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Counsels on Sabbath School Work
hearts may be so fully taken up with these things that there will be
no place for God in their affections. He is by these means warping
the character and dwarfing the intellect of the youth of this generation.
It is the duty of parents to counteract his working. Every influence
brought to bear upon the young people to preserve in their hearts true,
unaffected humility, and the knowledge of the divine will, will aid in
holding them back from being corrupted with the vices of this age.
One of the most effective barricades against the incoming tide of
evil is the cultivation of habits of self-denial and benevolence. Children
should be educated to look with disgust upon habits of selfishness and
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covetousness. God has sacred claims upon them, and they need to
be instructed, line upon line, precept upon precept, to recognize and
conscientiously regard these claims.
It should be kept before the young and tender minds that God
is constantly giving His blessing to His dependent children, in the
sunshine and showers, which cause vegetation to flourish, and the
earth to yield her bounties for the service of man. These blessings are
not bestowed upon us to encourage our selfish natures, by retaining the
treasures of God’s bounty, and fixing our affections on them, but that
we may render back to the Giver, gifts and offerings. This is the least
expression of gratitude and love that we can return to our benevolent
Creator.
There has been a great neglect on the part of parents in not seeking
to interest their children in the workings of the cause of God. In many
families the children seem to be left out of the question, as if they were
irresponsible beings. Some parents even rob God of His just claims in
tithes and offerings that they may save wealth for their children, not
thinking that in so doing they are opening to their loved ones a door of
temptation which will generally prove their ruin. They remove from
the children the necessity of personal exertion, and with it an incentive
to noble achievement.
If they were encouraged to do so, the children would earn means
to devote to benevolent purposes, and to the advancement of the cause
of God; and their interest would be increased by the fact that they
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had invested something in these enterprises. Their small donations
would be a material aid, and the children themselves would be far
better, physically, mentally, and morally, for the effort they had made.
Through their diligence and self-denial they would gain a valuable