No. 24
ON A START IN LIFE
To Young Women
A start in life must come sooner or later to young women as well as to young men. Like the latter, they must say farewell to their quiet girlhood in entering upon some occupation—it may he as servant, it may be as seamstress, or as a clerk in some of the higher branches of women’s work, in the postal, telegraph, and other services; or it may be as a governess, or music teacher. In entering on any of these new positions, a great and important step is taken, entirely analogous to that on which we wrote a few words in our last chapter. To such who have thus, in some way or other, to leave their homes to earn their daily bread, what we said there is perfectly applicable.
Show Your Colors
A young girl, going out from under her mother’s care to service, or becoming an apprentice, or a clerk, is surrounded with temptations. She will, in most cases, find that those around her are worldly, giddy, and have a general dislike to “religion.” If she would live to God’s glory, she must begin by showing her colors, and the sooner she lets it be plainly known among her fellow-workers, that she belongs to Christ, and means to stand up for Him, the sooner she will be understood. It is in vain to try and go on with the world, and to follow Christ as well. Once she has taken her stand, the world—represented by her godless companions—is against her, and she must understand this.
Of course, in her ways and manners she must be additionally obliging and kind, doing others a good turn whenever it lies in her power. But she must be prepared for every little inconsistency to be shown up in the most glaring light. The very fact of her being in such company will help to keep her straight, for if she tries to copy any worldly ways, her companions will be the first to point out the inconsistency with some such kind remark as, “She a Christian, indeed!”
These taunts are felt, because in a measure they are deserved, and the young Christian sees that the world is sharp enough to discover when she does not adorn her profession.
By Practical Christianity
It is evident, therefore, that both for her own sake and for her Master’s, the more quiet and consistent her walk, the happier her life. Respecting her work, it must be well and thoroughly done. No worldly master or mistress can understand or respect a Christianity, which consists in reading religious books, instead of doing one’s work, or in always wishing to go out to some meeting, instead of keeping the house straight. Our work must be done cheerfully, and be “Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over.” A Christianity that makes one help a slower worker, when one has done one’s own task, that does not draw the line at the exact amount of work paid for, that seeks to help and assist generally, that takes an interest in what is being done, is readily understood and appreciated.
O! seek, then, my dear fellow-believers, thus to adorn the gospel of God your Savior in all things. Not only in being in your accustomed seat on the Sunday, but in little acts of kindness all through the week, done for Christ’s sake ever seeking opportunities of doing good. If you have helped some poor girl to get through her heavy task, and taken half the load on your own shoulders, you have won her gratitude, and may have opened a door in her heart to some loving words about the One who took your burden on His shoulders.
In your dress, too, surely there is great scope for adorning the gospel of Christ, in a way those of your own sex especially, are ready to observe. I do not mean in dressing like a nun, or sister of mercy, but like a Christian, having a desire to please Christ even in your outward appearance.
A Good Example Encourages Others
One reward, of standing up for Christ, is that it frequently is the means of encouraging some more timid sister to show her colors, and you will often discover some hidden member of Christ in this manner. It is a wonderful help, when there are two in a business or situation, that love the Lord. It doubles their strength and halves their trials. If, therefore, you find you are really alone, resolve that by God’s grace you will not remain alone, and earnestly seek to win some soul for Him from among your companions.
Marriage
Besides all these ways, however, in which you make a start in life, there is another and a more important way still, and that is by marriage. To young men, marriage seldom comes as a beginning in life, for, generally, they have been out the world some years before. But to girls, and especially to those who are not compelled to labor for a livelihood, marriage is often the portal through which they are introduced, from the quiet seclusion of home, into the vast world without. Many children of God have, from time to time, borne witness as to the vast importance, for good or evil, of this momentous step. It has been shown by instances drawn from real life, and by the direct Word of God, how this union, to be blest, must be in the Lord (that is, both husband and wife children of God), and of the Lord (that is, both naturally and spiritually suited to each other, and His guidance sought in the matter).
We do not now allude further to this, save again to point out that more young Christians are wrecked, and the fair promise of their young lives blighted, by hasty and ill-assorted marriages, than by anything else. It is probable that most, who read these lines, are yet unmarried; to such we would earnestly say, above all things honor God in this step. Let no inclination, no apparent worldly advantage, lead you to overlook the fact that as surely as you are God’s child, and as surely as He is your Father, so surely as you sow you shall reap; and if you, with your eyes open, disobey Him to please yourself, you must inevitably suffer deeply for it, whereas if you seek in this truly to glorify Him, He will uphold you.
How to Act in Married Life
We will suppose, however, that you have taken the step, and that no objection is to be made to your marriage, there still remains the question.
“How are you to act in your new relationship?”
In the first place, never let the new scenes and occupations interfere with the old duties—daily private reading, and prayer. This is the sheet-anchor of your soul, and if you have already experienced the blessing of it in your girlhood, it is worse than folly to neglect it now.
Next, as in business, so here—it is the first step which is all-important. Let it be plainly understood at the outset by your new connections and friends that you are a believer, by your servants that they have to do with a Christian mistress.
Lastly, make your start in life with a definite object before you for attainment, and that is, to glorify God in the new sphere in which He has placed you, as a wife—a mistress—a friend—and a mother. Let nothing obscure this object, but let it quietly underlie all your actions, and you will be blessed in all your relations. Not that such a steady course is easy. You will have to strive through many cross-currents, especially when your interests, or those of your children, seem to point one way, and God’s glory another. But if it is the constant habit of your life to know and feel that this is your object, you will be greatly helped at such times, and—by God’s grace—ever gain the victory.