be,—in other words, by what we educate ourselves to 
be. Let this ideal of our future selves be as high as we 
can possibly make it: 


Ah, God, for a man with heart, head, hand 
Like some of the simple great ones gone 
Forever and ever by. 

One still strong man in a blatant land, 
Whatever they call him, what care I, 

Aristocrat, democrat, autocrat,—one 
Who can rule and dare not lie. 

And oh, for a man to arise in me, 

That the man I am may cease to be! 

—Tennyson’s Maud. 


THE SERVICE OF PREPARATION 


S 9 


So off with all malice, all guile and insincerity 
and envy and slander of every kind! Like newly- 
born children, thirst for the pure, spiritual milk 
to make you grow up to salvation. You have had 
a taste of the kindness of the Lord: come to him 
then—come to that living Stone which men have 
rejected and God holds choice and precious, come 
and, like living stones yourselves, be built into a 
spiritual house .—I Peter 2 :1-5. 


Christ, raise my standards step by step, day by 
day, until the level of my conscience is nearer to 
thine . Help me to check up on myself, noting my 
failings and my progress, and thus see the effect 
on my life. Lead me not into temptation, but de¬ 
liver me from evil. Amen. 


SIXTH DAY. 

The Formation of Habit. 

My heart leaps up when I behold 
A rainbow in the sky: 

So was it when my life began; 

So is it now I am a man; 

So be it when I shall grow old, 

Or let me die! 

The Child is father of the Man; 

And I could wish my days to be 

Bound each to each by natural piety. 

—Wordsworth. 

The days of preparation are the days when we are 
open to impressions; each action of our lives has its share 
in molding our habits. Everything we do is a preparation 
for everything we are going to do. The habits we form 



40 CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP IN HIGH SCHOOL 


now determine, to a large extent, what we are going to 
be in the future. Name some habits, both good and bad, 
by which we are influenced now. 

Are individual habits the same as group-habits? Do 
we change these habits when in another group? Would 
an honor system in our school have any value in forming 
group-habits as well as individual habits of honesty? 
What are some of the other group-habits of our school¬ 
mates which are determining the future of all of us? 
What can we do to establish good group-habits ? 

Note how Jesus expressed the ideal of life as a steady 
growth,—the things we do now logically developing into 
the fullness of our later life: 

. . . the blade first, the ear of corn next, and then 
the grain full in the ear .—Mark 4: 28. 

The following story of the very first thing that Jesus 
did when he started out in life for himself is also im¬ 
portant because it throws light on the habits which he 
had already formed as a youth: 

Then Jesus came back in the power of the 
Spirit to Galilee, and the news of him spread over 
all the surrounding country. He taught in their 
synagogues and was glorified by all. Then he 
came to Nazaret, where he had been brought up, 
and on the sabbath he entered the synagogue as 
was his custom .—Luke 4:14-16. 

In view of the foregoing discussion, is it reasonable to 
say that our daily lives now, even though we seem to be 
doing nothing but getting an education, are a service? 

God, mold my habits day by day so that they 
may be more like Chrisfs. Free me from all evil 



THE SERVICE OF PREPARATION 


41 


and bad practices that influence my life, and fill 
their place with clean and wholesome ones. In 
my daily living may I always keep the future in 
view, so that when I am out in the world I may 
be able to live entirely for his sake. Amen. 


SEVENTH DAY. 

The Use of Talents. 

“You are a billionaire! 

“You have the most precious wealth to give. Suns, 
stars, worlds cannot compare in value. We estimate them 
in terms of time: you in terms of eternity. Only you can 
determine where and how this wealth shall be invested. 
Will you hand it back to God for use in reaching his 
neediest children ?” 

We have already discussed the question as to what the 
community has a right to expect from those whom it 
has educated. Are the educated people living up to their 
duties? Is the present-day leadership of boys’ clubs, 
Sunday School classes, Young People’s Societies, etc., 
adequate in our city? Analyze the situation briefly. 
What bearing has this on our study now? What is the 
most intelligent form of service that our club or class can 
bring to bear on this situation? Is the situation in our 
town typical of all? 

After considering the various problems raised, we 
ought now to be able, without much difficulty, to sum up 
the ultimate Christian reason for education. Jesus said, 
of himself, that he did “not come to be served, but to 
serve.” If we have arrived at a clear idea of what this 
means, and if we sincerely attempt to educate ourselves 


42 CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP IN HIGH SCHOOL 


for this supreme purpose, great will be our reward in 
God’s gratitude and in our own happiness! 

Give, and you will have ample measure given 
you— 

they will pour into your lap measure pressed down, 
shaken together, and running over; 

for the measure you deal out to others will be 
dealt back to yourselves .—Luke 6:38. 


!Help me to take this lesson to heart, my Father. 
Give me the realization of all that thou hast given 
me, and grant that I may return to thee ten-fold 
all my talents. Be with me in all my preparation, 
for Christ's sake. Amen. 


“SEARCH-MYSELF” QUESTIONS 

What effect is the preparation of my lessons day by 
day having on my future character ? 

Am I thorough and honest in the preparation of my 
life? 

Does the ideal of service act as a spur to me, in the 
dull and dreary hours of study, to keep me plugging 
away with all my might? 



THE SERVICE OF PREPARATION 


43 


Am I hindered at all by selfishness as I look forward 
to the best ways and means of using my education ? 

Am I making a sincere effort to base my education on 
the same principles upon which Christ based his ? 

Is the service of God and of men the central purpose of 
my life, about which everything else is built? 

If my educational problems can be solved by Christian¬ 
ity, is this sufficient reason to justify me in giving up my 
life in complete loyalty to Christ? 

EXPRESSIONAL EXERCISES 

Let each fellow make an outline of a play, story or 
novel embodying a situation which will explain his own 
major purpose in life. 

Check up by your daily experiences how your attitude 
toward life aids or hinders you in your class-room work. 

How are problems in mathematics or difficult passages 
in Latin to be fitted into your life-purpose? 

On what problems would you set a fellow working if 
he wishes, for instance, to develop powers of diplomacy? 
Of industrial management? Of friendship? Of the life 
purpose to which you hold? Set to work along one of 
these lines for yourself. 

What good did Christ’s fifteen years of carpentry do 
the people of Nazareth? 















Section II: PHYSICAL PROBLEMS 





Chapter IV: THE VIGOR OF PHYSICAL MANHOOD 

FIRST DAY. 


The Temple of God. 

The body is not meant for immorality but for 
the Lord, and the Lord is for the body. ... Do 
you not know your bodies are members of Christ? 

. . . Do you not know your body is the temple of 
the holy Spirit within you—the Spirit you have 
received from God? You are not your own, you 
were bought for a price; then glorify God with 
your body .—I Corinthians 6: 13-20. 

In China and other non-Christian lands, a traveler can 
often see a temple which is almost entirely destroyed, 
and as a result the gods within are dilapidated and in 
ruins. In the same way it is easy for us to imagine what 
would happen to the divine energy in us if we allowed our 
bodies to be mistreated and neglected. 

Other things being equal, is it probable that a strong 
man will lead a better moral life than his physically 
weaker brother? It has often been asserted that the 
athlete is a better fellow in other ways, on the average, 
than the non-athletic student. Do you think this is so? 
Is it right for high school and college students to set 
their athletes on such high pedestals as they do? What 
is your solution for professionalism in high schools? 
What is your definition of clean sportsmanship? Can a 
fellow be a clean sportsman without entering into ath¬ 
letics? How? 


47 


48 CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP IN HIGH SCHOOL 


0 God, my Father, help me always to remember 
that my body is thy dwelling place on earth. Help 
me to play the game square with thee, and keep 
it worthy of thy Holy Spirit. Amen. 

SECOND DAY. 

Triumph over Suffering. 

Greet it as pure joy, my brothers, when you 
come across any sort of trial, sure that the ster¬ 
ling temper of your faith produces endurance; 
only, let your endurance be a finished product, so 
that you may be finished and complete, with never 
a defect. . . . Blessed is he who endures under 
trial; for when he has stood the test, he will gain 
the crown of life which is promised to all who 
love Him .—James i: 2-4, 12. 

When Christ suffered for you, he left you an 
example, and you must follow his footsteps. 

—I Peter 2: 21. 

Most young men are not called on to endure very much 
physical suffering; the heroism of ordinary life is of a 
different kind. Temptation is very much like suffering 
in many ways, and we all have our temptations. Physical 
temptations, it is generally held, are stronger in strong 
men than in weak men. Since this is so, would it be 
better for us not to try to increase our strength, or even 
to try to add to our sufferings? In centuries gone by, 
many of the finest Christian saints have harmed their 
bodies by self-torture, thinking that they would thus 
reach God and overcome their temptation to sin. They 
thought this was the height of Christianity. Have we 
any right to say that they were wrong? On what 
grounds ? 


THE VIGOR OF PHYSICAL MANHOOD 49 


Among the most inspiring kinds of reading there are, 
can be included the lives of such people as R. L. Steven¬ 
son, David Livingstone and Helen Keller. Name some 
other great persons of history who, in spite of serious 
physical handicaps, have made good. What are the 
physical handicaps which are common in your school? 
Is the race problem a physical or a social one, at bottom ? 

God, help me to build up a reserve strength so 
that when the days of trial come, I shall have 
added power to make the most of them for thee. 

I Help all those who are suffering now; give them 
the patience to overcome. Amen. 


THIRD DAY. 

Can all Fellows Who are Worth While rise 

ABOVE THEIR ENVIRONMENT? 

Our physical surroundings have a large influence on 
our moral life. It has been shown that students can 
learn more in a room that is cheerful and tastefully dec¬ 
orated than in an ugly room. In the same way, a neigh¬ 
borhood has similar effects on the development of a 
fellow’s moral character. Does a boy who lives in a poor 
neighborhood have any more excuse for being “tough” 
than one who lives in attractive surroundings ? 

She gave birth to her firstborn son, and as there 
was no room for them inside the khan she wrapped 
him up and laid him in a stall for cattle .—Luke 
2:7. 

Name some other well-known men or women who 
have won distinction in spite of having been born or 



50 CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP IN HIGH SCHOOL 


brought up in discouraging surroundings. What is the 
effect of heredity on character? Are we wise in punish¬ 
ing some criminals for faults which they have inherited 
or which their environments have forced upon them? 
What is the lesson in this for us ? 


Father in Heaven, help me to rise above my 
environment, no matter how good or how evil I 
may think it is. And help all fellows, whether I 
know them or not, who do not have my advan¬ 
tages. May I never forget my duty to them. 


FOURTH DAY. 

Is Exercise a Christian Virtue? 

Do you not know that in a race, though all 
run, only one man gains the prize? Run so as to 
win the prize. Every athlete practices self-re¬ 
straint all round; but while they do it to win a 
fading wreath, we do it for an unfading. Well, I 
run without swerving; I do not plant my blows 
upon the empty air—no, I maul and master my 
body, in case, after preaching to other people, I 
am disqualified myself .—I Corinthians 9:24-27. 

It is so well known that exercise is necessary, that 
little need be said on the subject here. But how many 
fellows really stop to think what the real value of it is? 
Any insurance company can give us interesting statistics 
on this matter. If we looked ahead ten or fifteen years, 
perhaps we would not be so anxious to “cut” gym classes 
and to let down on our general physical development. 
Was Christ strong or weak physically? Do you think the 
traditional pictures of him are true to life? Why don’t 



THE VIGOR OF PHYSICAL MANHOOD 51 

fellows ordinarily connect physical exercise with Chris¬ 
tianity? What is the historical reason that the Church 
has discarded asceticism as a Christian virtue ? What is 
the reason that it has not as yet generally accepted physical 
exercise as a Christian virtue ? What can we do to bring 
about the acceptance of this latter viewpoint? How can 
a prize-fighter or baseball player use his talents for Christ ? 


Help me, O God, to have a purpose in keeping 
my body strong. May I often think of the many 
helpful uses to which I can devote my physical 
strength. Amen. 


FIFTH DAY. 

The Abuse of Our Bodies: Eating, Drinking, 
Smoking, Lack of Sleep. 

Why should I not drink or smoke in small enough, 
quantities so that it will not hurt me? 

But see that the exercise of your right does not 
prove any stumbling-block to the weak. Suppose 
any one sees you, a person of enlightened mind, 
reclining at meat inside an idol’s temple; will that 
really “fortify his weak conscience”? Will it not 
embolden him to violate his scruples of conscience 
by eating food that has been offered to idols? 

He is ruined, this weak man, ruined by your “en¬ 
lightened mind,” this brother for whose sake 
Christ died! By sinning against the brotherhood 
in this way and wounding their weaker con¬ 
sciences, you are sinning against Christ. There¬ 
fore if food is any hindrance to my brother’s wel¬ 
fare, sooner than injure him I will never eat flesh 
as long as I live, never !—I Corinthians 8:9-13. 



52 CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP IN HIGH SCHOOL 


Is this a good standard of judgment in deciding what 
and how much to eat and drink, and whether or not to 
smoke ? 

Name all the arguments you can in favor of smoking. 

Why is sleep more necessary for you than for your 
father ? 

What are some other laws of health which every boy 
is likely to forget or disregard? 

Is health the only factor involved in drinking? 


God, help me to resist those physical tempta¬ 
tions to which I am subject. Give me power to be 
strong, for Jesus’ sake. Amen. 


SIXTH DAY. 

The Abuse of Our Bodies: Laziness. 

We saw in the first day that if our body is neglected, 
our spirit will also be. But let us turn the question 
around and try to figure out the effect of our spiritual 
on our physical lives. 

We can plainly see, for instance, that a person who 
worries a great deal is more apt to catch diseases than 
one with a healthy mind. And there is nothing quite so 
pathetic as a lazy man; his flabby spirit and mind make 
his body flabby as well! Like an engine out of use, it 
soon gets rusty and worthless. 

There is only one cure for laziness: work! 

My brothers, what is the use of any one de¬ 
claring he has faith, if he has no deeds to show? 

Can his faith save him? Suppose some brother 
or sister is ill-clad and short of daily food; if any 



THE VIGOR OF PHYSICAL MANHOOD 


53 


of you says to them, “Depart in peace! Get 
warm, get food,” without supplying their bodily 
needs, what use is that? So faith, unless it has 
deeds, is dead in itself. . . . Whoever, then, knows 
what is right to do and does not do it, that is a sin 
for him .—James 2:14-17; 4:17. 


Father , I thank thee for strength and youth 
and power. Keep me always vigorous. May I 
never lie down at my job , but be earnest and active 
and ever in the best of condition. For Christ’s 
sake, Amen. 


SEVENTH DAY. 

“Painted Windows.” 

Not long ago a man wrote a book about some of the 
leading persons in England and called it “Painted Win¬ 
dows.” This is a good illustration of the fact that we, 
if we are truly Christians, are just reflectors of a great 
light from God. This light, like the sun, is always the 
same, but how different it looks when it shines through 
different windows! We have the power to make our 
lives such that God can shine through us in a beautiful 
way or in a very plain or even dimmed way. If we are 
physically weak and dusty, how will it be possible for 
God to shine with much vigor or beauty through our 
lives? But if we keep ourselves fit for every emergency, 
—always on our toes, always clean—then God can use 
us to the full. 

There was a football coach once who used to fire a 
man from the squad, no matter who he was, if he had 



54 CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP IN HIGH SCHOOL 


a broken shoe-lace during a game. Was this unjust? 
Would it be unjust for Christ to disregard the services 
of any Christian who had an unnecessary cold in the 
head or fit of drowsiness? Does Christ work in this 
way? Or is he a soft and easy-going coach? 

Do you not know that you are God’s temple 
and that God’s Spirit dwells within you? God 
will destroy any one who would destroy God’s 
temple, for God’s temple is sacred—and that is 
what you are. . . . God’s Reign does not show it¬ 
self in talk but in power .—I Corinthians 3:16, 

1 7; 4:20. 

God is merciful and just; but he has requirements. 
There are too many people who think that mercy and 
justice mean “mushiness.” The working of God’s laws 
is inevitable—they are the laws of nature itself. If you 
make your body powerless and inefficient, it cannot be 
used as God wishes to use it, and thus you automatically 
cut yourself off from the greatest joy in life;, and God is 
more sorrowful about it than you are. 


Lord in Heaven, make me more willing to do 
thy will. I dedicate my body to thee. Shine 
through me, O Lord, so that others may see the 
beauty and strength of my character and glorify 
my Father in Heaven. Amen . 



THE VIGOR OF PHYSICAL MANHOOD 


55 


“SEARCH-MYSELF” QUESTIONS 

Is my body, at the present moment, up to its full physi¬ 
cal efficiency? 

If not, am I doing all I can possibly do to remedy the 
defects ? 

Do I find that my Christianity helps to “jack me up” 
in the matter of taking exercise? 

Do I find that regular exercise and a healthful life 
make it easier for me to be a Christian ? 

Or haven’t I been accustomed to connect health and 
Christianity in my thinking? 

Am I in the habit of praying for physical vigor as a 
means of serving Christ? 


EXPRESSIONAL EXERCISES 

Let two or three members of the group (smokers, if 
there are any) collect some statistics and physicians’ opin¬ 
ions on the cigarette habit. 

Let the group visit some hospital and conduct a service 
of devotion and cheer for the sick. 

Let the group visit a settlement house in the poor part 
of the city and write reports on their impressions. 


Chapter V: SEX PROBLEMS AND MY CHARACTER 

FIRST DAY. 


The Beauty of Sex. 

In any great house there are indeed vessels not 
only of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, 
some for noble, some for menial service. If one 
will only keep clear of the latter, he will be put to 
noble use, he will be consecrated and useful to the 
Owner of the House, he will be set apart for good 
work of all kinds. So shun the lusts of youth and 
aim at integrity, faith, love and peace, in the com¬ 
pany of those who invoke the Lord out of a pure 
heart .—II Timothy 2:20-22. 

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, 
whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things 
are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever 
things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good 
report; if there he any virtue, and if there he any 
praise, think on these things .—Philippians 4:8 
(King James Version). 

r 

It is a very strange fact, but none the less a true one, 
that many fellows get most of their notions about sex 
from the very people who are least able to teach them. 
The very word is hardly spoken in polite society, and so 
our ideas about it are apt to be veiled in mystery, and, 
if expressed at all, are expressed in sly and underhanded 
ways. This attitude has grown up largely because we 
have, for the most part, limited our definition of the 
word to a very small and narrow phase of its full 
meaning. 

But as a matter of fact, none of our activities in life 

66 


SEX PROBLEMS AND MY CHARACTER 57 


more clearly indicates wholesome and worth while 
thoughts than those which are the expressions of our 
normal sex impulses. Every time we get up and give 
our seat to a woman in a crowded street car, it is the 
result of a beautiful sex motive; every time we kiss our 
mother good-night or save up for that birthday present 
we want to give her; every time we help an old woman 
at a slippery street crossing; or carry a bundle for our 
sister; or tip our hat to our next-door neighbor, it is 
an act which flows instinctively from our sex conscious¬ 
ness. And one of the finest of all those things that make 
life splendid is just being a part, in a pure and unselfish 
way, of a happy and healthy family. 

Let us get this straight in our minds, then, before we 
go any further; let us look at sex from the right angle, 
as something that is closely allied to many forms of love, 
courtesy, chivalry, and beauty. Then we will see how 
necessary it is to cherish and develop the finer side of our 
sex instincts in order to live a life of fullest joy and 
usefulness. 


O God, teach me the beauty of abundant liv¬ 
ing; help me this day to live on a plane of high 
thoughts and chivalrous service, for Jesus' sake. 


SECOND DAY. 

Character and Sex. 

Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or 
who shall stand in his holy place? 

He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who 
hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn 
deceitfully .—Psalm 24: 3-4. 



58 CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP IN HIGH SCHOOL 


Blessed are the pure in heart! 

they will see God .—Matthew 5 : 8. 

Well then, submit yourselves to God; 
resist the devil, 

and he will fly from you: 
draw near to God, 

and he will draw near to you. 

Cleanse your hands, you sinners, 

and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 

—James 4: 7-8. 

We saw yesterday that there is a close connection be¬ 
tween our sex impulses and a good deal of our social 
idealism. If, then, we attempt to express these impulses 
in the purest way we know, we will no doubt be doing 
something very real toward the strengthening of our 
character. 

If a fellow tries by all means possible (mentally, 
physically, spiritually, socially) to fit himself for a happy 
family life and pure, strong fatherhood, what will 
be the effect on his daily living now? What effect will 
a single act of chivalry have on our general attitude to¬ 
ward women? Will an athlete play any harder and 
cleaner if he knows that his girl is looking on? Will a 
fellow be likely to drag into common street talk the 
sacred facts of his own potential fatherhood if he re¬ 
members that some girl is relying on his purity? 

The answer to these questions will give the reason 
that led Tennyson to say, in the famous passage in his 
Guinevere, that there is nothing better for a young man 
than the purity of thought which comes through his asso¬ 
ciation with some fine girl: 

“Not only to keep down the base in man, 

But teach high thought, and amiable words 


SEX PROBLEMS AND MY CHARACTER 59 


And courtliness, and the desire of fame, 

And love of truth, and all that makes a man.” 

Thrill me with the desire, 0 Father, to make 
of my character just the finest possible that I 
can make of it. May the Spirit of thy Father¬ 
hood to me teach me the sacredness of earthly 
fatherhood. 


THIRD DAY. 

Knowledge of Sex. 

Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his 
way? by taking heed thereto according to thy 
word.— Psalms 119:9. 

I can vouch for their zeal for God; only, it is 
not zeal with knowledge.— Romans 10:2. 

Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of 
his might; put on God’s armour so as to be able 
to stand against the stratagems of the devil. For 
we have to struggle, not with blood and flesh but 
with the angelic Rulers, the angelic Authorities, 
the potentates of the dark present, the spirit- 
forces of evil in the heavenly sphere. So take 
God’s armour, that you may be able to make a 
stand upon the evil day and hold your ground by 
overcoming all the foe. Hold your ground, 
tighten the belt of truth about your loins, wear 
integrity as your coat of mail, and have your feet 
shod with the stability of the gospel of peace; 
above all, take faith as your shield, to enable you 
to quench all the fire-tipped darts flung by the evil 
one, put on salvation as your helmet, and take the 
Spirit as your sword (that is, the word of God), 
praying at all times in the Spirit with all manner 
of prayer and entreaty.— Ephesians 6:10-18. 



60 CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP IN HIGH SCHOOL 


Knowledge of the battle ground is the chief point in 
both the defense and the offense of the modern warrior. 
It is important, then, that we gain our knowledge of sex 
in the most trustworthy way possible. First of all, might 
it not be wise to talk it over with our parents ? Whether 
they have opened the subject or not, we might ask them 
frankly to discuss it with us; perhaps they are just wait¬ 
ing for us to ask. Then we should read one or two 
good books; one will generally be sufficient, if it is really 
a good one. Either one of these will prove helpful: 

“Keeping in Condition,” by Moore. 

“From Youth into Manhood,” by W. S. Hall. 

Get the advice of your Y. M. C. A. Secretary, doctor or 
minister before reading any other.* 

And, finally, we should remember that nothing de¬ 
stroys the value of knowledge like bad use of it. Knowl¬ 
edge is power, but it can be power for evil as well as for 
good. We must keep in constant touch with our spiritual 
and moral Dynamo, for thus only can we be sure that 
the knowledge we have will be reserved for the purest 
thinking and acting. 


In all my study about thy wonderful work in 
my body and about the laws that govern it, keep 
me reverent; may I be led to worship thee more 
earnestly because I understand better what a 
marvelous body thou hast given me. 


* If you have already had some competent instruction or had read 
these books, and are over sixteen, “The Dynamic of Manhood,” by 
L. H. Gulick, should also be read. 



SEX PROBLEMS AND MY CHARACTER 


61 


FOURTH DAY. 

Self-exercise. 


When an unclean spirit leaves a man, it roams 
through dry places in search of refreshment and 
finds none. Then it says, “I will go back to the 
house I left,” and when it comes it finds the house 
vacant, clean, and all in order. Then it goes off 
to fetch seven other spirits worse than itself; 
they go in and dwell there, and the last state of 
that man is worse than the first .—Matthew 12: 


43 - 45 - 

Act on the Word, instead of merely listening to 
it and deluding yourselves. For whoever listens 
and does nothing, is like a man who glances at his 
natural face in a mirror; he glances at himself, 
goes off, and at once forgets what he was like. 

—James 1:22-24. 


r 

We hear a great deal about self-control in sex mat¬ 
ters, and it is most necessary. But here’s a hint to re¬ 
member : the secret of self-control over bad things is self¬ 
exercise in good things. Many fellows are worrying en¬ 
tirely too much about how to get rid of that troublesome 
little “spirit” of an unclean thought or an act of bodily 
abuse; and many are also too much interested in trying to 
ward off those “seven other spirits” that are lurking in 
“dry places” waiting to pounce upon our “vacant, clean” 
hearts. If our hearts were not empty, there would be 
no room for these subtle spirits. Our business is to fill 
our lives so crammed full of good, ennobling, positive 
prayers and thoughts and plans and actions, that these 
devilish temptations will soon go and seek places that 
are easier of access. Think more of “do” and less of 
“don’t” and the “don’ts” will take care of themselves. 


62 CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP IN HIGH SCHOOL 


Name some of the practical activities that every fellow 
ought to be constantly busied with if he is to keep his 
mind and body pure. 

It is surprising how much prayer will help us here. 
But in our prayer, too, we must remember to look out 
and not in, to be active rather than moping. While 
repentance is necessary if we have done wrong, still God 
is more pleased when repentance is expressed in actually 
setting things straight than when it is nothing more than 
crying over spilled milk. A temptation, said James 
(i: 2-4) is a challenge to the best fighting spirit that is 
in us. Greet it in that light, and we’ll win out. 


Help me to keep my mind so full of thoughts 
for others, O Christ, that I will not have time to 
think too much of myself. Help each one of my 
friends (name them individually) in just the 
way that he needs help. 


FIFTH DAY. 

Self-control. 

Do you not know that in a race, though all run, 
only one man gains the prize? Run so as to win 
the prize. Every athlete practices self-restraint 
all round; but while they do it to win a fading 
wreath, we do it for an unfading. Well, I run 
without swerving; I do not plant my blows upon 
the empty air—no, I maul and master my body, 
in case, after preaching to other people, I am dis¬ 
qualified myself .—I Corinthians 9: 24-27. 

Keep cool, keep awake. Your enemy the devil 
prowls like a roaring lion, looking out for some- 



SEX PROBLEMS AND MY CHARACTER 


63 


one to devour. Resist him; keep your foothold in 
the faith .—I Peter 5:8-9. 

If thou hast thought evil, lay thine hand upon 
thy mouth .—Proverbs 30: 32. 

It is what comes from a man, that is what de¬ 
files him. From within, from the heart of man, 
the designs of evil come .—Mark 7:20-21. 

You have heard how it used to be said, Do 
not commit adultery. But I tell you, any one who 
even looks with lust at a woman has committed 
adultery with her already in his heart .—Matthew 
5:27-28. 

For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.— Prov* 
erbs 23:7. 

We have seen that self-expression is the secret of self- 
control. Our chief problem, then, is to find means of 
activity: physical activity, mental activity, spiritual activ¬ 
ity, or, best of all, some acts of service which will involve 
all three,—body, mind and spirit. By helping another 
person we best help ourselves. 

But this does not mean that we do not have to be on 
our guard lest unworthy thoughts, words and actions 
creep in unaware. 

Self-control is largely a matter of catching one’s self 
in time. The fellow who leaves doubtful companions 
before they begin to swap filthy jokes instead of staying 
with them on the chance that they might not do so, will 
find it much easier to manage his own thoughts and lan¬ 
guage. 

Furthermore, the boy who doesn’t control his imagina¬ 
tion will not be able to control his acts. It is very easy 
to play with our thoughts, confident that we can switch 
them off before they lead us too far. But there is a 
tremendous danger in this. If we start our act of self- 


64 CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP IN HIGH SCHOOL 


control back far enough, not only before the act or before 
the word but before the thought, our problem will be 
greatly simplified. 

Read to-day's Bible quotations with especial care; they 
were written by people who perfectly understood a young 
man’s temptations. 

O my Father; keep me constantly active in pure 
and wholesome pursuits, so that I will not have 
any evil desires whatsoever. But give me such a 
grip on Jesus Christ and all that he stands for 
that if I should meet temptation, I may he able to 
win out over it; for Jesus' sake and for the sake 
of my friends. Amen. 


SIXTH DAY. 

The Wages of Sin and of Righteousness. 

Make no mistake—God is not to be mocked—a 
man will reap just what he sows; he who sows 
for his flesh will reap destruction from the flesh, 
and he who sows for the Spirit will reap life 
eternal from the Spirit. Never let us grow tired 
of doing what is right, for if we do not faint we 
shall reap our harvest at the opportune season.— 
Galatians 6:7-9. 

The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, 
long suffering and abundant in goodness and 
truth, 

Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity 
and transgression and sin, and that will by no 
means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of 
the fathers upon the children, and upon the chil¬ 
dren’s children, unto the third and to the fourth 
generation.—Exodus 34: 6-7. 



SEX PROBLEMS AND MY CHARACTER 65 

Why aren’t there more good husbands and good fa¬ 
thers in your town to-day? Why is it that there are 
destroyed homes, and unhappy wives, and boys growing 
up to weakness or worthlessness uninspired by their fa¬ 
thers to better living? At least one of the answers that 
we can give is that not enough boys of the last genera¬ 
tion had the proper attitude toward sex. Through ig¬ 
norance or through evil motives, many of them sinned, 
whether in thought or in deed, and the present-day 
world is the sufferer for it. 

Did you ever stop to think of the cruelty of sin, not 
to yourself but to others? If you persist in abusing your 
sex functions now, the result will crop out in your whole 
future family life and will perhaps seriously harm, or 
even wreck, the lives of your wife and your children 
"unto the third and to the fourth generation,” and have 
its influence on the whole community in which you and 
they live. This is simply the natural operation of God’s 
inevitable laws: "a man will reap just what he sows,” 
whether in himself or in others. 

The other side of this picture is the inspiration we get 
from thinking of our opportunities for willing a heritage 
of decent and useful living to untold numbers of our 
descendants, by the fact that we are leading pure 
lives to-day. Who of us is not glad that our fa¬ 
thers and mothers lived clean, as boys and girls, for our 
sakes ? 

This picture of our future influence need not be spoiled 
even if we have fallen short in the past, or are failing in 
the present If this is the case, it is not too late to turn 
around and begin now to line ourselves up with those 
who are building a beautiful world for others. The 
harm we have done up to now can be nullified by a de- 


66 CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP IN HIGH SCHOOL 

termined change and a clean future. This is the only 
way to attain the happy freedom of righteousness. 

God forgive me for all my sins; help me to 
realize my responsibility to others. For their 
sakes, I must keep both my body and mind clean 
of all disease and all filthiness, and must fill them 
with purposes of health and love. Make me more 
earnest in this desire . Amen. 


SEVENTH DAY. 

The Conclusions of a Christian. 

No temptation has waylaid you that is beyond 
man’s power; trust God, he will never let you be 
tempted beyond what you can stand, but when 
temptation comes, he will provide the way out of 
it, so that you can bear up under it .—I Cor in- 
thians io: 13. 

No one can serve two masters: 

either he will hate one and love the other, 
or else he will stand by the one and despise 
the other— 

you cannot serve both God and Mammon. 

—Matthew 6:24. 

For One is your leader, even the Christ.— Mat¬ 
thew 23: 10. 

You are not your own, you were bought for a 
price; 

then glorify God with your body. 

—I Corinthians 6: 20. 

Well then, my brothers, I appeal to you by all 
the mercy of God to dedicate your bodies as a 
living sacrifice, consecrated and acceptable to 



SEX PROBLEMS AND MY CHARACTER 67 


God; that is your cult, a spiritual rite .—Romans 
12: i. 

Each of us must consult his neighbour’s inter¬ 
ests, not his own .—I Corinthians 10:24. 

The Bible has a great many passages about sexual 
temptations and sexual relationships, some of which were 
written especially for young men. Besides the daily read¬ 
ings already quoted take a little time off before long and 
read the following, from some of the apostles: Romans 
6:12-14; 7:15-25; I Corinthians 6:13-20; Philippians 
1:20; I Thessalonians 4:3-8; I Timothy 4:12; 5:2; 
Titus 1:15; James 1:12-18; I Peter 4:12-13; I John 
5:18. Make a list, also, of Christ’s sayings on the 
matter. 

Note the different aspects of the subject dealt with in 
varying ways by the different authors of the Bible. All 
point, however, to these three general principles, which 
may be said to sum up the Christian teaching about sex: 

1. The thought is just as important as the deed; keep 
our thoughts pure. 

2. Our spiritual nature should always have control 
over our bodily nature. 

3. Whatever we do, let us do it entirely unselfishly, 
and trust Christ to give us power to live up to our best. 

Which of these three is most important? Which oc¬ 
curs most often in the Bible? What does it mean to 
dedicate your body to God? What has efficiency to do 
with Christianity? Do you think it is fair to say that 
thought-sin is just as wrong as act-sin? Why? Which 
does a smutty story harm more, the fellow who tells it 
or the fellow who listens? Is it ever justifiable to listen 
to a smutty story? Is it scientifically correct to say that 
sin is visited “unto the third and to the fourth genera- 


68 CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP IN HIGH SCHOOL 

tion?” Is it scientifically correct to say that Christianity 
is the solution to the sex problem ? Sum up in your own 
words the good and pure aspects of our sex impulses. 

I give my life to thee for thy use to-day, 0 
Christ. Purify it so that thou canst use it most 
effectively in thy service for my friends . 


“SEARCH-MYSELF” QUESTIONS 

How many of my thoughts about sex are such that I 
would be proud to share them with my father ? 

Have I confessed to God whatever sins I may have 
recently committed? Have I enough of positive service- 
activity to keep my mind fully occupied with pure think¬ 
ing? 

Have I told any stories recently that I could not repeat 
around my own dinner table ? Have I listened to any ? 

Am I leading the kind of life that I want my younger 
brother to copy? 



SEX PROBLEMS AND MY CHARACTER 69 

Am I leading the kind of life that I’ll want to tell my 
wife all about when I marry? 

If God had no one but me to depend on to show a 
certain fellow what sexual purity means, how much of 
Christian idealism would that fellow catch from my life? 

If both my educational and my physical problems can 
be solved by Christianity, is this sufficient reason for me 
to give up my life in ioo per cent loyalty to Christ? 


EXPRESSIONAL EXERCISES 

Write down in your diary your own rules for treat¬ 
ment of women and girls. 

How do athletics and exercise ennoble sex life ? How 
does service do so? Prayer? Reading? Test out these 
methods in your own life. 

Contrast the effect on the character of one who sees 
beauty in sex as against one who sees the sordid things. 

On what principles should a man choose a wife? 

Does the four-fold Christian standard of character 
hold for girls as well as for boys? 


Section III: SPIRITUAL PROBLEMS 
















Chapter VI: LIFE WITHOUT CHRIST 

We meet the question over and over again: if I can 
lead a decent life without Christ, why shall I accept 
him? Is it not enough to be good? This chapter is a 
summary of the problems and ordinary needs of a fellow 
who is trying to be decent without any reference to 
Christ. We want to see whether it will work or not. 

FIRST DAY. 

Needs in My School. 

There are certain moral needs in our school which 
affect not only individuals and groups but the school as 
a whole. To meet these needs it is obvious that the 
school as a whole—and not merely individuals and groups 
—must unite on a program. We have already discussed 
some of these needs: the need for a supreme motive of 
education; the need for a standard of education based on 
unselfishness; the need for a universal standard for char¬ 
acter development, etc. What programs have you heard 
presented which will completely meet these and the other 
moral needs of the school as a whole? 

Many people have definitely thrown away the program 
of Christ; but others have stuck with him, just because 
they did not see where else to turn: 

After that, many of his disciples drew back 
and would not associate with him any longer. So 
Jesus said to the twelve, “You do not want to go, 
too?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, who 
are we to go to ?”—John 6: 66-68. 

73 


Iff CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP IN HIGH SCHOOL 

If we disregard Christ, to whom or what is our high 
school to go to have its needs met? 

O God, may I be able to point the way to some 
others in my school who are floundering for a 
program of life. May I be a real man and thereby 
lead others to be real men. 


SECOND DAY. 

Needs in My Group. 

They help every one his neighbor; and every 
one saith to his brother, Be of good courage. So 
the carpenter encourageth the goldsmith, and he 
that smootheth with the hammer him that smiteth 
the anvil, saying of the soldering, It is good; and 
he fasteneth it with nails, that it should not be 
moved .—Isaiah 41 : 6-7 (American Standard Ver¬ 
sion). 

In addition to the needs of the school as a whole there 
are the needs of the separate groups in it,—class groups, 
club groups, racial groups, intellectual groups, athletic 
groups, etc. Each of these groups must have a principle 
which is holding it together or it will die. What prin¬ 
ciple, for instance, is it that holds the football team to¬ 
gether? After they leave our school, will they still stay 
together? Why not? What is the strongest and finest 
principle you can think of to hold a group together? 

Is it essential to a group that every member of it sacri¬ 
fice some of his pleasures for the good of the group? 

What are some of the distinctly group needs of some 
of the groups that you are in? Are they being met? 



LIFE WITHOUT CHRIST 


75 

Why or why not ? What are their group responsibilities ? 
Are they being met? 


0 Christ, may I be of service to others. Make 
me sincere in all my dealings. Help every fellow 
in my groups to try unselfishly to make them 
count for something. Help me to give a purpose 
for existence to all my groups. Amen. 


THIRD DAY. 

My Own Temptations: i. Control of 
Thought. 

Turning from our school and group needs, let us ex¬ 
amine our personal needs and temptations. We shall 
take up methods of meeting them later; for the present 
we are merely analyzing the needs of life as it is. 

Are fellows naturally good or bad? Do fellows live 
good lives without any help from outside themselves? 
For a fellow who has a desire to lead a good life all in 
his own strength, what motive is there to think pure 
thoughts? What help does he get in his effort to fill his 
mind full of good thoughts? If he is sincere in finding 
pure thoughts to fill his mind with, he will naturally 
search (will he not?) not only for pure thoughts but for 
the purest thoughts. 

The question here is not so much, “Can the average 
fellow think clean thoughts by just wanting to?” as “Does 
he?” Examine yourself carefully: do you ever go 
through a week with nothing but righteous thoughts? 
Do you ever have a day without a temptation? Are you 



76 CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP IN HIGH SCHOOL 


a fair type of high school students in general in this 
respect ? 

Mark this, there are hard times coming in the 
last days. For men will be selfish, . . . treacher¬ 
ous, reckless and conceited, preferring pleasure to 
God—for though they keep up a form of religion, 
they will have nothing to do with it as a force. 

Avoid all such. ... For these guides of theirs 
are hostile to the Truth, just as Jannes and Jam- 
bres were hostile to Moses; they are depraved in 
mind and useless for all purposes of faith .—II 
Timothy 3:1-8. 

O Jehovah, give me the will to fight off these 
evil thoughts . May something clean and pure 
take their place. Make my thoughts lead to some¬ 
thing which will benefit mankind. For Christ's 
sake. Amen. 


FOURTH DAY. 

My Own Temptations: 2. Control of Talk. 

Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy 
God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guilt¬ 
less that taketh his name in vain .—Exodus 20: 7. 

You brood of vipers, how can you speak good 
when you are evil? 

For the mouth utters what the heart is full of. 

The good man brings good out of his good store, 
and the evil man brings evil out of his store of 
evil. 

I tell you, men will have to account on the day of 
judgment for every light word they utter; 
for by your words you will be acquitted, 
and by your words you will be condemned. 

—Matthew 12 : 34-37. 



LIFE WITHOUT CHRIST 


77 


Why is it that the average high school fellow seems 
to have such a hard time in controlling his own tongue? 
Do you imagine that this problem is confined to young 
people? Name some of the evils toward which a loose 
tongue seems to push a fellow. 

Is it wrong for a fellow who doesn’t believe in God 
to swear ? Is it wrong for a fellow who only half-heart¬ 
edly believes? 

Is lying a serious problem in your school? Is smutty 
story-telling? Do talks and lectures on morals help you 
overcome these evils? Do they help the average fellow? 
Just how? Are any other means attempted in your 
school ? 


0 Lord, help me not to forget that I am a 
Christian when I talk and when I do not. May 
I be able to control my speech and thereby help 
other fellows. 

FIFTH DAY. 

My Own Temptations: 3. Control of Ac¬ 
tions. 

Jesus stooped down, and began to write with 
his finger on the ground; but as they persisted 
with their question, he raised himself and said to 
them, “Let the innocent among you throw the 
first stone at her”; then he stooped down again 
and wrote on the ground. And on hearing what 
he said, they went away one by one, beginning 
with the older men, till Jesus was left alone with 
the woman standing before him. Looking up, 

Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has 



78 CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP IN HIGH SCHOOL 

no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, sir.” 

Jesus said, “Neither do I: be off, and never sin 
again .”—John 8:6-n. 

Does strong will-power and a strong desire to do good 
make it certain that the one who possesses these qualities 
will do good? Do you know any one who never did 
wrong? Is advice enough to make a wrong-doer do 
good? Is education enough? Is law enough? Is com¬ 
pulsory goodness real goodness? 

Name some of the chief sins of action which are com¬ 
mon among individuals in your school, apart from sins 
of thought and of word. Does the listing of these sins 
tend to dishearten you? 


0 Christ, may I not rest content in trying to 
he good myself. When I see others hopeless and 
helpless without thee, may I he stirred to further 
efforts to make thee known as a helper and Sav¬ 
iour. Amen. 


SIXTH DAY. 

Selfishness. 

Selfishness is said to be the greatest sin of all because 
it includes all others. Is there much selfishness in your 
school? What are some of its results? 

Is it possible for a fellow to be wholly unselfish? For 
the boy we are thinking of in this chapter—the one who 
wants to be good without bothering to get help from 
Christ,—is it possible for him to be unselfish without 
forgetting himself and his own interests? Since it is not, 
then is he not forced to admit that he must have some 



LIFE WITHOUT CHRIST 79 

outside motive or ideal ? Can a fellow with an ideal that 
is lower than the highest be wholly unselfish? Can a 
fellow who allows pleasure, money, or personal ambition 
to occupy a large share of his thoughts (even though he 
does not put them first) be wholly unselfish? Can a 
fellow who plans a life of service only to the group or 
nation in which he lives be wholly unselfish? 

Name all religions and systems of ethics which serve 
both as motives and as standards for complete unselfish¬ 
ness in life. 

Note carefully both the standard and the motive of 
one of the most influential men in history: 

Each of us must consult his neighbour’s interests, 
not his own .—I Corinthians 10:24. 

I am suffering now on your behalf, but I rejoice 
in that; I would make up the full sum of all that 
Christ has to suffer in my person on behalf of 
the church, his Body; for I am a minister of the 
church by the divine commission which has been 
granted me in your interests, to make a full pres¬ 
entation of God’s message. ... It is His will that 
they should understand the glorious wealth which 
this secret holds for the Gentiles, in the fact of 
Christ’s presence among you as your hope of 
glory. This is the Christ we proclaim; we train 
everyone and teach everyone the full scope of this 
knowledge, in order to set everyone before God 
mature in Christ; I labour for that end, striving 
for it with the divine energy which is a power 
within me .—Colossians 1: 24-29. 

And I do it all for the sake of the gospel.— 

I Corinthians 9: 23. 

I am controlled by the love of Christ .—II Cor¬ 
inthians 5:14. 

Without Christ, what is life worth living for? Does 
it meet the highest test ? 


80 CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP IN HIGH SCHOOL 


0 God, take every particle of selfishness away 
from me. May the world he made a little better 
and happier because I am living. Bless my fam¬ 
ilymy school, all my groups and clubs, my church, 
my nation, and the whole world. For Jesus’ sake. 


SEVENTH DAY. 

The Challenge of It All. 

This is a depressing chapter and we want to get it over 
with as 1 soon as possible. We have analyzed the main 
evils and temptations, both social and individual, in our 
school, but have found no cure. The most we can say 
is that perhaps some exceptional fellows can lead decent 
lives without Christ, though even this is doubtful. What 
message have we for the average fellow if we can say 
no more than this ? What message have we even for the 
exceptional fellow,—i. e., the fellow who wants to help 
the average fellow to be better? Is it not a hopeless 
proposition, as we stand at present? 

Is there any cure outside of Christ? We are constantly 
faced with the challenge of this question, like the young 
man in the story: 

As he went out on the road a man ran up and 
knelt down before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, 

“what must I do to inherit life eternal?” Jesus 
said to him, “Why call me ‘good’? No one is 
good, no one but God. You know the commands: 
do not kill, do not commit adultery, do not steal, 
do not bear false witness, do not defraud, honour 
your father and mother.” “Teacher,” he said, “I 
have observed all these commands from my 
youth.” Jesus looked at him and loved him. 


LIFE WITHOUT CHRIST 


81 


“There is one thing you want,” he said; “go and 
sell all you have; give the money to the poor and 
you will have treasure in heaven; then come, take 
up the cross, and follow me.” But his face fell at 
that, and he went sadly away, for he had great 
possessions .—Mark io: 17-22. 

The challenge that that young man of long ago turned 
down, is still open. 

The schools to-day are full of “nice fellows” like the 
young ruler, who are nothing more than “nice.” The 
world needs something besides that. Our problem is to 
discover what is the finest and highest power that will 
create manhood, and then to decide whether we will ac¬ 
cept it or not. 


0 God, give me courage to grasp the only cure 
to the world's needs when I see it, and help me 
not to lose heart in my search for it. Guide me in 
all paths. Let me not surrender to temptations, 
especially the temptation of an easy-going, selfish 
life. Give me the ability to spread thy works in 
my school and group. For Jesus' sake. Amen. 



82 CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP IN HIGH SCHOOL 


“SEARCH-MYSELF” QUESTIONS 

How much am I thinking about needs in my school ? 

How am I helping the other fellows in my various 
groups to fight their fights and solve their problems? 

How can I serve others if I cannot control my talk, 
my thoughts, or possibly my actions ? 

What have I done for some one else to-day? 

Is my own will-power strong enough to conquer all 
temptations ? 

Do I find that when I neglect prayer and Bible-read- 
ing and churchgoing, I can lead just as good a life as 
when I do these things sincerely ? 

Am I an example of a real man in my school? 

EXPRESSIONAL EXERCISES 

Let every fellow take a specific “little brother/’ five or 
six years younger than he,—some boy whose family 
life is not so wholesome as his own,—and help him, by 
friendship and example, to live the highest possible kind 
of life. 

If a fellow tells you his religion is just “being good,” 
how would you answer him? 

What is the best way to judge whether a thing is right 
or wrong? 

What is conscience? Is it something that just tells 
you what is right, or something which impels you to go 
out and do the right ? 


Chapter VII: HOW CHRIST HELPS 

FIRST DAY. 

Shows Me My Own Needs. 

Last week we discussed the needs and temptations of 
our groups and of ourselves. But the strange thing about 
these needs is that most fellows don’t realize that they 
have them. An ordinary man is quite contented with his 
life even though he is living nowhere near his best. How 
does Christ help us get in touch with our own needs in 
school, in play, in church, in work and in the other activi¬ 
ties of our lives? 

I render thanks to Christ Jesus our Lord, who 
has made me able for this; he considered me trust¬ 
worthy and appointed me to the ministry, though 
I had formerly been a blasphemer and a perse¬ 
cutor and a wanton aggressor. I obtained mercy 
because in my unbelief I had acted out of ignor¬ 
ance; and the grace of our Lord flooded my life 
along with the faith and love that Christ Jesus 
inspires .—I Timothy i: 12-14. 

Read also the preceding verses of this letter, in which 
Paul sums up some of the needs of men. Paul’s words 
just stand to show that we need Christ to help us find 
out where we have been wrong, and to forgive us for 
our faults. Christ gives us the desire for better things 
by showing us where we are weak. In order to get his 
help we have got to give some time during the day to 

talk with him and ask for help. 

83 


84 CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP IN HIGH SCHOOL 


O Christ, help me through this day and he with 
me in everything I do, so that I will know what 
is right and what is wrong. Help me to try to 
correct my weaknesses . Amen . 


SECOND DAY. 

Sets the Highest Possible Standard. 

Now when Jesus came to the district of Caesarea 
Philippi he asked his disciples, “Who do people 
say the Son of man is?” They told him, “Some 
say John the Baptist, others Elijah, others Jere¬ 
miah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, 

“And who do you say I am?” So Simon Peter 
replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living 
God .”—Matthew 16:13-16. 

In living our lives we have to have some one to look up 
to as the kind of man we would like to be. We all have 
heroes. With some fellows it is a football star; with 
some a war hero; with some a fine young minister; with 
some it is their father. But no matter how good our 
hero is, there is only one who is perfect and who will re¬ 
main as our hero throughout the whole of life. We 
should look to Christ and say to ourselves that we 
are going to live as much like Christ as we can. If 
every one said that, what a fine place we would have to 
live in! 

In what ways does Christ set the highest possible 
standard of manhood? Are his standards as he lived 
them for his own day the same standards that we need 
to-day ? 


HOW CHRIST HELPS 


85 


O Christ, help me to live as much as possible 
like you, for you are the finest possible example. 
Amen. 


THIRD DAY. 

Gets Me in Touch with God. 

Indeed the Father passes judgment on no one; 
he has committed the judgment which determines 
life or death entirely to the Son, that all men may 
honour the Son as they honour the Father. (He 
who does not honour the Son does not honour the 
Father who sent him .)—John 5:22-23. 

Jesus said to him, “I am the real and living 
way: no one comes to the Father except by means 
of me. If you knew me, you would know my 
Father too. You know him now and you have 
seen him.” “Lord,” said Philip, “let us see the 
Father; that is all we want.” Jesus said to him, 
“Philip, have I been with you all this time, and 
and yet you do not understand me? He who 
has seen me has seen the Father .—John 14:6-9. 

There are many people who have pointed out to us 
what our trouble is. And there are some who have set 
us exceedingly high standards, though as we have seen, 
Christ is the only perfect example. But how many great 
leaders in history have you ever heard of who have said 
that they can show us God ? 

Is it necessary to get in touch with God to live a good 
life? Why do so many people forget God until a crisis 
comes in their lives and then make terrible efforts to 
find him quickly? Think of the men during the war, 
fighting on the battlefields: most every one of them was 
sincerely religious, though it may have been covered with 


86 CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP IN HIGH SCHOOL 


a rough exterior. Why? In what ways does Christ 
help you get in touch with God ? 

O Christ, keep me in touch with God, because 
without God I can't get along. Amen. 


FOURTH DAY. 

Can Christ be with Us in Everything We 
Do? 

If you keep my commands you will remain 
within my love, just as I have kept my Father’s 
commands and remain within his love. . . . 

You are my friends—if you do what I command 
you; I call you servants no longer, because a ser¬ 
vant does not know what his master is doing: I 
call you friends, because I have imparted to you 
all that I have learned from my Father .—John 
15:10, 14, 15. 

And I will be with you all the time, to the very 
end of the world .—Matthew 28:20. 

Christ said he would be with us always and be our 
friend and guide. How is this possible? What is the 
Holy Spirit? 

In our everyday life we do things that we are ashamed 
of or else we would not be human. But if we could give 
God a chance to pervade all our actions, we would not 
have the troubles that we do, because if God guided us 
in our actions we know we would be guided aright. Can 
we get along without this guidance from God? Would 
our everyday life be the same if we didn’t have it? 
What are the conditions of our getting it? (See John 
15:10 above.) 



HOW CHRIST HELPS 


87 


How should we set about getting God’s guidance in 
our daily life? We will discuss some methods for this 
in the next three days. 


O Christ, guide me in all my actions to-day, so 
that I may lead a life that is worthy of you and 
of some help to you, and may benefit by your 
guidance. Amen. 

FIFTH DAY. 

Power from Prayer. 

And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as 
a man speaketh unto his friend .—Exodus 33: II. 

Now when Daniel knew that the writing was 
signed, he went into his house; and his windows 
being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he 
kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and 
prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did 
aforetime .—Daniel 6:10. 

Then in the early morning, long before day¬ 
light, he got up and went away out to a lonely 
spot. He was praying there when Simon and his 
companions hunted him out and discovered him. 

—Mark 1:35-37. 

Pray without ceasing .—I Thessalonians 5:17 
(King James Version). 

Prayer is our deepest desire told to our best Friend. 
One of the most natural results of friendship is to talk 
things over with one another. God stands ready at all 
times to give us power to lead clean, happy and useful 
lives; and one way to get into touch with God is through 
prayer. 

One of the best illustrations of what prayer does is 
the story of the Center College football team. This little 



88 CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP IN HIGH SCHOOL 


college has beaten the best teams in the country by the 
exercise of nothing more than their wonderful spirit. 
Why? Because, before every game they play, the whole 
team kneels in prayer, not for victory but for clean play- 
ing, good sportsmanship and the spirit of determination. 
With this prayer on their lips they go out to play the 
cleanest game they know how. It is spirit that conquers, 
not brawn. 

Why do we need prayer in our daily life ? What forms 
of prayer are there? In what form of prayer do you 
get the most power? What is the best time of day to 
pray? What does it mean to “pray without ceasing?” 

0 Christ, be with me while I pray. May all 
my prayers be unselfish and heroic, and something 
that I really intend to live up to. Amen. 


SIXTH DAY. 

Power from Bible Reading. 

You search the scriptures, imagining you pos¬ 
sess eternal life in their pages—and they do tes¬ 
tify to me—but you refuse to come to me for life. 

—John 5:39-40. 

Jesus showed that a man is not saved just by the act of 
reading the Bible. But the Bible is to be read because it 
tells about him, and he shows us what real life is. We 
cannot get power from God without knowing God; we 
learn of God through the life of Jesus. Therefore, it is 
one of the most necessary acts for us who wish to get 
power for daily living to read the Bible every day. It 
puts our lives into contact with God’s. 



HOW CHRIST HELPS 


89 


There are some people who seem ashamed to read their 
Bibles; but it is nothing to be ashamed of, and at the bot¬ 
tom of his heart any fellow will admit that it is a good 
thing to do. There were once two fellows: one believed 
in reading the Bible and the other did not. They lived 
together in the same house and the fellow that read the 
Bible kept on reading it every night before he went to 
bed while the other fellow made fun of him. But when 
the second fellow saw that the first one really enjoyed it 
and that it helped him in his life, he too started in. 
Before many months were up both were reading 
together and gaining a friendship that could not be 
broken. 

Why is it that most of the great men of our country 
have been Bible readers? What is the best time of day 
to read the Bible? 


0 Father, keep me firm in my desire to read 
the Bible every day because I need to get a lot of 
help to lead the life I want to. 


SEVENTH DAY. 

Power from Service. 

He went about doing good ... for God was 
with him .—Acts 10:38. 

He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that 
loseth his life for my sake shall find it .—Matthew 
10:39 (King James Version). 

If we start out to try to get into touch with God by 
serving men, we may not get far; but if we forget our 
own desires in service of others, we will soon find that all 



90 CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP IN HIGH SCHOOL 


the love and sympathy and power of God himself will be 
surging through us. 

Service is one of the greatest satisfactions in life. It 
makes life worth living. Look at any of our great men 
who gave service to their country. Take, for example, 
the men who went to Europe in the war. They didn’t 
stop because the trenches were unpleasant or because they 
had other things to do. No, they went right ahead and 
fought and many of them died to save us. They lost 
themselves; but they found the highest in life, the con¬ 
sciousness of saving others. 

Do you think a man who died in the service in France 
wasted his life? Do you think a man who loses his life 
in the service of God in the slums of some city in America 
wastes his life? Why is it that God only enters into a 
life that is serving? Can the spirit of God ever live in a 
useless man? 


0 Christ, help me to do things for other people, 
because I know, O Christ, that this is the only 
way to be happy. Bless all the people in the world 
that need your help; and bless that friend of mine 
whom I am trying to help. 



HOW CHRIST HELPS 


91 


“SEARCH-MYSELF” QUESTIONS 

Do I know Christ as a real force in my life? 

Does he help me overcome my temptations ? 

Am I trying to forget myself in the service of others? 

Is Christ my highest example and hero? 

Do I keep my “morning watch” regularly? 

Do I get real power from my prayers, or do I just go 
through them as a matter of duty? 

EXPRESSIONAL EXERCISES 

Each fellow, in this and all succeeding meetings, should 
be prepared to lead the group in prayer, Bible reading or 
other devotional exercise. 

Write down in your diary the definite ways in which 
Christ helps you to lead a larger life. 


Chapter VIII: DECISION FOR CHRIST 

During the study of this chapter it is expected that 
each fellow, in the quiet of his own room, will put the 
question squarely up to himself: “Shall I follow Christ 
or not?” 

FIRST DAY. 

The Necessity of Decision. 

For where your treasure lies, 
your heart will lie there too. 

The eye is the lamp of the body: 
so, if your Eye is generous, 
the whole of your body will be illumined, 
but if your Eye is selfish, 

. the whole of your body will be darkened. 

And if your very light turns dark, 
then—what a darkness it is! 

No one can serve two masters: 
either he will hate one and love the other, 
or else he will stand by the one and despise 
the other— 

you cannot serve both God and Mammon. 

—Matthew 6:21-24. 

Our whole life is made up of choices. A man cannot 
live without choosing over and over again between the 
higher and the lower. At some period of life every man 
must answer for himself the question whether or not he 
is to be a Christian. He must decide this himself. It is 

a question that God puts to the inner man, and the inner 

92 


DECISION FOR CHRIST 


93 


man alone can answer it. The question is not, shall I 
make a decision, but what kind of decision shall I make? 

Two more questions come up in our consideration of 
this problem. First, shall my decision for Christ be an 
open one, or can I live the life of a Christian without let¬ 
ting any one know of my stand? Second, if I don’t make 
a definite decision for Christ now, but just go on intend¬ 
ing to make one some day, can I be a help to Christ in 
the meantime? The answer to this second question is 
that if you continue to live without tying up to anything 
definite, you will have no motive-power to help you live a 
worth-while life; and that will be the same as having de¬ 
cided against Christ. Let us realize that we cannot travel 
through life without facing somewhere, and if it is not 
toward the light, it will be toward the dark. 

“Oft, as he jogs along the Winding-Way, 

Occasion conies for Every Man to say,— 

This Road?—or That?’ and as he chooses them, 

So shall his journey end in Night or Day.” 

—Oxenham, Cross-Roads. 

O Christ, impress on me the necessity for a 
strong and stern decision on which I may ever 
rely for mental strength. Help me to live a de¬ 
cisively Christian life to-day. r Amen. 


SECOND DAY. 

The Reasonableness of It. 

The Realm of heaven is like treasure hidden in 
a field; the man who finds it hides it and in his de¬ 
light goes and sells all he possesses and buys that 
field. 



94 CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP IN HIGH SCHOOL 

Again, the Realm of heaven is like a trader in 
search of fine pearls; when he finds a single pearl 
of high price, he is off to sell all he possesses and 
buy it .—Matthew 13: 44-46. 

We love, because He loved us first.—•/ John 
4:19. 

So God created man in his own image, in the 
image of God created he him .—Genesis 1:27. 

We are God’s men, “the sheep of his pasture.” He 
loved us before we ever heard of him; therefore why 
shouldn’t we make a decision for him? It is just the 
natural and reasonable thing to do. The Christian life is 
the kind of life God created us for, and he sent Christ to 
help us live it. 

Then, too, if we don’t decide for God, we are but 
drifters in life; and drifters don’t drift upstream. We 
don’t want to be drifters, and there are few people who 
want to decide definitely against Christ; so the natural 
thing to do is to decide for him. The world has no in¬ 
terest in undecided people. 

We gain a certain stability from the consciousness of a 
decision which, in temptation, will act as a balance in the 
right direction. Does decision for God ever give us new 
temptations ? Is it ever unnatural or unreasonable ? Does 
God ever ask a man to be unreasonable in anything? 

O Christ , we thank thee for the privilege of de¬ 
cision and for the reasonableness of it. Help us 
to decide for thee carefully , thoughtfully and 
prayerfully. Help us in the decisions that we will 
have to make to-day . Amen. 



DECISION FOR CHRIST 


95 


THIRD DAY. 

The Joy of It. 

For in me (that is, in my flesh) no good dwells, 

I know; the wish is there, but not the power of 
doing what is right. I cannot be good as I 
want to be, and I do wrong against my wishes. 

Well, if I act against my wishes, it is not I who 
do the deed but sin that dwells within me. So 
this is my experience of the Law: I want to do 
what is right, but wrong is all I can manage; I 
cordially agree with God’s law, so far as my inner 
self is concerned, but then I find quite another law 
in my members which conflicts with the law of my 
mind and makes me a prisoner to sin’s law that 
resides in my members. (Thus, left to myself, I 
serve the law of God with my mind, but with my 
flesh I serve the law of sin.) Miserable wretch 
that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of 
death ? God will! Thanks be to him through 
Jesus Christ our Lord !—Romans 7:18-25. 

Here we have the story of the moral results of Paul's 
decision to live a Christian life. Have you not felt the 
same captivity to things that are unworthy of you, of 
which Paul speaks in these verses? In the last verse 
you note Paul's joyful triumph and thankfulness for his 
deliverance. So to every person who really accepts Christ 
there comes a consciousness of the joy of it all! At first 
it is the joy of freedom, and then the greater joy of 
service. 

The Christian life is not one of gloomy “don'ts." 
Neither should the decision to lead that life be a time of 
strain or depression. It should just be the natural ac¬ 
ceptance of a pleasant invitation, and should lead us, like 
Paul, to a feeling of triumph and thankfulness. 


96 CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP IN HIGH SCHOOL 

Is a Christian life always happier than an ordinary 
life? 


I thank thee for this freedom of conscience, O 
Lord. May the joy of my decision find expression 
in service. Amen. 


FOURTH DAY. 

The Heroism of It. 

Watch, stand firm in the faith, play the man, 
be strong !—I Corinthians 16:13. 


In the little verse you have just read is a real summons 
to heroism. 


“Be strong! 

We are not here to play, to dream, to drift, 

We have hard work to do, and loads to lift. 

Shun not the struggle; face it. ’Tis God’s gift.” 

—Babcock. 


Only those who are willing to pay the price need apply 
to Christ’s demand for heroic workers. Decision is no 
less a joyful act because it is an act that requires courage. 

It takes a brave fellow to stand up for the right when 
current opinion is just the opposite. Christ wants no 
soft-muscled Christians who will buckle under at the first 
rush. Let no one make a decision for Christ who does 
not intend to stand with Christ against all comers. 

And yet, is it not just the heroism in the call of Christ 
that appeals to us? We would not want to join a band 
of weaklings; but we do want to take our place with 
those who are fighting the most righteous cause in the 
world. To a real man, joy and heroism go together. 



DECISION FOR CHRIST 


97 


O Christ, help me to he strong for thee. Give 
me the backbone to stand up for thee even against 
opposition and unpopularity. Help me to be hero 
enough to make all my decisions aright. Amen. 


FIFTH DAY. 

The Meaning of It. 

Now as he passed along the sea of Galilee he 
saw Simon and Simon’s brother Andrew netting 
fish in the sea—for they were fishermen; so 
Jesus said to them, “Come, follow me and I will 
make you fish for men.” At once they dropped 
their nets and went after him. Then going on a 
little further he saw James the son of Zebedaeus 
and his brother John; they too were in their boat, 
mending their nets; he called them at once, and 
they left their father Zebedaeus in the boat with 
the crew and went to follow him.— Mark i: 16-20. 

For those who follow the flesh have their interests 
in the flesh, 

And those who follow the Spirit have their in¬ 
terests in the Spirit .—Romans 8: 5. 

If our decision is to be of any value at all, it must be 
one hundred per cent; we cannot go part way with God. 
If we are convinced that the Lord is God we must fol¬ 
low him to whatever limits he sets. We can hold noth¬ 
ing back but must “follow the Spirit” to the greatest de¬ 
gree by placing our interests in spiritual things. This 
does not mean things far off; but it means just to live 
the highest possible life for God in the most natural 
possible way. Every minute of our time, every talent of 
our mind, every inch of our body, every cent of our 


98 CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP IN HIGH SCHOOL 

money, must be God’s. God requires everything or noth¬ 
ing; our decision must be complete or it is worthless. 

In coming to such a decision, we must not do so lightly, 
but think of the full meaning of it,—where it might lead 
us, how it might change our whole lives. Two great 
questions naturally arise after such a decision: First, 
“What must I stop doing?” Second, “What must I begin 
to do?” 

Why does God have such hard conditions for his fol¬ 
lowers? Is it fair for him to ask so much? Why is it 
that so many decisions do not last long? What are the 
conditions of a lasting decision ? 


“Just as I am, young, strong and free, 
To be the best that I can be 
For truth and righteousness and Thee, 
Lord of my life, I come” 


SIXTH DAY. 

Present Values. 

For several days he stayed at Damascus with 
the disciples. He lost no time in preaching 
throughout the synagogues that Jesus was the Son 
of God—to the amazement of all his hearers, who 
said, “Is this not the man who in Jerusalem har¬ 
ried those who invoke this Name, the man who 
came here for the express purpose of carrying 
them all in chains to the high priests?” 

Saul became more and more vigorous. He put 
the Jewish residents in Damascus to confusion by 
his proof that Jesus was the Christ .—Acts 9:19- 
22. 



DECISION FOR CHRIST 


99 


“What good am I going to get out of it?” seems to be 
a selfish question. But in the verses just read, let us 
trace the immediate results of Paul’s conversion. “Saul 
became more and more vigorous,” is the record of the 
most noticeable change in him. The story goes on to 
tell us that he used this new vigor, not in gaining com¬ 
fort or spiritual satisfaction for himself but in serving 
men unselfishly; and, incidentally, he got a lot of fun out 
of it for himself, too. He said later: 

I set no value on my own life as compared with 
the joy of finishing my course and fulfilling the 
commission I received from the Lord Jesus. 

—Acts 20:24. 

We can pick out two main things, then, as a result of 
Paul’s decision: first, he became better and happier him¬ 
self; and, second (which is more important), he became 
useful instead of harmful to his friends and to Christ. 
Do you think that we can compare modern high school 
fellows to Paul in these respects? Are the results of a 
Christian decision the same in all cases? 


O Christ, help me to he strong in my decision, 
and grant increased strength to battle against my 
daily sins. Help me to live up to the value that 
thou dost place on my life. 

SEVENTH DAY. 

Eternal Values. 

What can ever part us from Christ’s love? 

Can anguish or calamity or persecution or famine 
or nakedness or danger or the sword? ( Because, 
as it is written, 



100 CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP IN HIGH SCHOOL 


For thy sake we are being killed all the day 
long, 

we are counted as sheep to be slaughtered.) 

No, in all this we are more than conquerors 
through him who loved us. For I am certain 
neither death nor life, neither angels nor princi¬ 
palities, neither the present nor the future, no 
powers of the Height or of the Depth, nor any¬ 
thing else in all creation will be able to part us 
from God’s love in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

—Romans 8:35-39. 

Besides the increase in present values, we will receive 
if we are Christian, the great prospect of eternal happi¬ 
ness. This does not mean that we will have nothing but 
idle rest forever, but that we will be in continual com¬ 
pany with Jesus Christ; and where Jesus is, is eternal 
friendship and service and joy and love, and everything 
that makes life worth while. 

But even in speaking of eternal life, we cannot limit 
ourselves to selfish values. If we make and really live 
up to a Christian decision, it means that our Christian 
Spirit will go on living in the lives of persons we have 
influenced, directly or indirectly, as long as there is life 
in this world. Washington still lives in every American 
soul; Livingstone is still alive in every African Christian; 
and it is perfectly possible for us, too, to leave behind us 
a spirit that will never die. 


My Father, I pray that my life may be lived on 
such a plane that my friendship for thee may be 
real, and, therefore, eternal. I pray very earnestly 
that my life on earth may be so worth while that 
its value may last forever. In Jesus' name, Amen . 



DECISION FOR CHRIST 


101 


“SEARCH-MYSELF” QUESTIONS 

Am I happier as a Christian or as a non-Christian? 

Why did I join the Church? Should I, if I haven’t? 

What is the practical value of Christianity to me ? 

Is Christianity changing my life? How? 

If I accept Christ now, will it make a difference in my 
education ? 

What difference would it make to my family if I should 
decide for Christ now ? 

What difference would it make in my choice of a life- 
work if I should decide for Christ now? 

Is one Christian decision enough for me, or do I find 
that I must go on making decisions for each new advance 
I make ? 


EXPRESSIONAL EXERCISES 

It is not expected that a decision of any kind will be 
made in public; but if a fellow has made a decision pri¬ 
vately, he should be given an opportunity to tell it to the 
group at this time if he wishes, and to explain his reasons 
for taking the step. 

If you have made a decision this week, write it down 
in your diary. 

Is it necessary for one who has made a Christian de¬ 
cision, to join the Church? Is it logical? Why? 

In what ways ought decisions in High School that de¬ 
mand character affect your leadership among your 
friends? Test out some of these ways and write down 
the findings in your diary. 


Chapter IX: PASSING IT ON 


The very first thing that a person who has been really 
won to Christ wants to do is to help some one else to the 
“abundant life.” In the discussion this week we shall 
attempt to determine the best way for a high school fel¬ 
low to do this. 

FIRST DAY. 

Why Personal Work Is Needed. 

One of the two men who heard what John said 
and went after Jesus was Andrew, the brother of 
Peter. In the morning he met his brother Simon 
and told him, “We have found the Messiah” 

(which may be translated, “Christ”). He took 
him to Jesus; Jesus gazed at him and said, “You 
are Simon, the son of John? Your name is to be 
Cephas” (meaning “Peter” or “rock”). 

Next day Jesus determined to leave for Galilee; 
there he met Philip and told him, “Follow me.” 

Now Philip belonged to Bethsaida, the same town 
as Andrew and Peter; he met Nathanael and told 
him, “We have found him whom Moses wrote 
about in the Law, and also the prophets—it is 
Jesus, the son of Joseph, who comes from Naza- 
ret.” “Nazaret!” said Nathanael, “can anything 
good come out of Nazaret?” “Come and see,” 
said Philip. Jesus saw Nathanael approaching 
and said of him, “Here is a genuine Israelite! 

There is no guile in him.” Nathanael said to 
him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered, 

“When you were under that fig tree, before ever 
Philip called you, I saw you .”—John i: 40-48. 

102 


PASSING IT ON 


103 


Even at the very beginning of his ministry Christ real¬ 
ized the necessity of the personal touch if men were to 
be won to complete loyalty to him. Christ was tempted 
to spread the influence of his wonderful personality over 
large groups ( Luke 4: 5-8) but instead of this he chose 
to concentrate his life in developing a few to the highest 
possible plane. He preached to large crowds but seldom, 
and then only when the people demanded it. There prob¬ 
ably were not more than a hundred and twenty Christians 
at his death. Trace the life-story of Peter. See also 
such incidents as those in Mark 2: 1-14 as illustrations of 
how Jesus left the crowd for individuals. Has history 
proved or disproved the wisdom of this method? Note 
how Christ immediately used the men he won. 

Are the opportunities for service to-day such that 
Christ, if he were living now, would try to stimulate men 
to meet them with the same methods as he used in his 
day? 

Do you think that you would be more influenced by a 
quiet, personal talk with your minister than by hearing 
him preach a sermon? Why? Do you think that you 
could do more good by giving an address to a group of 
thirty boys or by having a heart to heart conversation 
with one of them about his deepest problems and dearest 
ambitions? Why? Do you think it is proper and fair 
for one boy to discuss such intimate affairs with another ? 
Under what conditions? 


Our Father, we pray thee to ever keep our eyes 
open for the opportunities that always are about us 
to do some serznce for thee. Help us to see the 
other fellow’s need of thee and then to fill that 
need, for Christ’s sake. Amen. 



104 CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP IN HIGH SCHOOL 


SECOND DAY. 

IS GROUP WORK INCOMPLETE IN ITSELF? 

There is a tendency among fellows to hide their inmost 
feelings from others. This is a natural and, on the whole, 
a good one. But “talking things over” with a sympathetic 
companion who is willing and able to help often opens 
our eyes to the problems and difficulties that need to be 
solved, and gives us a clew to methods of solving them. Is 
it good for a fellow to “get things off his chest” ? Can 
this be done in a group meeting? Should it ? 

In our efforts to raise the standards of Christian living 
in our school, there is no doubt a definite place for group 
activities, such as vocational guidance campaigns to be put 
on by Hi-Y or other school clubs, as well as group wor¬ 
ship. But would our job be complete if we were tempo¬ 
rarily and partially to influence the lives of many with¬ 
out making any efforts entirely to transform the lives of 
a few? Which is worth more to Christ,—an army of 
half-consecrated people, or a compact little company of 
“wholeway Christians?” Give reasons for your opinion. 

And Jehovah said unto Gideon, The people that 
are with thee are too many for me to give the 
Midianites into their hand, lest Israel vaunt them¬ 
selves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath 
saved me. Now therefore proclaim in the ears of 
the people, saying, Whosoever is fearful and trem¬ 
bling, let him return and depart from Mount 
Gilead. And there returned of the people twenty 
and two thousand; and there remained ten thou¬ 
sand. 

And Jehovah said unto Gideon, The people are 
yet too many; bring them down unto the water, 


PASSING IT ON 


105 


and I will try them for thee there: and it shall be, 
that of whom I say unto thee, This shall go with 
thee, the same shall go with thee; and of whom¬ 
soever I say unto thee, This shall not go with 
thee, the same shall not go. So he brought down 
the people unto the water: and Jehovah said unto 
Gideon, Every one that lappeth of the water with 
his tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shalt thou set 
by himself; likewise every one that boweth down 
upon his knees to drink. And the number of them 
that lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, 
was three hundred men: but all the rest of the 
people bowed down upon their knees to drink 
water. And Jehovah said unto Gideon, By the 
three hundred men that lapped will I save you, 
and deliver the Midianites into thy hand.— 
Judges 7:2-7 (American Standard Version). 


O God, we believe that thou art working in us 
and through us. We believe that with thy divine 
guidance we can accomplish miracles. So, 0 
Father, help us realize that we can always truly 
serve thee everywhere; through Jesus Christ our 
Lord, Amen. 


THIRD DAY. 

Development of Leadership. 

See that you do not despise one of these little 
ones; for I tell you, their angels in heaven always 
look on the face of my Father in heaven. 

Tell me, if a man has a hundred sheep and one 
of them strays, will he not leave the ninety-nine 
sheep on the hills and go in search of the one that 
has strayed? And if he happens to find it, I tell 
you he rejoices over it more than over the ninety- 



106 CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP IN HIGH SCHOOL 


nine that never went astray. So it is not the will 
of your Father in heaven that a single one of these 
little ones should be lost .—Matthew 18: 10-14. 

Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? 

Yet not one of them will fall to the ground 
unless your Father wills it. 

The very hairs on your head are all numbered; 
fear not, then, you are worth far more than 
sparrows !—Matthew 10:29-31. 

Christ gave us an infinite opportunity when he placed 
us in the midst of our fellow young men. How do we 
know but that, deep down in the lives of many of them 
there is a power for leadership and a strength of char¬ 
acter whose possibilities have never even occurred to 
them ? Unless those of us who have caught the Christian 
vision of the true value of a man try to uncover these 
beautiful but latent possibilities, how can these qualities 
be brought to the surface? By bringing out this leader¬ 
ship, we shall not only be living our own lives but living 
in their lives as well and thus multiplying our own powers 
and value to the world. 

It is obvious that we cannot accomplish what we want 
with very many fellows at a time; to attain our aim will 
require long and patient and intelligent effort with each 
one. How, then, shall we choose those few on whom 
we are to concentrate ? 

What is your definition of a leader ? Is lack of proper 
leadership a problem in your school ? Who are the lead¬ 
ers ? Why ? Should they be ? What qualities are neces¬ 
sary for leadership? 

Almighty God, make us willing to surrender 
ourselves entirely to thee. Make us willing to give 
our lives wholly to thy service, for then shall we 



PASSING IT ON 


107 


truly be worthy of thee, and of upholding thy 
name . God grant that we may accept each and 
every opportunity to make our lives more fruitful 
in thy harvest. In Jesus’ name . 


FOURTH DAY. 

How to do it: i. Tactfully. 

Most of us are convinced that personal work is neces¬ 
sary ; but many of us are still saying that we are not the 
ones to do it. With you, is this an honest belief or an 
excuse ? Do you think that any one can do personal work ? 
We are going to suggest now, a few qualifications which 
are required. 

Above all we must be tactful. By entering into a very 
personal conversation with another fellow whom we do 
not intimately know and with whom we have no point of 
contact, we can very easily spoil our whole chance of 
winning him. It is, therefore, plain that we must study 
our fellow, pray for him, establish a point of contact, 
and then approach him in a truly interested way. Finally, 
let us remember that nothing is gained by blunt sarcasm 
or by assuming a “holier than thou” attitude; we must 
make him see that we must both together try to live up to 
the best that is in us. 

Is frankness the opposite of tact? 

Free as I am from all, I have made myself the 
slave of all, 

to win over as many as I could. 

To Jews I have become like a Jew, 
to win over Jews; 


108 CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP IN HIGH SCHOOL 


to those under the Law I have become as one 
of themselves— 

though I am not under the Law myself— 
to win over those under the Law; 
to those outside the Law I have become like one 
of themselves— 

though I am under Christ’s law, not outside God’s 
Law— 

to win over those outside the Law; 
to the weak I have become as weak myself, 
to win over the weak. 

To all men I have become all things, 
to save some by all and every means. 

And I do it all for the sake of the gospel .—I 
Corinthians 9: 19-23. 

What is the danger that excessive tact is likely to lead 
us into? In a community where there are Jewish 
churches serving Jewish boys, is it right for us to try “to 
win over Jews” ? 


0 Christ, may we follow thy good example to 
such a degree that we may always know how to 
reach the heart of the other fellow. Give us thy 
insight and vision that will bring us out victorious. 


FIFTH DAY. 

How to do it : 2. Courageously. 

I have been often at the point of death; five 
times have I got forty lashes (all but one) from 
the Jews, three times I have been beaten by the 
Romans, once pelted with stones, three times ship¬ 
wrecked, adrift at sea for a whole night and day; 
I have been often on my travels, I have been in 
danger from rivers and robbers, in danger from 



PASSING IT ON 


109 


Jews and Gentiles, through dangers of town 
and of desert, through dangers on the sea, 
through dangers among false brothers—through 
labour and hardship, through many a sleepless 
night, through hunger and thirst, starving many 
a time, cold and ill-clad, and all the rest of 
it. And then there is the pressing business of 
each day, the care of all the churches. Who is 
weak, and I do not feel his weakness? Whose 
faith is hurt, and I am not aglow with indigna¬ 
tion ?—II Corinthians 11:24-29. 

And I do it all for the sake of the gospel. 

—I Corinthians 9: 23. 

When once we have chosen our man and picked our 
opening, we must not let the chance slip by, but tackle the 
fellow right off. So often we see the need but make our¬ 
selves think that it can wait. This does not mean that 
we should try to win a fellow to Christ without thought 
and prayer, but that we must have the courage not to let 
our chance for service go because we lack the determina¬ 
tion to talk with the fellow. It is not an easy job, but 
we are not looking for easy jobs. This challenges the 
best in every one of us and may take us into uncomforta¬ 
ble and even dangerous situations, as it did Paul. 

How many times have we “talked about the weather” 
when Christ was knocking at the door? Were not most 
of these failures due to sheer lack of courage? Can 
courage make us tactless? Would Christ appeal to us if 
he did not expect us to do courageous things ? 


Our Father, we know that we are weak without 
thee . Therefore we pray thee to give us courage, 
to give us strength to work for thee. Help us to 
meet and like the hard job, and tackle it like men. 



110 CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP IN HIGH SCHOOL 

Help us to be willing to risk something in order 
to help the other fellow. 


SIXTH DAY. 

How to do it: 3. Getting to the bottom of 

THE OTHER FELLOW’S NEEDS. 

Am I your enemy to-day, because I have been 
honest with you ?—Galatians 4:16. 

In fact, if I did pain you by that letter, I do not 
regret it. I did regret it when I discovered that 
my letter had pained you even for the time being, 
but I am glad now—not glad that you were 
pained but glad that your pain induced you to re¬ 
pent. For you were pained as God meant you to be 
pained, and so you got no harm from what I did; 
the pain God is allowed to guide ends in a saving 
repentance never to be regretted, whereas the 
world’s pain ends in death —II Corinthians 7: 8- 
10. 

Beating around the bush never gained anybody any¬ 
thing. The fellow with whom we are talking has his own 
definite, individual needs about which, deep down in his 
heart, he is anxious to talk. Perhaps just one temptation 
is the cause of whatever evil there may be in his life. 
Unless we can show him how to flood it out by filling his 
life with something better, our whole chat with the fellow 
has come to naught. We do not want our tonsils taken 
out when we have a toothache. In the same way we do 
not want to talk about the terrors of war when the fel¬ 
low with whom we are talking wants to know how to 
meet the temptation of evil thoughts. A fellow may 
have several interviews, but unless he sees his own in- 


PASSING IT ON 


111 


dividual need and discovers the cure, he is no better off 
than he was in the first place. So we must first help the 
fellow to find out his own need, and, second, point out to 
him a vision of what his life can be if Christ is his leader. 
Make him see that nothing in life must be allowed to 
obscure this high vision, which is one of the supreme 
joys of living. 

This must all be done sympathetically; never let us be 
ashamed to admit that we ourselves have temptations. 
We will find, too, that in helping others we will be able 
to overcome our own difficulties the better. 

Is it wrong to “tell on” a schoolmate whom we have 
caught breaking some rule ? Is Paul’s suggestion a good 
one for us to follow in such a case? 

Even if any one is detected in some trespass, 
brothers, you are spiritual, you must set the of¬ 
fender right in a spirit of gentleness; let each of 
you look to himself, in case he too is tempted. 

Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law 
of Christ .—Galatians 6:1-2. 


0 God, help us to get to the bottom of the other 
fellow's needs. Keep us from all sham and 
hypocrisy and wavering. Keep us pure ourselves 
that we may be worthy to spread thy gospel, for 
Jesus Christ's sake. 


SEVENTH DAY. 

How to do it : 4. Prayerfully. 

The futility of any human trying to change a life that 
God has created is self-apparent. Then how can we, 



112 CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP IN HIGH SCHOOL 


weak as we are, influence other fellows to lead a Christ- 
like life? It is only by Christ working through us. If 
Christ is to work through us he must be in us. How can 
he come into us then? Only by our opening our hearts 
to him in prayer. That is the real secret of personal 
work; not just mumbling off stereotyped phrases, but 
earnest thought, with an open heart, of how to help the 
other fellow. We must pray for him by name and con¬ 
centrate on his needs; and we must pray for ourselves 
that we may live such lives that Christ's work can be 
done through us to save others. 

Who is Apollos? Who is Paul? They are 
simply used by God to give you faith, each as the 
Lord assigns his task. 

I did the planting, Apollos did the watering, 
but it was God who made the seed grow. 

So neither planter nor waterer counts, 
but God alone who makes the seed grow. 

—I Corinthians 3: 5-7. 


For our prayer to-day let us repeat this one of Paul’s 
from Ephesians 3: 14-21: 

For this reason, then, I kneel before the Father 
from whom every family in heaven and on earth 
derives its name and nature, praying him out of 
the wealth of his glory to grant you a mighty in¬ 
crease of strength by his Spirit in the inner man. 

May Christ dwell in your hearts as you have 
faith! May you be so fixed and founded in love 
that you can grasp with all the saints what is the 
meaning of “the Breadth,” “the Length,” “the 
Depth” and “the Height,” by knowing the love of 
Christ which surpasses all knowledge! May you 
be filled with the entire fulness of God! Now to 
him who by the action of his power within us can 



PASSING IT ON 


113 


do all things, aye far more than we ever ask or 
imagine, to him be glory in the church and in 
Christ Jesus throughout all generations for ever 
and ever: Amen. 


“SEARCH-MYSELF” QUESTIONS 

Am I doing personal work for the Master day by day ? 

Am I planning any definite piece of personal work to¬ 
day? 

Have I prayed for any particular fellow to-day? 

How long is it since I have talked with another fellow 
about Christ? 

Am I qualified to do personal work efficiently, or is 
there some unconquered sin that is keeping me from 
knowing God ? 


114 CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP IN HIGH SCHOOL 


Is my ideal of life such that I want my friends to have 
it for their ideal ? 

In my personal work, do I seek the aid of such men as 
Paul and the other heroes of the Bible ? 

If my educational and physical and spiritual problems 
can be solved by Christianity, is this sufficient reason for 
me to give up my life in one hundred per cent loyalty to 
Christ? 


EXPRESSIONAL EXERCISES 

In no case should the personal relationships of any 
boy be mentioned in the group; but the leader should see 
to it that each fellow is actually “on the job” as a real 
friend to some definite boy. 

Why is personal evangelism needed in your school ? 

Should it be left to teachers, ministers and parents, or 
is it the duty of every Christian student? 

Must we have personal magnetism and attraction to 
succeed in giving Christ to another fellow ? 

What are apt to be our reactions after some one has 
talked to us personally about Christ and our lives? 

What are my reactions after I have talked to some one 
about Christ? 

Does one single slip of tongue or indecency of action 
ruin our chance to win a fellow for Christ and a larger 
life? 

Is there ever a minute when our speech and actions 
aren’t softening or hardening the attitude of some one to¬ 
ward Christ? 


Section IV: SOCIAL PROBLEMS 



Chapter X: SOCIAL DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN 


In this section, the building up of our character takes 
on a new meaning, for we are developing ourselves, not 
for ourselves, or with ourselves in mind, but as a part of 
society. This phase of character-building is the highest 
form of Christian duty. As Christians, we have responsi¬ 
bilities to our family, friends, acquaintances, community, 
school, church, and to the world as a whole. Let us take 
these up one by one. 

FIRST DAY. 

Family Relationships. 

Husbands, love your wives, do not be harsh to 
them. Children, obey your parents at every point, 
for this pleases the Lord right well. Fathers, 
avoid irritating your children, in case they get 
dispirited. Servants, obey your masters here be¬ 
low at every point; do not work simply when their 
eye is on you, like those who court human favour, 
but serve them with a single heart out of rever¬ 
ence for your Lord and Master. Whatever be 
your task, work at it heartily, as servants of the 
Lord and not of men; remember, you will receive 
from the Lord the inheritance which is your due; 
serve Christ your Lord and Master, for the 
wrongdoer will be paid back for his wrongdoing 
—there will be no favour shown. Masters, treat 
your servants justly and fairly; remember you 
have a Master of your own in heaven.— CoC. 

3:19; 4 :l 

In every family there is a tendency on the part of the 

children to be lax in point of respect to parents. This 

117 


118 CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP IN HIGH SCHOOL 


is especially so as the children grow older. Many times 
it has happened that a boy or a girl, thinking his or her 
parents to be in the wrong, or even knowing it, has con¬ 
tradicted his parents in no gentle way. Is it ever right for 
a boy of high school age to disobey his parents? If a 
fellow is convinced that his father has ordered him to do 
something that is wrong, what should be his procedure? 
Are respect and obedience the only duties we owe to 
parents? How may we best express our relationship to 
them? Was Jesus’ attitude toward his heavenly Father 
the same attitude we should adopt toward our earthly 
father ? 

In the case of our brothers and sisters the problem is 
not one of respect and obedience but of consideration and 
of “thinking twice before you speak.” If each member 
of a family will be cheerful and helpful at all times, a 
distinct improvement will quickly be noted. 

Do you think Paul is right in his suggestions about 
treatment of servants? Is it Christian to have servants 
at all ? 


My Father, help me this day to live as a true 
Christian in my home. Help me to be respectful 
and loving toward my parents, and cheerful and 
helpful to all my family. Amen. 


SECOND DAY. 

Friendship. 

And it came to pass, when he had made an end 
of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan 
was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan 
loved him as his own soul. . . . Then Jonathan 



SOCIAL DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN 


HP 


and David made a covenant, because he loved him 
as his own soul. And Jonathan stripped him¬ 
self of the robe that was upon him, and gave it to 
David, and his garments, even to his sword, and 
to his bow, and to his girdle. . . . 

Then said Jonathan unto David, Whatsoever 
thy soul desireth, I will even do it for thee. . . . 

And Jonathan caused David to swear again, be¬ 
cause he loved him: for he loved him as he loved 
his own soul .—I Samuel 18: i, 3, 4; 20:4, 17. 

Read the whole story of this beautiful friendship be¬ 
tween two strong men, in I Samuel, chapters 19 and 20. 

Have you a real, close friend ? How does he treat you, 
and how do you treat him? Some so-called friends are 
just acquaintances. What is the test of a real friend? 
How many real friends does the average fellow have ? 

With acquaintances we talk about all sorts of topics; 
but a real friend is one to whom we can talk about our¬ 
selves. He is one who does not lose faith in us even when 
we lose faith in ourselves. 

The old adage “a friend in need is a friend indeed” is 
as true as the Sphinx is steadfast. Such a friend we 
should value above all else and stand by him to the end as 
he to you. We value a thing by setting a price-tag on it; 
how do we determine the value of a friend? 


O God, teach me how to he a real friend to 
some one. May thy blessings rest on those who 
work for thee and thy kingdom. Amen. 



120 CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP IN HIGH SCHOOL 


THIRD DAY. 

Acquaintances. 

For to-day’s Bible study, read the 8th and 9th chap¬ 
ters of Matthew, and note the great variety of the ac¬ 
quaintances that Jesus made in the course of a short time, 
and how he treated them. 

One’s duties to a beloved friend are easily recognized 
and agreed to. But it is a different matter with casual 
acquaintances. First, take classmates: one meets all 
kinds and classes. Should they all be treated the same? 
Yes. It never hurts us to be nice and kind; but to be 
otherwise hurts not only the person unkindly treated but 
ourselves as well. 

We who try to be Christian sometimes miss one of the 
most obvious of our opportunities for service by failing to 
be true brothers, especially to the foreigners, both in our 
school and outside. Sometimes we can help them far 
more than we ever imagine just by a smile or a kind 
deed. They are very much more easily irritated or dis¬ 
gusted by poor treatment than we think, and by our neg¬ 
lect of these acquaintances we are often making them dis¬ 
loyal, discontented and anti-Christian. Notice that Christ 
treated the lowest leper as he did the highest officials and 
army officers. We, too, should treat every casual class¬ 
mate with just as much respect as we do our principal. 


O Lord, we thank thee for the opportunities we 
have every single day to do thy work. We pray 
thee that we may he fully Christian in our treat¬ 
ment of every person we meet to-day. Amen . 



SOCIAL DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN 


121 


FOURTH DAY. 

Community Responsibilities. 

Am I my brother’s keeper ?—Genesis 4:9. 

Then the just will answer, 

“Lord, when did we see you hungry and fed 
you? or thirsty and gave you drink? 
when did we see you a stranger and entertain 
you ? or unclothed and clothed you ? 
when did we see you ill or in prison and visit 
you ?” 

The King will answer them, “I tell you truly, in so 
far as you did it to one of these brothers of 
mine, even to the least of them, you did it to me.” 

—Matthew 25:37-40. 

There are a great many duties which every Christian 
has to his community and our methods of performing 
them are not always easy. 

For instance, if a community has a dance-hall or a 
pool-room or a bowling-alley, or some other such place, 
every kind and sort of person will gather there; it is the 
duty of the Christians of the community to keep the 
places orderly and clean in every sense of the word. How 
can the Christian forces of the community best do this? 
What share can a High School fellow have in any such 
plan? Can he have any influence on public opinion? 
How, for instance, can we affect public opinion on the 
subject of prohibition? On clean movies? On other 
problems ? 

Then, too, there are many small acts of law-breaking 
which High School fellows often commit, which we can 
both avoid for ourselves and try to prevent in others: 
breaking street-lamps, street signs, defacing school and 


122 CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP IN HIGH SCHOOL 

other public property, etc. What effect might it have on 
the traffic if a street-light is broken? Who pays the 
bill? 

Name some other social problems which we may have 
a share in solving. 

God, help me to do my duty as a good Chris¬ 
tian citizen, and hear my share in keeping my 
community's good reputation . 


FIFTH DAY. 

School Interests. 

A quarrel also rose among them as to which of 
them could be considered the greatest. But Jesus 
said to them, 

“The kings of the Gentiles rule over them, 

and their authorities take the name of ‘Bene¬ 
factor’ : 

not so with you. 

He who is greatest among you must be like the 
youngest, 

and he who is chief like a servant. 

Which is the greatest, guest or servant? Is it 
not the guest? 

But I am among you as a servant.” 

—Luke 22 :24-27. 

From one point of view the school and the community 
are one and the same thing, as the school is but a com¬ 
munity of young people. Here also, as in the community, 
the personal reputation of every member is bound up in 
the reputation of the school. Many times parents, even 
though they must pay tuition, have sent their children 



SOCIAL DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN 


1 23 


to school outside of their own city as their own school 
“had a bad reputation/’ 

A person cannot stay in a school or community without 
either raising or lowering its reputation and standards. 
Therefore be sure that you are one who is boosting and 
not lowering. 

Acting unselfishly for the sake of the school is called 
“school spirit,” and every school likes to pride itself on 
this matter. What are some of the definite ways in 
which we can show our school spirit? Is there such a 
thing as too much school spirit? Is it wise to “knock” 
other schools in order to boost our own? Is self-govern¬ 
ment a good thing for High School students? 

Do you think that Christians have any more chance of 
solving these problems than those who are not Christians ? 
Why? How? 


O God, may we make our school the place for 
the upbringing of the young people of our city in 
ways that will fit them for true Christian citizen¬ 
ship. Amen. 


SIXTH DAY. 

World Brotherhood. 

“. . . you are all brothers; . . . for One is 
your heavenly Father .”—Matthew 23 : 8-9. 

Or is God only the God of Jews? Is he not 
the God of the Gentiles as well? Surely he is. 
—Romans 3: 29. 

For there is no distinction of Jew and Greek, 
the same Lord is Lord of them all .—Romans 


10:12. 



124 CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP IN HIGH SCHOOL 


World brotherhood! It sounds so wide and all-em¬ 
bracing; and it is! Think of the Christian missions all 
over the world which are trying to bring people into this 
brotherhood. They are all closely connected with you. 
Perhaps some of them are supported by your own town 
or community. What do you know about them? 

Do you think that if all people were Christian war 
would continue? Can war ever be Christian? Do you 
think that if there were more of the spirit of Christ in 
America we would be doing more to help those parts of 
the world that need us? If some one should ask you why 
you support foreign missions when there is so much need 
in America, what would you answer? 

What are the duties of a patriot ? Can patriotism ever 
be selfish? If it is, what is wrong? Should you be more 
loyal to your country than to the world as a whole? 
What would Christ answer? 


Our Father, may we ever work to increase thy 
missions in all parts of the world, for the sake of 
peace and brotherhood. Bless our country in 
world service. In Jesus’ name. Amen. 


SEVENTH DAY. 

Church Relationships. 

The word “church” means at least three things: 

First, it is a Christian house of worship. What do 
other religions call their worshipping places? How 
should I, as a Christian, treat other than Christian places 
of worship? 

Second, the word “church” means the group of Chris- 



SOCIAL DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN 


125 


tian people who serve and worship Christ. What are the 
duties of a church-member? Can a man be a Christian 
without being a church-member? If so, why join the 
church ? 

Third, the word “church” means that organization 
which has existed since the time of Christ, in different 
forms, for the purpose of regulating the activities of 
Christians and helping them to know God and serve men. 
Why do we need this organization? What are some of 
the things the church can do in your town to serve men ? 
Is it doing them all? If not, is this a reason for us not 
to support it ? How can a High School fellow help ? 

What should be the final aim of the church? 

Then I saw the new heaven and the new earth , 
for the first heaven and the first earth had passed 
away; and the sea is no more. And I saw the 
holy City, the new Jerusalem, descending from 
God out of heaven, all ready like a bride arrayed 
for her husband. And I heard a loud voice out of 
the throne, crying, 

“Lo, God’s dwelling-place is with men, 
with men will he dwell; 
they shall be his people, 

and God will himself be with them.” — Revela¬ 
tion 21:1-3. 

Lord, we thank thee for thy church which thy 
Son instituted to save the world. May we live up 
to our responsibilities in church work. Help me to 
lead a clean life to-day. Amen. 



126 CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP IN HIGH SCHOOL 


“SEARCH-MYSELF” QUESTIONS 

Am I attending to my duties to my school ? Commun¬ 
ity ? Country ? Church ? 

Am I leading the kind of moral life which makes it 
possible for me to live up to these duties ? 

Are my companions such that I am proud to introduce 
them to my parents ? 

Do I think of the African savage, the Chinese Con- 
fucianist, the Indian outcaste, the Turkish soldier, as my 
brother ? 

Am I doing my best to make the foreigner coming to 
my school feel that America is really the “land of prom¬ 
ise”? 

Am I promoting or demoting, by my general attitude 
at home, the happiness of my family? 

Have I a real, honest-to-goodness friend ? Am I living 
up to my duties to him; or is he serving me more than I 
am serving him ? 

EXPRESSIONAL EXERCISES 

Let each fellow accept some definite social responsibil¬ 
ity in his Church, community, home and school, discussing 
the project with the leader and (as far as possible) with 
the group from time to time. 

How might community spirit be started as a parallel 
to school spirit ? 

Is a community Church more or less influential than a 
denominational Church? Why? (Let some member of 
the group who has knowledge of a community Church 
first explain what it is.) 

What are the arguments for and against denomina- 
tionalism? 


Chapter XI: SOCIAL AMUSEMENTS OF A CHRISTIAN 


We believe that Christianity is not, as some fellows 
would have it, a hindrance in the way of their social 
pleasures; but it is that mode of living which leads to the 
very highest kind of true enjoyment, and draws us away 
from those so-called amusements which are not whole¬ 
some. We will not discuss athletics and games in this 
chapter because every one grants their value; but those 
pleasures which are often called “doubtful.” 

FIRST DAY. 

Fraternities and Cliques. 

Why do you note the splinter in your brother’s 
eye and fail to see the plank in your own eye? 

How dare you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let 
me take out the splinter that is in your eye,’ and 
you never notice the plank in your own eye? 

You hypocrite ! take the plank out of your own eye 
first, and then you will see properly to take out the 
splinter in your brother’s eye .—Luke 6:41-42. 

Probably one of the most common means of fellowship 
and good times in high school is the fraternity. In so far 
as they bring about a good, wholesome fellowship among 
their members, these fraternities are all right. On the 
other hand, if they tend to lessen the spirit of democracy 
in the school, they are radically wrong. If there are 
fraternities in your school, do they work for good or for 
bad? If they work for bad, which would you advocate, 
—abolishing them, or changing them so as to work for 
good ? Why ? 


127 


128 CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP IN HIGH SCHOOL 


Various kinds of cliques are another form of society 
which, though unorganized, are also prevalent in high 
school. These are likely to be more harmful than the 
fraternities; first, because they are harder to control, and, 
second, because they are often made up of fellows who, 
having some common interest which seems very impor¬ 
tant to them, are tempted to look down on the rest of the 
students. Athletes, for instance, are apt to “hang to¬ 
gether,” somewhat apart from the other fellows. 

What should our attitude, as Christians, be toward 
fraternities and cliques? 

Now that your obedience to the Truth has 
purified your souls for a brotherly love that is 
sincere, love one another heartily and steadily. 

—I Peter i: 22. 


O God, help me to maintain the spirit of de¬ 
mocracy throughout my life; and 0 God , help me 
to choose my amusements in such a way as to 
develop my character for thy service. Amen. 


SECOND DAY. 

Snobbishness. 

Yesterday we discussed the subject of fraternities and 
cliques. To-day we are going to take up the question 
which always goes along with this,—that of snobbishness. 
Is snobbishness necessarily one of the fruits of fraterni¬ 
ties and cliques? The poet Markham gives his views on 
the question in a few lines: 

“He drew a circle that shut me out— 

Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout. 



SOCIAL AMUSEMENTS OF A CHRISTIAN 129 

But Love and I had the wit to win: 

We drew a circle that took him in.” 

Cannot we, in our social life, take the attitude of this 
poet, and draw a circle so wide that it includes all classes ? 
Is it possible for a Christian group or club ever to be an 
exclusive clique? Can there be such a thing as a Chris¬ 
tian snob? 

Every one will admit that snobbishness is wrong; and 
so the question which we have to deal with is not the 
question of its being right or wrong, but rather how to 
overcome it. It might help us in this to study the attitude 
of Christ, who was faced with the same problem. It was 
said of him: “He welcomes sinners and eats along with 
them!” (Luke 15:2.) And it made him lose his popu¬ 
larity with the upper classes. Yet he stuck to it, and this 
spirit of equality which he exemplified was nobly carried 
on by the early Christian leaders, as shown in James 2: 
2-4. 

Suppose there comes into your meeting a man 
who wears gold rings and handsome clothes, 
and also a poor man in dirty clothes; if you at¬ 
tend to the wearer of the handsome clothes and 
say to him, “Sit here, this is a good place,” and 
. tell the poor man, “You can stand,” or “Sit there 
at my feet,” are you not drawing distinctions in 
your own minds and proving that you judge peo¬ 
ple with partiality? 

Is it possible for us, in our school, to associate with 
Jews and negroes and foreigners and still maintain our 
dignity and influence? How can we do anything toward 
abolishing these racial distinctions? 


0 God, help me above all things not to become a 
snob, but help me rather to do all I can to make 



130 CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP IN HIGH SCHOOL 

our Christian brotherhood one which includes all 
the fellows of the high school . 


THIRD DAY. 

Girls. 

And when the sabbath had passed Mary of 
Magdala, Mary the mother of James, and Salome 
bought some spices in order to go and anoint him; 
and very early on the first day of the week they 
went to the tomb, after sunrise .—Mark 16:1-2. 

The fact that the first persons to visit the tomb of Jesus 
were women, goes to show that his companionship with 
them was always of the highest order and brought out 
their best loyalty. 

Admitted that Christ treated women in a very beauti¬ 
ful manner. Therefore, should not we, as followers of 
Christ, treat girls with the greatest chivalry and all due 
regard for their sex? 

The principal wrong of over-familiarity is not the ef¬ 
fect that it has on us, though this in itself is bad, but the 
ill-effects that we are bringing on the girls. If we act in 
an ungentlemanly manner toward girls, are we not put¬ 
ting into their minds, as well as our own, unwholesome 
thoughts? Is it ever , under any circumstances whatso¬ 
ever, right to use any one, whether boy or girl , merely as 
a means of gaining selfish pleasure for ourselvest Even 
if the girl encourages it, not realizing the harm to herself 
or unable to control her own selfish desires, are we even 
then justified in such over-familiarity? 

There are ways, however, in which one may have 
wholesome pleasure with girls. Name and discuss some 
of these ways. 


SOCIAL AMUSEMENTS OF A CHRISTIAN 131 


This girl problem, though it seems to some people to be 
exaggerated at the present time, is nothing new. Young 
men of all times have been confronted with it. Paul 
advised one of his young friends as follows : 

Treat . . . younger women like sisters—with 
perfect propriety. —I Timothy 5:2. 

Is there any better advice for us to follow in our rela¬ 
tions with girls ? 


Help me, 0 God, to be upright in my relations 
with girls; help me also to follow in the footsteps 
of Jesus Christ, and do my share to raise higher 
than ever before the standard of womanhood. 
Amen. 


FOURTH DAY. 

Dancing and Other Parties. 

He who would love Life 
and enjoy good days, 
let him keep his tongue from evil 
and his lips from speaking guile: 
let him shun wrong and do right, 

let him seek peace and make peace his aim. 
For the eyes of the Lord are on the upright, 
and his ears are open to their cry; 
but the face of the Lord is set against wrong¬ 
doers. 

Yet who will wrong you if you have a passion for 
goodness ? Even supposing you have to suffer for 
the sake of what is right, still you are blessed. 
Have no fear of their threats, do not let that trou¬ 
ble you, but reverence Christ as Lord in your own 
hearts. —I Peter 3:10-15. 



132 CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP IN HIGH SCHOOL 


One may get a lot of good clean amusement out of 
dancing if he dances in the right way. This brings up 
the question of what kind of dancing is proper. Is it not 
that kind which leaves our thoughts perfectly wholesome 
after we have finished? What should we, as individual 
Christians, do at a dance, when a girl begins to dance im¬ 
morally with us ? What do we do ? What can our Chris¬ 
tian group do to make high school and other dances “safe 
and sane”? What are we doing? 

Are drinking parties prevalent at your school? How 
are we to control this evil? 

How often should the average high school fellow go 
to the “movies” and other places of amusement? Should 
he “take a chance” on any “movie,” or how should he 
choose which to attend ? 

What kind of parties may we really call good? 


O God, may I get my amusement out of life in 
a clean, unselfish, God-like way. Help me, O God, 
not to do the wrong thing just because the rest 
are doing it, but help me at all times to stand out 
for that which is right. In Christ's name I ask it. 
Amen. 


FIFTH DAY. 

The Proper Use of Money. 

One of the problems we all have to face is that of 
wisely saving or spending our money. We don’t want to 
appear stingy and so we often spend more than we should. 
Now, what should the percentage of spending and saving 
be? Why is it advisable to form the habit of saving? 



SOCIAL AMUSEMENTS OF A CHRISTIAN 133 


Is it all right to gamble if we gamble within our means? 
Why is it said to add to the interest of a card game to 
“ante up” or of a football game to “bet the price of ad¬ 
mission” ? What is your answer to such arguments ? 

If we win a bet or a gamble, may we consider this as 
money earned? If we lose, whose money do we throw 
away? How was this money secured? 

What proportion of our money should we give to 
charity, family and friends, church? 

The Christian idea of property is that it is something 
loaned to us by God for us to use in his service. With 
this in mind, what rules would you lay down for investing 
God’s money? 

Then the servant who had got the two hundred 
and fifty pounds came forward. He said, “I knew 
you were a hard man, sir, reaping where you never 
sowed and gathering where you never winnowed. 

So I was afraid; I went and hid your two hundred 
and fifty pounds in the earth. There’s your money 1 ” 

His master said to him in reply, “You rascal, 
you idle servant! You knew, did you, that I reap 
where I have never sowed and gather where I 
have never winnowed! Well then, you should 
have handed my money to the bankers and I 
would have got my capital with interest when I 
came back.” Take therefore the two hundred and 
fifty pounds away from him, give it to the ser¬ 
vant who had the twelve hundred. 

For to everyone who has shall more be given 
and richly given; 

but from him who has nothing, even what he 
has shall be taken .—Matthew 25: 24-29. 


God, help me to spend my money in such a way 
as to help to further the Kingdom of God, And 



134 CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP IN HIGH SCHOOL 


God, give me the courage to stand alone, if neces¬ 
sary, in fighting against social wrongs in my 
school. For Christ's sake. Amen. 


SIXTH DAY. 

Sunday Observance. 

And on the sabbath he entered the synagogue as 
was his custom .—Luke 4:16. 

Now it happened that he was passing through 
the cornfields on the sabbath, and as the disciples 
made their way through they began to pull the 
ears of corn. The Pharisees said to him, “Look 
at what they are doing on the sabbath! That is 
not allowed.” . . . And he said to them, 

“The sabbath was made for man, not man for the 
sabbath: 

so that the Son of man is Lord even over the 
sabbath .”—Mark 2:23, 24, 27, 28. 

We are told in the first passage that Jesus had the habit 
of going to church on the sabbath; while in the other 
we find that he did not stop the disciples from gathering 
some corn on the sabbath when it was necessary. We 
have, in these few verses, a contrast; on the one hand 
going to church, and on the other pulling the ears of corn. 
Jesus was displeased with neither. He was religious, 
but at the same time he was sensible. 

How should we, as Christians, observe the sabbath? 
Give reasons for your answer. Name some good amuse¬ 
ments for Sunday. Name some that are not good for 
Sunday. What is the difference ? 

Did Jesus intend Sunday to be a day of gloom? Did 


SOCIAL AMUSEMENTS OF A CHRISTIAN 135 

he intend it to be a day of hilarity ? How are we to get 
the proper balance ? 

Help me, 0 God, to keep Sunday in the way 
which will be most worshipful, and most acceptable 
to thee. For Christ's sake. Amen. 


SEVENTH DAY. 

What does real pleasure consist in? 

I delight to do thy will, O my God .—Psalms 
40:8. 

This verse sums up the attitude toward life of a man 
who loves God. To do God’s will is not a task but some¬ 
thing to delight in. Jesus, too, said: “My food is to do 
the will of him who sent me.” (John 4:34.) He did 
God’s will and took pleasure in it; it was life itself for 
him. For a real Christian, doing the will of God is the 
greatest pleasure possible. 

Is it possible for a high-minded fellow to get fun out 
of something that he knows is hurting some one? We 
have long ago passed the age when we tortured animals; 
we no longer get fun out of tying a can to a dog’s tail. 
Then why do we think we can get fun out of some action 
(such as gambling) that tortures our own or some one 
else’s character? 

May one test a fellow’s character by finding out what 
he considers to be pleasure? What is the matter with 
a fellow who can’t get his fun in a healthy sort of way ? 
What is the test of whether or not an amusement may be 
considered Christian? Can there be such a thing as a 
Christian who does not love life? How would you de- 



1 86 CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP IN HIGH SCHOOL 


fend the proposition that a long face is inconsistent with 
Christianity ? 

Make my pleasure, 0 God, conform with thy 
every desire; and help me to serve thee and so get 
the greatest enjoyment out of life. Amen. 



SOCIAL AMUSEMENTS OF A CHRISTIAN 137 

“SEARCH-MYSELF” QUESTIONS 

Are the fraternities or other groups I belong to hurting 
me or my associates ? 

Is my attitude toward all girls perfectly pure, unselfish, 
and Christian? 

Am I as much a Christian at a dance as I am at church ? 

Am I snobbish in my attitude toward that friendless, 
unpopular fellow in my class ? 

Is my money going where it should ? 

Am I observing Sunday properly? 

Are all my pleasures the right kind of pleasures? 

EXPRESSIONAL EXERCISES 

A party in which the group will be hosts to a similar 
group of girls should be planned and carried out by the 
group acting as a committee of the whole. 

What would be the best way for your class or club to 
spend $1,000 if you had it? 

Let each fellow work out and submit to the group a 
budget of expense percentages suitable to the needs of 
those in the group. 

Should a fellow go around steadily with one girl when 
he has no intention of becoming engaged to her? 

Can we treat a girl the same as we do a boy in the 
matter of friendly services (helping with lessons, etc.)? 

What is the difference between the way a girl looks at 
a boy’s attentions to her and the way a boy looks at his 
attentions to a girl ? 


Chapter XII: SOCIAL PRIVILEGES OF A CHRISTIAN 

FIRST DAY. 


The Privilege of Optimism. 

As we are justified by faith, then, let us enjoy 
the peace we have with God through our Lord 
Jesus Christ. Through him we have got access to 
this grace where we have our standing, and tri¬ 
umph in the hope of God’s glory. Not only so, but 
we triumph even in our troubles, knowing that 
trouble produces endurance, endurance produces 
character, and character produces hope—a hope 
which never disappoints us, since God’s love floods 
our hearts through the holy Spirit which has been 
given to us .—Romans 5: 1-5. 

In the present state of world upset no one but a Chris¬ 
tian can possibly be an optimist. What other faith or 
program or hope looks forward not only to the possibility 
but to the certainty of an ideal world? It is true, the 
Kingdom of God seems to be a long way off even to a 
Christian, but a man who loses faith in its coming would 
stop being a Christian. The disciples of Jesus followed 
him in all his reverses as well as in his more prosperous 
wanderings, always confident that in the end he would 
lead them to the victory he promised. They had that 
faith which is necessary to bring any ideal out into actual 
fact; and they knew they had possession of the highest 
and only complete ideal for world salvation. Without 
such faith and such a program how can any one realize 
the terrible evils in the world to-day and not give up the 
138 


SOCIAL PRIVILEGES OF A CHRISTIAN 139 

job of improvement as hopeless? We are all faced with 
the two alternatives: either a Christian faith or a hopeless 
world. 

What are the costs and wages of optimism? 

The Realm of heaven is like treasure hidden in 
a field; the man who finds it hides it and in his 
delight goes and sells all he possesses and buys 
that field. 

Again, the Realm of heaven is like a trader in 
search of fine pearls; when he finds a single pearl 
of high price, he is off to sell all he possesses and 
buy it .—Matthew 13:44-46. 

Our Father, we thank thee for the joys and 
pleasures which we, as Christians, in thy service, 
experience. We thank thee for the courageous 
men who continually work for thee, and we ask 
that more may he filled with thy spirit, that they 
too may devote their lives to thee, in Jesus' name. 
Amen. 


SECOND DAY. 

The Privilege of the Best Companionship. 

And what more shall I say? Time would fail 
me to tell of Gideon, of Barak, and Samson and 
Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets 
—men who by faith conquered kingdoms, admin¬ 
istered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouth 
of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the 
edge of the sword, from weakness won to strength, 
proved valiant in warfare, and routed hosts of 
foreigners. Some were given back to their 
womankind, raised from the very dead; others 



140 CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP IN HIGH SCHOOL 


were broken on the wheel, refusing to accept re¬ 
lease, that they might obtain a better resurrection; 
others, again, had to experience scoffs and scourg¬ 
ing, aye, chains ‘and imprisonment—they were 
stoned, sawn in two, and cut to pieces; they had to 
roam about in sheepskins and goatskins, forlorn, 
oppressed, ill-treated (men of whom the world 
was not worthy), wanderers in the desert and 
among the hills, in caves and gullies. They all 
won their record for faith .—Hebrews 11: 32-39. 

Would you like to consider yourself the friend of such 
remarkable heroes as these ? 

There are a great many kinds of people, but two very 
important classes are Egocentrics and Christocentrics. 
Egocentrics may be represented by a circle with a large 
“I” in the center and a great many arrows pointing in 
toward it. The Christocentrics may be represented by a 
circle with “Christ” in the center and arrows pointing in 
and then going out again. Egocentrics are people who 
keep what they have and take all they can get. Christo¬ 
centrics put all they have in for Christ and their fellow- 
beings, and get out a number of privileges which are all 
incidental by-products of the supreme joy of putting in. 

One of these by-products is that rare kind of friend¬ 
ship which comes only from cooperative sacrifice in a 
great cause. We who are Christians cannot help but feel 
that we are eternally joined not only with all fellow 
Christians in every land to-day but with all those great 
heroes of the past who have fought for the same end that 
we are fighting for now. We belong, therefore, to the 
highest society in history. As Paul expressed it: we are 
all fellow builders in the one great structure. It is a 
thought which can be extremely helpful to us in our daily 
living. 


SOCIAL PRIVILEGES OF A CHRISTIAN 141 


Thus you are strangers and foreigners no 
longer, you share the membership of the saints, 
you belong to God’s own household, you are a 
building that rests on the apostles and prophets 
as its foundation, with Christ Jesus as the corner¬ 
stone .—Ephesians 2: 19-20. 

Lord, bless thy people, who are ever thinking 
of thee and working for thee. May those who are 
always <f looking out for No. 1” see the folly of 
their ways and put their energies into work for 
thee, and thus join that (f communion of saints” 
which is eternal in its joy and usefulness. For 
Jesus' sake. Amen. 


THIRD DAY. 

The Privilege of Life Service. 

Choose you this day whom ye will serve.— 

Joshua 24:15. 

No one can serve two masters: 

either he will hate one and love the other, 
or else he will stand by the one and de¬ 
spise the other— 

you cannot serve both God and Mammon. 

—Matthew 6 : 24. 

Choosing one's life work is not a thing which should 
be decided hastily. It is a problem which should be 
thought upon for weeks or even months. But a far 
greater decision than what vocation you should take up 
is the question of whether you will work whole-heartedly 
for Christ wherever you go and whatever vocation you 
may employ as a method of so doing. If you do, you 



142 CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP IN HIGH SCHOOL 


will have time to decide what specific work you should 
undertake; and no matter what it is, you will find in it a 
deep and permanent source of real joy. On this basis you 
can never be a round peg in a square hole. 

Another consideration in choosing your life work is 
the lasting good it will do. You can do work that will 
crumble in a short time or you can do work which may 
be less spectacular but will last throughout eternity. As 
we saw yesterday, no one but a Christian can do such 
work as the latter. 

Can a great work be done for Christ by a man who is 
giving only part time to him ? Is it true that no man can 
serve two masters ? 

Is there any difference between serving God and serv¬ 
ing men ? 


Father, help me to put my life in the place of 
greatest need, and say, <c Thy will be done, not 
mine.” Bless me to-day, and may I decide to dedi¬ 
cate myself to thee, wherever I may be. Amen. 


FOURTH DAY. 

The Privilege of Making Secular Work 
Christian. 

As the human body is one and has many mem¬ 
bers, all the members of the body forming one 
body for all their number, so it is with Christ. 

. . . Now you are Christ’s Body, and severally 
members of it. . . . Are all apostles? Are all 
prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of 
miracles? Are all endowed with the gifts of heal- 



SOCIAL PRIVILEGES OF A CHRISTIAN 143 

ing? Are all able to speak in “tongues”? Are 
all able to interpret? 

Set your hearts on the higher talents. 

—I Corinthians 12:12, 27, 29-31. 

Some fellows think that to give up their lives in full¬ 
time Christian service they must enter the ministry or the 
Y. M. C. A., or be a foreign missionary. But in reality a 
man may serve God fully whether he is a clergyman or a 
layman. His only concern is to find the job where he can 
best work for God, whether he is an engineer, a cattle- 
raiser, a mine-worker, or a minister, and then to put God 
into that job. A cattle-raiser is devoting all his time to 
God as much as a minister if he is sure that that is what 
God wants him to be and if he is using his talents in the 
one great effort to put Christ and Christian principles 
into cattle-raising. Ministers are after all only the lead¬ 
ers and teachers of the great body of Christians. Minis¬ 
ters cannot and do not want to do all the Christian work 
of the world. It is up to the real Christians in the shops 
and fields and mines and schools to put their ideals 
into every business or industrial or personal or scholastic 
activity they are interested in. If you are not fitted to 
go into the ministry itself, be a “reserve” and put your 
heart and soul into Christ’s own work in the way he has 
mapped out for you, and “Behold, your reward is great.” 

What different manners are there in which a layman 
might carry on the work of Christ? How about Chris¬ 
tian work in the legislatures ? Can it be done ? Is it done 
in your city and state and in the national Congress? Is 
it done anywhere abroad? Can America call itself a 
Christian nation ? Can any nation ? Is it harder to live a 
Christian life as a professional Christian worker or as a 
Christian layman? Why? 


144 CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP IN HIGH SCHOOL 


Our Father, help us to realize that it is our privi¬ 
lege and pleasure as Christians to work for thy 
kingdom wherever we may be and whatever we 
may be doing. We thank thee, Lord, for this and 
for thy increasing care for us and our neighbors. 
Amen. 


FIFTH DAY. 

The Privilege of the Christian Ministry at 
Home. 

Every high priest who is selected from men 
and appointed to act on behalf of men in things 
divine, offering gifts and sacrifices for sins, can 
deal gently with those who err through ignorance, 
since he himself is beset with weakness—which 
obliges him to present offerings for his own sins 
as well as for those of the People. Also, it is an 
office which no one elects to take for himself; he 
is called to it by God, just as Aaron was.— 
Hebrews 5: 1-4. 

I render thanks to Christ Jesus our Lord, who 
has made me able for this; he considered me 
trustworthy and appointed me to the ministry; 

. . . and the grace of our Lord flooded my life 
along with the faith and love that Christ Jesus 
inspires .—I Timothy 1: 12-14. 

Ministers of Christ have a real privilege, both at home 
and abroad, in social affairs. At home, there are the 
slums of our great cities which abound in filth and ig¬ 
norance and vice. There is only one way to change this 
terrible state and that way is Christ. The clergyman or 
social worker who can “clean up” even a very infinitesi¬ 
mal part of this may well consider himself privileged. 


SOCIAL PRIVILEGES OF A CHRISTIAN 145 


And then there are the many young men and women who 
are just starting out in life—boys like ourselves—who 
need to be guided and advised. Who has a better op¬ 
portunity for this than a Y. M. C. A. secretary or a minis¬ 
ter? The minister can also give comfort to those who 
are sick or in trouble, preach sermons which will help 
hundreds to lead a good life through the week, organize 
classes and clubs and Sunday Schools for boys and girls 
which will make a vast difference in their lives, and 
breathe Christian ideals into many business men, indus¬ 
trial workers, soldiers, engineers, farmers, artists, jour¬ 
nalists, actors, teachers, lawyers, politicians, mothers and 
all the rest of the society who make up the membership 
of his church and community. It is a life of rare op¬ 
portunities for influence which is open only to a Chris¬ 
tian. A young man, facing his life-work problem, 
should think long and often before passing by this re¬ 
markable privilege. 

For qualifications of a minister read I Timothy 3: 1-7 
and Titus 1:7-10. Are the same qualifications needed 
now as in Paul’s day ? 

Lord, we pray for thy ministers of mercy, and 
for their work the world around. We ask thy 
blessing and mercy for the poor people of our 
great country, which is supposed to be Christian 
but is crowded with vice and ignorance to the 
point of bursting. Raise up men who will be will¬ 
ing to pay the price of bringing about salvation. 
In Jesus' name we ask it. Amen. 



146 CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP IN HIGH SCHOOL 


SIXTH DAY. 

The Privilege of the Christian Ministry 
Abroad. 

Go and make disciples of all nations, baptize 
them in the name of the Father and the Son and 
the holy Spirit, and teach them to obey all the 
commands I have laid on you. And I will be with 
you all the time, to the very end of the world.— 
Matthew 28: 19-20. 

Sacrifice and joy are not usually thought of as going 
together; but in the life of a foreign missionary, one is 
entirely dependent upon the other. These “men’s men,” 
although they endure some physical discomforts, have 
the greatest joy of any people in the world, for they are 
pioneers in new conquests for Christ. 

Some people say that such men live and die in ob¬ 
scurity, but although some of them never come before 
the eyes of the world at large, others like Livingstone and 
Grenfell are as famous as the greatest financiers. And 
even those whose names are not known in this country 
have an influence and a fame among the people they serve 
which is very rare. The opportunities for such wide- 
flung service will not last forever. A wave of missionary 
possibilities such as the one we are living in comes only 
occasionally in history. We now have in Asia equal op¬ 
portunities with Paul of the Mediterranean basin, Augus¬ 
tine of England and Boniface of Germany. Our grand¬ 
fathers did not have such a chance and by the time our 
grandsons grow up it may be gone. Let us take this 
“tide in the affairs of men” while it is at its crest, and 
those of us who are fitted for this work are lucky fellows 
indeed! 


SOCIAL PRIVILEGES OF A CHRISTIAN 147 


Father, we thank thee for the hrave men who 
go out for thee to foreign lands, risking life and 
limb for the sake of their Saviour, whom they 
wish to make the world’s Saviour. We ask for 
thy protection, that they may continue in their 
wonderful work for many years. And may many 
new fellows in this land accept with joy the privi¬ 
lege of serving thee abroad. Amen. 


SEVENTH DAY. 

The Privilege of Full Friendship With God. 

In the early religions of the Greeks and Romans, the 
people bowed down before stone images, which expressed 
the manlike gods who lived on Mt. Olympus. Their gods 
had most of the virtues of our Father (or were supposed 
to have them) but something was lacking. These gods 
were not satisfactory, as is shown by the eagerness with 
which the people accepted Christ. Their gods were aloof, 
living on the mountain top, far-off and not available to 
common men. People had no way of communication 
with their gods when they wished. 

But a Christian can call on God any time and any¬ 
where and be sure of his helpfulness and friendship. 
God is always a friend to those who need him, “a very 
present help in time of trouble’’; and this, after all, is the 
greatest fact there is about Christianity. True friendship 
is the finest thing in the world; and if a fellow can be in 
complete and satisfying friendship with the only perfect 
Friend, he has attained to the highest that life has in 
store for any one: he is a son of God. 


148 CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP IN HIGH SCHOOL 


I have told you this, that my joy may be within 
you and your joy complete. This is my com¬ 
mand : you are to love one another as I have loved 
you. To lay life down for his friends, man has 
no greater love than that. You are my friends— 
if you do what I command you; I call you ser¬ 
vants no longer, because a servant does not know 
what his master is doing: I call you friends, be¬ 
cause I have imparted to you all that I have 
learned from my Father. You have not chosen 
me, it is I who have chosen you, appointing you 
to go and bear fruit—fruit that lasts, so that the 
Father may grant you whatever you ask in my 
name .—John 15:11-16. 

Be sure that every one who practises righteous¬ 
ness is born of him. “Born of him!” Think what 
a love the Father has for us, in letting us be 
called “children of God!” That is what we are. 

—I John 2 : 29—3:1. 


Father, may I always remember that you are my 
best friend and that you will help me through all 
my difficulties. I thank thee, Lord, for this great 
privilege, and pray that I may always live up to 
my side of it. And may I continually try to gain 
this privilege for others as well, so that the whole 
world may be a brotherhood of children of God. 
In Jesus' name. Amen. 



SOCIAL PRIVILEGES OF A CHRISTIAN 149 


“SEARCH-MYSELF” QUESTIONS 

Am I really fairly comparing the advantages and disad¬ 
vantages of full-time Christian service with other oppor¬ 
tunities, before I choose my life work? 

Have I tested my motives in choosing my vocation by 
the moral tests of honesty, unselfishness, purity and love? 

Do I honestly use my friendship with God to help me 
live a better life for the sake of other men? 

Am I a joyful Christian, or a Christian because of 
duty? 

Do I feel a real Christian brotherhood with other 
Christians of the world, or am I trying to be a selfish 
Christian, and thus a hypocrite? 

Are my friendships based on service-interests or selfish 
interests ? 

If all of my problems — mental, physical, spiritual and 
social—can be solved by reliance upon Christ, is that suf¬ 
ficient reason for me to give back to him “my life, my 
soul, my all”? 


EXPRESSIONAL EXERCISES 

Arrangements should be made for each member of the 
group to have a vocational guidance interview with a 
qualified man. 

Each fellow should give a little speech comparing the 
advantages and disadvantages of at least four different 
vocations. 

Let the group be shown through a factory, a mercantile 
establishment, an institutional church, a model farm, and 
write reports on the visits. 


150 CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP IN HIGH SCHOOL 

Let each fellow offer his services to his minister an 
hour or two a day for a week. 

Let the group put on a pageant or play about some mis¬ 
sionary country. 

Should a fellow choose his life-work while still in High 
School ? 


APPENDIX 


For those who wish to make this a full school-year’s 
course, the following division into twenty-four lessons is 
suggested. The leader may change this at his discretion, 
but whatever division he uses, let him plan it at the begin¬ 
ning of the year. 


1. The Purpose of an Education. 

2. The Acquisition and Proper Use of 

an Education . 

3. The School of Life. 

4. The Training of Character. 

5. The Use of Talents: Summary of 

Education . 

6. The Vigor of Physical Manhood. .. 

7. Sex Problems and My Character. .. 

8. Social Temptations and Needs. 

9. Individual Temptations and Needs . 

10. Making Use of Christ. 

11. How to Live with Christ. 

12. Reasons for Decision. 

13. The Decision Hour. 

(This should be the pivotal hour 
of the whole course.) 

14. Personal Work—Theory. 

15. Personal Work—Methods. 

16. Duties to Family, Friends, Ac¬ 

quaintances . 

17. Duties to Community and School.. 

18. Duties to Church and the World as 

a Whole. 

19. Social Groupings. 

20. Girls; Dancing and Other Parties.. 

21. Money; Sunday Observance; Sum¬ 

mary of Amusements. 

22. The Christian View of Life Service. 

23. The Professional Christian Voca¬ 

tions .. 

24. Carry On 


Chapter 1: 1,2. 


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151