Chapter 43—Discipline in the Home
Well-ordered, Well-disciplined Families—It is the duty of those
who claim to be Christians to present to the world well-ordered, well-
disciplined families—families that will show the power of true Chris-
tianity
It is no easy matter to train and educate children wisely. As parents
try to keep judgment and the fear of the Lord before them, difficulties
will arise. The children will reveal the perversity bound up in their
hearts. They show love of folly, of independence, a hatred of restraint
and discipline. They practice deception and utter falsehoods. Too
many parents, instead of punishing the children for these faults, make
themselves blind in order that they shall not see beneath the surface
or discern the true meaning of these things. Therefore the children
continue in their deceptive practices, forming characters that God
cannot approve.
The standard raised in God’s Word is set aside by parents who
dislike, as some have termed it, to use the strait jacket in the education
of their children. Many parents have a settled dislike for the holy
principles of the Word of God, because these principles place too
much responsibility on them. But the after sight, which all parents are
obliged to have, shows that God’s ways are the best, and that the only
path of safety and happiness is found in obedience to His will
Restraint of Children Is No Easy Task—In the present state of
things in society, it is no easy task for parents to restrain their children
and instruct them according to the Bible rule of right. When they
would train their children in harmony with the precepts of the Word
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of God and, like Abraham of old, command their households after
them, the children think their parents overcareful and unnecessarily
exacting
1
The Review and Herald, April 13, 1897
.
2
The Review and Herald, March 30, 1897
.
3
The Signs of the Times, April 17, 1884
.
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