“Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.” John 17:20-21
COMMANDED TO BE UNITED
Christ prayed to the Father that we all may be one, that the world might believe that God had sent Him. We, as members of the Lord’s church, are commanded to be of one mind so that the church can be effective in its mission to save the lost.
In I Cor. 1:10 we read, “Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. ”
Phil. 2:2 says, “Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.”
Romans 15:6 says — That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
The above scriptures are used, and rightly so, to teach the denominational world that there is only one church. That we all have to teach the same thing. We need to uphold these scriptures in our own local congregations as well.
The purpose of this study is to help us come to a better understanding of our role in God’s plan for unity among his people.
In I Tim 4:12, Paul told Timothy, “Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. ”
We, as children of God, are to be representatives of the Lord. We are examples of the believers (the church) to the world. What the world sees in us is what they will know as the church of Christ. We need to be sure that what our lives show to the world is what Christ would have them see.
OUR STATION IN LIFE
Each of us has a distinct role in the design of God’s creation! We are instructed in I Cor. 11, how we should fit into that design and are given the authority by which we are to serve Him.
Verse 2 tells us we are to keep these ordinances as they have been delivered unto us. Then Paul explains the order of man in verse 3. “But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; ” (man is to be in subjection to Christ) “and the head of the woman is the man; ” (the woman is to be in subjection to man), “and the head of Christ is God” (Christ is subject to God). This is God’s Divine Plan; we cannot change it. We are to submit to this authority, otherwise anything we do in service to Him will not be acceptable.
God made this distinction between the male and female in Gen. 2:18 where we learn that the woman was made for man. In Gen. 3:16, the woman was told that because she was first in the transgression of God’s law (not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil), that her desire would be to her husband and he would rule over her. This distinction is upheld and taught throughout the New Testament.
In Eph. 5:22-24, the wife is given instructions regarding her status in God’s plan. “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.” (The wife cannot be subject to God without first being in subjection to her husband, just as the husband cannot submit to God without being in complete subjection to Christ.)
Col. 3:18 says, “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord.”
Although woman is under man in authority, we learn in I Tim. 2:5 that both man and woman must pray through Christ to God. “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. ” We return to I Cor. Chapter 11 for special instructions regarding our prayers to God. In Verse 4 we learn that if a man prays or prophesies to God with his head covered, he dishonors his head. Verse 3 tells us that the head of man is Christ. Therefore, a man cannot pray to God directly, he must pray through Christ, and if he has his head covered he dishonors his head (Christ) because he was made in the image of God according to Verse 7.
The woman must also pray through Christ unto God. How does she do this? Her head is man – how does she bypass man to pray through Christ unto God? Verse 5 – “Every woman that prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head ” (her head is man). Woman is at all times, in subjection to man, or under man in authority; she therefore, must cover her head in order to pray through Christ unto God. God has never given his children a command but that he makes a way for them to obey that command. Please read verses 1-16 of this chapter. In Verse 15, we are told what covering the woman is to have and the man is not to have. “But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering.” When hair is used in this verse to denote long hair, that word in the Greek is a verb that means “growing” or to “let the hair grow.” When it is used as a covering, it denotes “ornament.” Paul says, if the woman’s hair is long (growing, uncut) it is a glory to her. The word glory here means, praise or honor. If the woman has long, growing, uncut hair, it calls forth praise or honor to her, because her hair is given her for a covering. The Christian woman who removes any part of her covering by cutting bangs or trimming ends or whatever, disobeys the command to be covered and not only dishonors her head (man) but also Christ/God by not respecting their authority as to her position in God’s divine plan of authority.
Whether or not the woman has a husband, she is still under man in authority and cannot pray through Christ unto God without her covering. Not only is a woman’s prayers hindered if any part of her hair (covering) is removed, but she also shows to the world that she is not in subjection to man. Long hair is one of the outward signs by which the Christian woman shows that she recognizes her position in God’s divine plan and is in obedience to God’s will. I Cor. 14:37 says, “If any man think himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord. ” Paul warns the church at Corinth that these things he is writing to them are not merely his own thoughts or opinions, but are the commands of the Lord.
APPAREL EXTERNAL SIGN OF WOMAN’S SUBJECTION
I Tim. 2:9-10 states “In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works. ”
The letter to Timothy is Paul’s instructions regarding what he is to teach the church. He has been left by Paul at Ephesus to instruct the church in “godly edification.” In Verse 4, Timothy’s command to the women is that they should dress modestly, with shamefacedness and sobriety. Dressing in this manner shows their subjection to man.
Modest is defined as – neither bold nor self assertive, decent, unpretentious. The synonym of modest is: humble, shy, chaste. In dressing modestly (as the Christian is commanded to do) we must dress so as to show: one professing Godliness; decent, as one professing humility; shy, chaste, as one that is not bold nor self assertive.
The Christian woman is also commanded to dress with shamefacedness. Shamefacedness simply means with a sense of shame. One is to dress with a sense of shame. We are to dress so that our nakedness is not shown, for that is shameful.
The Christian woman is to dress in sobriety. Sobriety carries with it the idea of being grave, restrained, and showing the qualities of a meek and quiet spirit.
In I Peter 3:1-6 we read: “Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives; While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear. Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; but let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands: Even as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement.
TODAY’S APPAREL
In light of the above scriptures, let us examine the dress of today:
Let us look first at the problem of wearing shorts and swimwear. It would seem that we would not need to discuss this as being a problem with Christian women. However, as we live in the world it is very easy for us to become a part of the world without realizing that we are transgressing God’s law. In Gen. 2:25 we read, ‘And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. ” Gen. 3:7 reads, ‘And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons. ” When their eyes were opened, Adam and Eve knew they were naked and were ashamed. Although they had made aprons to cover their nakedness, God did not consider that sufficient covering because he made them coats of skins and clothed them, Gen. 3:21. 1 have to believe that God still considers his people naked when they are clothed in aprons; which is probably more covering than our modem day swim wear.
In Isaiah 47:2-3, the exposure of Babylon’s sin is compared to a woman who in crossing a stream of water on foot would “make bare her leg, and uncover her thigh. ” The prophet said of her, “Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen: ” God says the woman who makes bare her leg or uncovers her thigh, uncovers her nakedness and her shame is seen by others. I believe the hardened sinner would have to blush at the apparel worn today; and I have to believe that even the sinner out in the world expects more than that from the Christian. Rev. 16:15 says, “Behold, I come like a thief Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed. ” (NIV) God has always abhorred nakedness in his children. Would you want the Lord to come seeking his children while you were dressed in shorts or swim wear?
Matt. 5:26 reads, “Whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. ” The man who lusts after a women surely commits sin; but the women who causes that lust, if it is due to her nakedness, is just a guilty.
The divorce rate today is approximately 50%. One out of every two marriages ends in divorce. This is not only people of the world, the church is experiencing divorce on a rapidly increasing scale. We need to be aware of this problem and make every effort to train our members to keep the home as God has set it in order. Some, if not a major part, of the marital problems in the home today are brought about by immodest dress. God created the man and woman with a natural desire for each other. This desire is to be fulfilled only in marriage. If the Christian man and woman are dressed as God has commanded, with their bodies covered, and with a meek and quiet spirit, as one professing godliness, most of the “affairs” that lead to divorce would be prevented.
I believe we can see from the aforementioned scriptures that God does not consider shorts, swim wear or short skirts that reveal the leg and/or thigh to be modest apparel.
WOMEN WEARING PANTS.
The scriptures teach us that God still demands that the distinction He has placed between the man and woman be upheld under the New Testament law. The Christian woman’s role in life is to be in subjection to man. She is to be submissive to her husband, she is not to be bold nor self-assertive, but is to be discreet, chaste, decent, modest and shy. The Christian woman cannot be “liberated” from her God-given position in life, although the woman’s liberation movement has done all in its power to change this. Nevertheless, God has demanded that woman remain and be content with her submissive role to man. The woman or man is not to change their natural sex into that of the opposite sex (either by sexual acts or by giving that appearance in their dress). There was a recent Catholic publication put out which carried a picture of a procession of “Gays” marching for their “rights.” One of these men carried a sign which read: “God loves me Gay.” Nothing could be farther from the truth. Paul says in Romans 1:26-28 “Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.
“Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. – (NIV) Paul says the man or woman who change their God given role in life and try to be like the opposite sex is given over to a depraved mind. The Christian should not wear that which would in any way condone the actions of those Paul has just talked about.
Titus 2:3-5 reads — The aged women likewise, that they be in behavior as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;
That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children.
To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.”
In addition to the woman’s being in subjection to her husband, there are some other thoughts in this scripture we need to consider.
The older women are commanded to teach the younger women. They are to teach them: 1) to be sober – to use sound judgment and prudence; 2) to love their husbands; as we have already studied, the woman is to be in subjection to her husband. She is to love, honor and respect him as being over her in authority: 3) She is to love her children. We think this scripture goes without saying: that it is automatic that the Christian woman loves her children; yet this is the scripture I want to “reason” with you about!
In Proverbs 22:6 we’re told to “Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” We sometimes use this scripture to assure ourselves that our wayward or worldly children will return to the fold. Thankfully, sometimes this is the case!
However, couldn’t this scripture also read like this? “Train up a child in the way he should NOT go and when he is old he will not depart from it?
Young Christian mothers, let me save you many hours of grief and worry: you cannot train your little girls to wear shorts, swim suits, pants, cut their hair, give them to the world until they are 16 years old and then say to them, “These things I have taught you all these years are wrong; you can’t do them any more!” In most cases it does not work. The peer pressures and snares of the world are too great. I know first hand, how hard it is when your little girl says to you, “Why can’t I go swimming, everyone else is?”: I know also your reply of “God doesn’t want you to dress that way” isn’t going to mean much to a five year old. However, young children’s minds and thoughts are formed at a very early age. It is far easier to form Christian principles early in life.
You wouldn’t allow your young children to play in the street and “hope” they didn’t get killed. Yet a far greater fate than physical death awaits them if they do not conform to the will of God. What if your child says to you in the judgment, “Mom, why did you let me do that? Why didn’t you tell me it was wrong?” Then you hear the Lord say to them, “depart from me ye workers of iniquity.”
Christian mothers, no greater task will ever be given you than to love your children so much that you will see that they are taught God’s word and that they form Christian habits when they are young. You must be an example to them in the way you dress and act. Christians are commanded to be separate from the world. Children need an example of this from us before they are expected to be separate. Yes, the older sisters must teach the young women to “love their children.”
Before we get into our study of pants, we first need to consider the split skirt. When the split-skirt was first introduced, it became the Christian woman’s “substitute” for pants. However, upon closer scrutiny I believe we can see that these split-skirts do pertain to men’s clothing and that when a split-skirt is worn, if it is truly a split “skirt,” then a regular skirt or dress could be worn just as effectively. If it is not a split skirt, it is either long shorts or short pants. In either case, they are not proper apparel for the Christian woman. She is to be dressed, at all times, whether she is standing or sitting in the apparel that leaves no doubt that she is indeed a woman; that she recognizes her God-given role in life and is submissive to it. There is really no “substitute” for women’s apparel.
Satan is a subtle, shrewd serpent! When he first devised the “unisex” movement by enticing women to wear men’s clothing, he did not start out with skin tight, stone washed Levis! He is much too shrewd for that. Instead he began with pant suits, which at first looked like pants under a dress. Women reasoned that since the dress covered the pants, what could be wrong with that? Soon the dress got shorter and shorter, then disappeared altogether. However, by that time, the woman was convinced there was nothing wrong with pants and consequently was in disobedience to God’s command to keep the sexes separate by appearance.
HOW THE WORLD SEES US
The following information is given so that you can see what many in the outside world think of the woman wearing pants.
The first is from an Oklahoma daily newspaper: Dear Doctor: I read your column recently in the Columbus, Ohio Dispatch about women wearing jeans to church. The first thing I noticed was that everyone including yourself gave opinions. Not one word was mentioned about what God had to say on the subject. Since it was His house, I believe it is important to find out what He has to say about it. In Deut. 22:5, it says “The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman’s garment; for all that do so are abomination unto the Lord thy God. ” Signed: Rev. Charles McKenzie, Jr., Columbus, Ohio.
The second from an Oklahoma daily newspaper: Dear Abby: I’ve been married for 18 years, and I’m ashamed to have my wife meet my business associates or customers. She has cut her hair very short – just like a man, and she never wears any makeup. She hasn’t worn a dress in two years. She always wears pant suits. When I ask her to try to look more feminine and let her hair grow, she gets angry and asks me why I married her. Well, Abby, she didn’t look like that when I married her. She had pretty long hair, and dressed like a girl.”
Third from the Daily Register – Gainesville, TX. Dear Ann Landers: I would like to comment on that letter written by a teenage girl who complained about the terrible manners of teenage boys in her school. She gave as an example, the way the boys shoved the girls around and elbowed in front of them to get a seat on the school bus. Our children are grown, but in “my day” (I know how teenagers hate this phrase) we had no such problem. Why? Because boys looked like boys; and girls looked like girls and behaved like young ladies. Today almost every girl I see looks like “one of the guys” in her jeans or overalls or hip huggers, denim shirt, battle jacket and cowboy belt. After all, Ann, when a girl looks like “one of the guys” she shouldn’t be surprised if she is treated like one.
Finally, the following are excerpts from a tract purchased in a Baptist book store entitled “Watergate in the Mirror of Scripture,” by Ralph Bauma, Ledger, Montana. “And what shall we say to equally elaborate on women wearing slacks. We see in Deuteronomy 22:5, “The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man … for all that do so are abomination unto the Lord thy God.”
“Is not the woman wearing of men’s clothes equally a part of the unisex movement, and also the movement for the women’s liberation which is so contrary to the word of God.”
And now, isn’t it equally a trick of Satan to cause a woman to rise up in rebellion against God and to refuse that her husband shall rule over her? And in the women’s liberation movement and in the unisex movement, isn’t it true that men wearing long hair and the women wearing men’s clothing is to take away the distinction that God has placed between a man and woman?”
And certainly we dare not deny that pants pertain unto a man. And therefore, as it is written in Deuteronomy 22:5, all women who wear pants are an abomination in the sight of the Lord.”
The above articles were written by people in the world, are they referring to those in the Lord’s church?
We are to be an example of the believers. We are representatives of the church, of the Lord if you will. We must be such that would cause those outside the church to want to be a member of the church and not look upon us with reproach. We cannot give them any reason to spurn the church and be lost.
The scripture used by “those in the world;’ Deuteronomy 22:5 to show that the woman shouldn’t wear pants, is shunned by some of our members, saying that it is in the Old Testament and therefore does not apply to us today. However, as we have already noted, God’s design of authority for man and woman was set forth before the Old Testament Law was given. The distinction was made between man and woman by God when they were created, long before the Law was given to Moses. This distinction is not specific to any one law, but is to be upheld and adhered to from Adam to the end of time. The scripture in Deut. 22:5 simply shows that God demanded this distinction be upheld under the Old Testament Law just as he demands the same of us today in the Christian Age, under the New Testament Law of Christ.
God has not changed his mind regarding the authority by which we serve him, i.e., God, Christ, man and woman; nor the moral obligation he has placed upon his children; as we learned in I Corinthians 11, Ephesians 5, Colossians 3, 1 Peter 3, etc.
Let me give you some comments from the scholars regarding Deut. 22:5.
Albert Barnes says: “The distinction between the sexes is natural and divinely established, and cannot be neglected without indecorum and consequent danger to purity (I Cor. 11:3-15).
Keil and Delitzsch, two of the most respected commentators on the Old Testament say, regarding Deut. 22:5, “The immediate design of this prohibition was not to prevent licentiousness, or to oppose idolatrous practices; but to maintain the sanctity of that distinction of the sexes which was established by the creation of man and woman, and in relation to which Israel was not to sin. Every violation – and wiping out of this distinction, such even for example as the emancipation of a woman – was unnatural and therefore an abomination in the sight of God.”
The above scholars show, as we have stated already, that the distinction between the sexes (which Deut. 22:5 has reference to) was established by God at creation, and is to be upheld by man and woman for all times.
We frequently go to the Old Testament for the purpose of definition and a better understanding of a New Testament principal. For example, most people believe it was wrong to “take the name of God in vain;’ but what passage prohibits it? I believe it is wrong, but to show why, I would go to Deut. 5:11 and Exodus 20:7, and show that this is what Jesus had reference to in Matt. 5:33-37. (Let your communication be yea, yea, and nay, nay, for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.)
Paul said of the Old Testament scriptures in I Cor. 9 regarding the church’s support of preachers of the gospel, that these scriptures (thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox which treadeth out the corn) were written for our sakes, that we might better understand the obligation of the churches’ responsibility of support for gospel preachers.
The New Testament teaches in Rev. 21:27 that “Whatsoever worketh abomination,” shall not enter the New Jerusalem. There are no specific abominations mentioned in the New Testament, so the passage in Revelation shows that those things that were abomination to God back then, still are today. Not everything mentioned as “abomination” in the Old Testament could be considered sinful today; some were things which were abomination to men and were not necessarily so to God. For example, it was an abomination for the Egyptians to eat with Hebrews, Genesis 43:32. Some animals were an abomination to the Hebrews, as in Leviticus 11, which Paul loosed for those in the New Testament age, I Timothy 4:4. But those things which involve moral evil are defined for us in the Old Testament and are bound upon us in the New Testament.
Let’s notice some of those things that were abominations to God under the Old Testament Law and see if those same principles are not taught against in the New Law.
Deuteronomy 7:25 “The graven images of their Gods shall ye burn with fire: thou shalt not desire the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therein: for it is an abomination to the Lord thy God. In I Timothy 6:10 we read: “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
Deuteronomy 25:13, 15 and 16 “Thou shalt not have in thy bag divers weights, a great and a small: but thou shalt have a perfect and just weight. For all that do such things and all that do unrighteously, are an abomination unto thy God.”
Proverbs 6:16-19, — These six things, doeth the Lord hate, yea, seven are an abomination unto him: a proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, an heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief a false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
Proverbs 11:20, — They that are of a froward heart are abomination to the Lord; but such as are upright in their ways are his delight.”
Proverbs 28:9, “He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be an abomination. ”
Would any deny that the principle of each of these abominations is taught against in the New Testament? Why then do we deny the principle taught in Deuteronomy 22:5? Peter alludes to the dress of Sarah as being one of the outward signs of her submission to Abraham in I Peter 3. He calls us daughters of Sarah, which we understand adhered to the command in Deut. 22:5 as to the principles of dress – both of the inward and outward person.
Another point to consider here is that the children of Israel were being nurtured along to the point of being able to receive the New Law of Christ. It was necessary to tell them specifically everything they were to do and not to do. We are a refined people, if you will. We can see God’s over-all plan. We live under the final law of God, the “perfect law of liberty.” God considers us knowledgeable enough to understand Christian principles taught in his word.
One last scripture to show the sacredness of the body: I Corinthians 6:20, “”at? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore, glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s. ” When we become members of the Lord’s church, we belong to Christ. He has “purchased” us. He has given us the Holy Spirit to be with us, to help us. Our body is a temple for the Holy Spirit. We are to glorify God – in our body and our spirit. That is our inner man as well as our external man. God is not glorified if the Christian is not dressed in the manner specified.
ATTITUDE OF THE CHRISTIAN
Finally there is another subject that needs to be mentioned, that is our attitude. If we have the proper attitude toward God, his word and our brothers and sisters in Christ, we won’t find it difficult to accept and obey his teachings. The only commands that God has given us are those that are essential to our salvation. For example we are taught in Romans 12:2, ‘And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” And again in 11 Corinthians 6:17, ” Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord,” The Lord knows that the things of the world will be a snare to us. He tells us that the world is a place of darkness: The kingdom of Christ is contrasted to the kingdoms of the world, as light is contrasted to darkness. The kingdoms of the world are owned by Satan according to Luke 4:5; but we have been translated into the kingdom of his dear Son. As members of the Body of Christ, we have become “new creatures” in this kingdom of light. It should be our sincere desire to uphold the principles of that kingdom and to be faithful, loyal subjects while we live here on this earth.
We only need to turn on our TV sets to know that the world lives in darkness. Nudity, fornication, and adultery are depicted as a wonderful way of life on the daytime “soaps” and even prime time viewing. This is accepted by our society as though it were wholesome family entertainment. It is shown as the way our society lives and prospers. This should show us the fallacy of being a part of the world. TV is one of the greatest tools that Satan has ever found by which to make converts. Although TV can be a good way to spread the gospel, I believe the bad far outweighs the good to the Christian.
Our attitude as Christians has to be “not my will Lord, but thine be done.
Isaiah 55:8-9 teaches us, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. ” We need to remember that we are an example of the believers in everything we do, think, or say; in the way we dress and act. We will be an example to the world, whether for good or bad.
There is a scripture in James 2:10 that we need to keep in mind as we strive to do the will of God. “For whoever keeps the whole law, and yet stumbles at just one point, is guilty of breaking all of it.” (NIV) We can’t take it upon ourselves to say one command is less important or not important at all. James tells us if we break only one command, we have broken the whole law. Let us, as Christian men and women observe what we know to be modest, what can’t be wrong, and walk in the sure way; for we know “There is a way that seemeth right unto men, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” Prov. 14:12.
