Amusement should be used to do us good “like a medicine”: it must never be used as the food of the man...Many have had all holy thoughts and gracious resolutions stamped out by perpetual trifling. Pleasure so called is the murderer of thought. This is the age of excessive amusement: everybody craves for it, like a babe for its rattle.
We are not called to proclaim philosophy and metaphysics, but the simple gospel. Man's fall, his need of a new birth, forgiveness through atonement, and salvation as the result of faith, these are our battle-ax and weapons of war.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the importance of sharing simple spiritual truths rather than complex philosophies.
Charles Spurgeon's quote highlights the core message of Christianity, asserting that the fundamental beliefs regarding human issues such as sin, the need for spiritual rebirth, and salvation are paramount. Instead of getting entangled in philosophical debates, he encourages believers to focus on clear and straightforward teachings that address humanity’s fundamental spiritual needs—treating these truths as powerful tools in their spiritual mission.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
During a church service, a pastor may use this quote to encourage congregants to focus on the foundational teachings of their faith.
More from Charles Spurgeon
All quotes →When you see no present advantage, walk by faith and not by sight. Do God the honor to trust Him when it comes to matters of loss for the sake of principle.
It is far easier to fight with sin in public than to pray against it in private.
You will never glory in God till first of all God has killed your glorying in yourself.
After faith comes repentance, or, rather, repentance is faith's twin brother and is born at the same time.
["All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant."] The original Hebrew word that has been translated "paths" means "well-worn roads' or "wheel tracks," such ruts as wagons make when they go down our green roads in wet weather and sink in up to the axles. God's ways are at times like heavy wagon tracks that cut deep into our souls, yet all of them are merciful.
Similar quotes
Arithmetic is where the answer is right and everything is nice and you can look out of the window and see the blue sky - or the answer is wrong and you have to start over and try again and see how it comes out this time.
Crimes are not to be measured by the issue of events, but by the bad intentions of men.
Am I the woman I think I am, the woman I want to be? More importantly, am I the woman the Savior needs me to be?
Men cease to interest us when we find their limitations
To be a utilitarian means that you judge actions as right or wrong in accordance with whether they have good consequences. So you try to do what will have the best consequences for all of those affected.
Aging does not need to be hidden or denied, but can be understood, affirmed and experienced as a process of growth by which the mystery of life is slowly revealed to us.