Chapter 7—“A Godly Example in the Home”
Preview
In this selection Ellen White underlines the theology of parenting,
which may seem to be an odd phrase. We are used to such expressions
as the theology of righteousness by faith and the theology of the
Sabbath; But to use the word theology in connection with the task
of rearing or teaching children is not often done
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Yet parenting has large spiritual implications. “There are few
parents who realize how important it is to give to their children the
influence of a godly example. Yet this is far more potent than precept.
No other means is so effective in training them to right lines.” Again,
Ellen White says, “When parents awaken to a true understanding of
their neglected duties, they will marvel at the spiritual blindness that
has characterized their past experience.”
Children require daily spiritual attention. For one thing, their lives
are changing too rapidly for mere once-a-week guidance. Each day
foundation elements of character are being formed
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But there’s a second reason for daily spiritual help. A church with
high ideals for its young necessarily has high standards. Now, if high
or rigorous standards are left unexplained, if they aren’t imaginatively
adapted to a child’s daily routine, they quickly become burdensome
and oppressive to a young person. And a child may obey for a while.
He may attempt to please a parent or a teacher or a pastor, but if he
does so without enthusiasm for the church’s standards and ideals, he is
subtly developing the character of a rebel. In another place Ellen White
warns, “A sullen submission to the will of the father will develop the
character of a rebel. The service is looked upon by such a one in the
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light of drudgery. It is not rendered cheerfully and in the love of God.
It is a mere mechanical performance.”—
That I May Know Him, 120
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In this reading God’s servant notes the role played by Christ’s life
and sacrifice in teaching children cheerful obedience. Jesus’ sweet and
optimistic treatment of individuals disarms those who think of God
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