Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students - Ellen G. White

temptation, an indwelling Christ is their only
safeguard against evil. They must learn to look to
Jesus continually, to study His virtues, to make
Him their daily pattern. Then truth, brought into
the inner sanctuary of the soul, will sanctify the
life. They must be trained to weigh their actions, to
reason from cause to effect, to measure the eternal
loss or gain to the life given to serve the purposes
of the enemy or devoted to the service of
righteousness. They should be taught to choose as
their companions those who give evidence of
uprightness of character, those who practice Bible
truth. By association with those who walk
according to principle, even the careless will learn
to love righteousness. And by the practice of right
doing there will be created in the heart a distaste
for that which is cheap and common and at
variance with the principles of God’s word.
Strength of character consists of two things--
power of will and power of self-control. Many
youth mistake strong, uncontrolled passion for
strength of character; but the truth is that he who is
mastered by his passions is a weak man. The real
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