r and then in the afternoon they were going to
another town close by, and have young people's meeting. I repeated what
my father said and told them that I couldn't go. One girl especially
began to beg me to go by saying that she was sure my father would not
care. I still refused to go, so she talked to her mother about it. Her
mother told me that she would take care of the three smaller children if
I wanted to go with the young people to the meeting and she was sure my
father would know they were in good care. This over-persuasion was hard
to turn down, so I went home with them for dinner and to the young
people's meeting in the afternoon. I didn't feel very good over it as I
knew what my father's command was and I knew that when he told me to do
something he expected me to do it. Needless to say, when my father heard
about it, I was punished for disobeying him. He also had prayer with me,
instructing me to seek God's forgiveness. The good intentions of others
did not sway him. He told me I should not let others influence me to
disobey him, regardless of what they presented. It grieved him very much
to think that I didn't do as he had told me, and he said that he didn't
know if he could trust me again. I was very sorry and grieved also, as I
did want him to trust me.

My dear grandson, God is grieved when we let others influence us to do
wrong, even though it may seem right to them. They might present a
plausible thing, but if God said for us not to do it, we must not. We
must obey God. We are individually responsible to God to give an account
for our deeds. We can't tell God that others thought it was all right.
That will never excuse us.

We read of Saul, the king of Israel, who let the people persuade him to
keep the sheep, oxen, etc. of the wicked nation of the Amalakites, when
God had told him to completely destroy everything. The people said that
they should take the best and offer them as a sacrifice to the Lord.
This might have seemed plausible, but it was a direct disobedience to
the Lord's command. The Lord told Saul, "to obey is better than
sacrifice." Saul's punishment was great. Samuel, the prophet of the Lord
said, "thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord hath
rejected thee from being king over Israel." I Sam. 15:20-26.

God expects us to obey Him and when we do, we will have peace in our
souls. Disobedience will bring the disfavor of God upon our soul and it
will have to be punished.

Je