“How, then, are we to make our resolutions good?  How are we to be sure that the new leaf which we turn over will not be blown back again by the first wind of passion or discouragement which comes?

“I believe we can do it by making our resolutions positive and not negative.  Let me explain what I mean.  We are normal human beings.  We demand activity.  There must be something doing.  If we are giving our time wastefully to society, to the theater, to the many other forms of amusement we shall find ourselves most miserable if we simply resolve to eliminate these things from our lives.  To do this is to make a negative resolution.  No, the thing to do is to resolve that hereafter our time will be spent in busying ourselves at those things which are wholesome, helpful to others, and of such a character to bring delight to us because of the service we can render to the world.  What can you do?  Why, the field to do good is never overcrowded.  The church and the Sunday school offer many avenues of activity.  Find out the thing you can do best—­uncover your talent.  Get busy at good works, and then there will be no room for the objectionable things and they will die out because good habits are growing in their stead.

“To do this is the surest way to ’set your mind on the things that are above, not on things that are upon the earth,’ and when this is done we need have little concern about our happiness.”

THE MOUNTAIN CLIMBER
    —­Light
    —­Danger

All Light, Shining in the Darkness, Is Either a Guide or a
Warning.

THE LESSON—­That the Bible sends out two kinds of light, guiding and warning, and that all who neglect it are groping in the dark, “loving darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil.”

The word Light, appears very frequently in the scriptures as a type of the highest human good.  All of the most joyous emotions of the mental and physical natures of man are described in the imagery of light.  Throughout the Book it is used to typify the true religion and happiness.

The Talk.

“When we go riding in an automobile after dark, we light the lamps at the front and at the rear.  Why do we light the lamps?  So the light will shine on the roadway and we will be able to see where we are going and thus avoid mishap and injury?  Yes, but how about the lamp at the rear?  Oh, we light that one so other people will not run into us.  Yes, and that, too, is one of the great reasons why we light the front lamps.  If we were to start out on a night journey with no lamps burning, there would be great danger of accident, and especially if we were to meet another automobile which had no lights burning.  We would be apt to bump into each other.  The law recognizes all this and compels us to keep our automobile lights brilliantly shining.