principle, lose faith in the
right and in God, and to serve the devil, the world, or the flesh.
Such moments may be very brief, yet decisive of our future life. They
may come suddenly upon us, though possibly many notes of warning have
announced their approach. For they are often but the apex of the
pyramid to which many previous steps have gradually and almost
imperceptibly led; the beginning of a battle, which must at last be
fought, and very shortly decided, but yet the ending of many previous
skirmishings. Be this as it may, that moment of life does come to us
all, when evil like the enemy appears to concentrate against us its
whole force, and when we must fight, conquer, or die; when like a
thief it resolves to break into our home and take possession; when as
a deceiver it promises happiness, and demands immediate acceptance or
rejection of the splendid offer,--"All these will I give thee, if thou
wilt fall down and worship me!"

What a moment is this in the life of many a young person. How
unutterably solemn is the first deliberate act which opposes
conscience, rebels against the authority of God and of His law, shuts
out the light, and prefers darkness. Future character, and the life
and happiness of years, may be determined by it. The step taken in
that brief moment, the lie uttered, the dishonesty perpetrated, the
drunkenness or debauchery indulged in, the prayers for the first time
given up, and the father's home left for the far country. Who can
realise the consequences of those first acts, or estimate the many
links of evil, and the endless chain itself, that may connect
themselves with the one link of sin fashioned in that moment of life!
Who can foresee the streams ever increasing in breadth and depth which
may flow from this letting in of water! Would God that my readers,
young men especially, would but believe in the possibility even of the
choice they make at such a time determining their future destiny. The
thought of this might at least make them pause and consider.

There is no exaggeration in this language. To realise the danger, all
we need assume is the law of habit; for, according to that law, we
know that any act of the will, good or bad, has a tendency to repeat
itself with increasing ease and decreasing consciousness, until it
becomes a "second nature." Hence the first resistance of evil is much
less difficult than any subsequent attempt; and he who in one moment
of life could by a manly ef