Honesty is all-important. “Thou shalt not steal” is one of God’s commandments. When you were in slavery you may have thought that you had a right to take from your master what you could get hold of, and hesitated only from the fear of being found out. Even some slaves who call themselves pious, have thought it was not wrong to take from the master’s crib whatever they could lay their hands upon. But if they had read the Bible, they would have seen how wrong it was. The apostle Paul, writing to the bondmen in his day, says they must “not purloin;” which means, they must not steal even a little thing from their masters, nor from anybody else. If then any of you have fallen into this wicked habit, stop it at once. Besides, if you steal, the law will seize upon you, and you may have to go to prison, or suffer some worse punishment. You are _now_ under law, and must be an honest keeper of the law. LYING. Be truthful. Some have said that lying is universally practised among the slaves--that they seem to think it is no sin, or if it be a sin, that it is a very little one. If this be so, then we urge you to get your minds at once set right in this matter. Lying is a sin, and a great sin. God has said, “Thou shalt not bear false witness,” and that forbids lying of all kinds. He says too, “Lie not one to another.” And still more, he says, “Liars shall have their part in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone.” He is a God of truth, and he commands us all to “speak the truth in love.” SWEARING. Perhaps you are not a profane swearer. We hardly think swearing is as common among the blacks as it is among the whites: to the shame of the whites be it said. Yet we have heard some shocking oaths from colored men and women. This wicked habit the Bible condemns. “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.” “Swear not at all,” said Jesus. If any of you have fallen into this dreadful habit, break it off, stop it at once. And if you have not, then guard against it. PURITY. Be chaste. I dare say you know what that means. Whatever bad examples you may have had, you should now and henceforth keep from that destructive vice which God has forbidden in the seventh commandment. It is, “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” This means, to keep to your own wife, and the wife keep to her own husband. If you break over this bound, you break God’s law. In slavery, this vice or wickedness has not been thought so very bad; and perhaps, in some instances, it may even have been encouraged. But it was wicked _then_, and it is wicked _now_. Whatever apologies you may have made for it before, you are now out of the house of bondage, and under the same laws that all are. A woman’s character, married or unmarried, is blasted if she is impure; and in the sight of God an impure man is equally sinful.