Letters to Young Black Men: Advice and Encouragement for A Difficult Journey by Daniel Whyte, III Whyte

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THE MAIN THING
Letter One
Dear Young Black Man:
       I am writing this letter from Hamden, Connecticut. I trust that you are doing well in these days.
       Recently, I was speaking in a church in Orlando, Florida and I saw a sign on the front of the pulpit, that read:
                          The Main Thing
                          Is To Keep
                          The Main Thing
                          The Main Thing.
       In this my first letter to you, I would like to speak to you about the most important aspect of your life – your Spiritual Life - the Main Thing. Now, you may not now think that your spiritual life is the most important part of your life, but trust me, it is. The longer you live on planet earth, the more you realize that life is more about the inner man than the outer man; for you see, you are not a body with a spirit. Rather, you are a spirit with a body. If your physical body would fall away, you would still exist.
       Jesus said: "...Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." -Matthew 4:4
       I realize that talking about things spiritual is not popular these days, and it may not be what you wish to talk about at this time. I recall, when I was a child and got sick with what they called the "whooping cough" or some type of flu or cold, my dear grandmothers, Beaman and/or my great-grandmother Breedlove
would give me something that I didn’t like - but needed. It was called "Castor’s Oil". Dear young black man, you may not like all that I am saying, but being that I have gone and am going the way that you are, I can say firmly and lovingly that you need it! Before we talk about things that may seemingly be of more interest to you, we must put the horse before the cart. We must put first things first.
       Your spiritual life, your relationship with God, should be your number one priority in this life. No, it is not your health, your wealth or even your education. It is God and God alone! There was a time that we
as a race of people put more of an emphasis on the spiritual life than we do now. Today, however, we are placing more of an emphasis on the body, material things and money. And we wonder why we have the murder, mayhem and madness in our community! Young man, you can be a part of turning things around for your people. But you must put God first and make your spiritual life priority number one.
       Jesus also said: "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"
-Mark 8:36
       Yours For Putting God First,
       Daniel A. Whyte, III
       P.S. One with God is a majority. -Billy Graham
       America has abandoned the strong woman of spirituality and is shacking up with the harlot of materialism.   -Joseph Lowery
       He who provides for this life, but takes no care for eternity, is wise for a moment, but a fool forever.       -Tillotson
       The greatest riches of our community are not material but moral. -David N. Dinkins
       It is our duty to conserve our physical powers, our intellectual endowments, our spiritual ideals. -W. E. B. Du Bois