1 Corinthians 4:10-14 We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ; we are weak, but you are strong; you are honorable, but we are despised.… There are three vitally important choices to be made by young men, about which a few plain hints may be pertinent and useful. The first one is his occupation. "He who does not bring up his son for a trade brings up a boy for the devil," is an ancient Jewish provers. In America, too, many of the native-born youths eschew a mechanical trade as vulgar, and go scouring about for some easier "situation." If Benjamin Franklin, the printer, and Roger Sherman, the shoemaker, were alive now, they would tell their young countrymen what a foolish mistake many of them are making. So would Vice-President Wilson and Governor Banks, who said that he "graduated from an institution which had a factory-bell on the roof and a water-wheel at the bottom." In selecting your occupation, endeavour first to find out what the Creator made you for. Consult your natural bent and talent. If you have a talent for trade, then you may venture into a counting-room or store. If you have a native skill in chemistry, and are made for a doctor, then study medicine. If your mathematical capacity fit you for it, you may be an engineer. No one ever fails in life who understands his forte, and few ever succeeded in life who .did not understand it. Seek for a useful, productive calling, and steer clear of a career of "speculation" as you would a gambling den or a glass of gin. Don't be ashamed to begin at the bottom and work up. Remember that every occupation is honourable in which you can serve God and your fellow-men, and keep a clean conscience. (T. L. Cuyler.) Parallel Verses KJV: We are fools for Christ's sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but we are despised. |
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