Page:The New View of Hell.djvu/208

 when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions."

We may keep the commandments, then, or shun the deeds which they forbid, yet in such a proud spirit or from such selfish motives, that we shall not be shunning hell at the same time. We may shun fraud, falsehood, theft, adultery, etc., merely from fear of the law, or of some personal or worldly loss. In that case we shun the evil from prudential considerations, not because it is wrong or sinful in itself; and this is not really shunning the evil at all.

If, therefore, we would shun hell, we must keep the commandments from a religious ground. We must regard the evils which they forbid, as sins against God, and shun them because they are sins. If our self-love prompts us to deceive or defraud our neighbor, or to take any undue advantage of his weakness or ignorance, or to injure him in any way, we must regard and shun the doing of such wrong as a sin. If we are in the habit of using profane language—of taking the Lord's name in vain—we must regard and shun this habit, not merely because it is ungentlemanly or disreputable, but because it is sinful. If we are inclined to deprive another, without his knowledge or consent, of anything that justly belongs to him—be it honor, property, reputation, social position, political or religious influence—we must regard and shun such robbery as a sin. If we are inclined to speak evil of others, to slander them—which is a kind of