Counsel to Youths

Solomon’s later writings reveal that as he realized more and more the wickedness of his actions, he gave special attention to warning the youth against the errors that had led him to squander Heaven’s best gifts. With sorrow and shame he confessed that in the prime of manhood, when he should have found in God his comfort, his support, his life, he put idolatry in the place of the worship of God. And now his greatest desire was to save others from the bitter experience through which he had passed.RR 29.5

With touching appeals he wrote concerning the privileges before the youth: “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.” Ecclesiastes 11:9, 10.RR 29.6

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.” Ecclesiastes 12:1RR 30.1

The life of Solomon is full of warning. When his character should have been like a sturdy oak, he fell under the power of temptation. When his strength should have been the firmest, he was found to be the weakest. The only safety for both young and old is in watchfulness and prayer. In the battle with inward sin and outward temptation, even the wise and powerful Solomon was conquered. His failure teaches that whatever our intellectual qualities may be and however faithfully we may have served God in the past, we can never trust our own wisdom and integrity.RR 30.2

It is as true now as when Moses spoke to Israel about obedience to God’s commandments: “This is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples.” Deuteronomy 4:6. Here is the only safeguard for individual integrity, the purity of the home, or the stability of the nation. “The statutes of the Lord are right,” and “he who does these things shall never be moved.” Psalm 19:8; 15:5.RR 30.3