Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote about how
special it is to be young – “Youth comes but once in a lifetime.” I’m not sure
exactly what he had in mind when he said that. Perhaps he was warning younger
people to avoid dangerous dead-end paths in life that can lure them away from
God and badly harm or even prematurely end their lives. But more likely he had
in mind King Solomon’s three thousand year old plea to young people in
Ecclesiastes 11:7-12:1 – “Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, And let your heart
cheer you in the days of your youth; Walk in the ways of your heart, And in the
sight of your eyes; But know that for all these God will bring you into
judgment. Therefore remove sorrow from your heart, And put away evil from your
flesh, For childhood and youth are vanity.
Remember now
your Creator in the days of your youth, Before the difficult days come, And the
years draw near when you say, ‘I have no pleasure in them’ ” (New King James
Version). One modern English translation says in 11:9 – “Young people, it’s
wonderful to be young! Enjoy every minute of it. Do everything you want to do;
take it all in. But remember that you must give an account to God for
everything you do.” Amazing! In so many words, God counsels the young to, “Go
for it! Get at it! Don’t hold back!
Have a ball!
Live it up! Act your age! You ARE young, so don’t allow the older crowd to
hood-wink you into believing you’re bad because you act like a young person
instead of an old one!” Wow! When was the last time you heard this counsel preached
from the pulpit or by parents or grandparents?! J. K. Rowling spoke wise words
for the young and the old – “Youth cannot know how age thinks and feels. But
old men are guilty if they forget what it is like to be young.” At this point Solomon’s sermon sounds
pretty good to young people – just have fun! But be fair now – the last part of
11:9 reads, “Know (or remember) that
for all these God will bring you into judgment.” Solomon’s real
message to young people is, “Have fun – but don’t be dumb!
Don’t forget God
and His judgment. God will hold you accountable for the moral and spiritual
choices you make.” He counsels young people to “remove sorrow (that is vexation
or worry) from your heart” and also to “put away evil from your flesh.” Protect
your heart and mind and also your body. Put evil away. Look in the Bible and
look around in life and learn this lesson – you can’t win sinning. You are
young only once. What you allow into your heart and what you put into and do
with your body today builds the memories you will have through all your
tomorrow’s! Young people, God thinks highly of you! He took up space in His
word to especially address you and ask you to remember Him, even in your youth.
He thinks you
are well capable of doing that. Enjoy your fleeting journey through youth. Be
young and have fun – but don’t forget God and do dumb things that scar your
heart and conscience and your body. And if you do, turn to God for mercy and
help. A nervous lady on an elevator asked the operator, “What would happen if
the cable broke? Would we go up or down?” The operator replied, “That, Madam,
depends entirely on the life you’ve lived.” Young people – and old ones, too –
ought to absorb this truth – God wants us to enjoy life, but to enjoy it in
ways that keep us inside His will. We can have fun without being dumb. Think
about it.
by Dan Gulley, Smithville, TN
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