How to Help the Erring
When people who are at fault become conscious of their error, be careful not to destroy their self-respect. Do not discourage them by indifference or distrust. Do not say, “Before giving them my confidence, I’ll wait to see whether they’ll hold out.” Often this very distrust causes tempted ones to stumble.MHH 88.1
We should try to understand the weakness of others. We know little of the heart trials of those who have been bound in chains of darkness and who lack resolution and moral power. Most pitiable is the condition of those who are suffering under remorse. They are as one stunned, staggering, sinking into the dust. They can see nothing clearly. The mind is beclouded, they know not what steps to take. Many a poor soul is misunderstood, unappreciated, full of distress and agony—a lost, straying sheep. The soul cannot find God, yet has an intense longing for pardon and peace.MHH 88.2
Utter no word to cause deeper pain! To souls weary of sin but not knowing where to find relief, present the compassionate Savior. Take them by the hand, lift them up, speak to them words of courage and hope. Help them to grasp the hand of the Savior.MHH 88.3
We become too easily discouraged over people who do not at once respond to our efforts. Never should we cease to work for a soul while there is one gleam of hope. Precious souls cost our self-sacrificing Redeemer too dear a price to be lightly given up to the tempter’s power.MHH 88.4
We need to put ourselves in the place of the tempted ones. Consider the power of heredity, the influence of evil associations and surroundings, the power of wrong habits. Can we wonder that under such influences many become degraded? Can we wonder that they should be slow to respond to efforts for their uplifting?MHH 88.5
Often, when won to the gospel, those who appeared coarse and unpromising will be among its most loyal adherents and advocates. They are not altogether corrupt. Beneath the rough, forbidding exterior are good impulses that might be reached. Without a helping hand many would never recover themselves, but by patient, persistent effort they may be uplifted. Such need tender words, kind consideration, tangible help. They need the kind of counsel that will not extinguish the faint gleam of courage in the soul. Workers who come in contact with them should consider this.MHH 88.6
Some will be found whose minds have been so long debased that they will never in this life become what they might have been under more favorable circumstances. But the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness may shine into the soul. It is their privilege to have the life that measures with the life of God. Plant in their minds uplifting, ennobling thoughts. Let your life make plain to them the difference between vice and purity, darkness and light. In your example let them read what it means to be a Christian. Christ is able to uplift the most sinful and place them where they will be acknowledged as children of God, joint heirs with Christ to the immortal inheritance.MHH 88.7
By the miracle of divine grace, many may be fitted for lives of usefulness. Despised and forsaken, they have become utterly discouraged, and may appear stoical and stolid. But under the ministration of the Holy Spirit, the dull, clouded mind will awake. The slave of sin will be set free. Vice will disappear, and ignorance will be overcome. Through the faith that works by love, the heart will be purified and the mind enlightened.MHH 89.1