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Simplicity, March 20
But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through
his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity
that is in Christ.
2 Corinthians 11:3
.
He who will observe simplicity in all his habits, restricting the appetite
and controlling the passions, may preserve his mental powers strong,
active, and vigorous, quick to perceive everything which demands thought
or action, keen to discriminate between the holy and the unholy, and
ready to engage in every enterprise for the glory of God and the benefit of
humanity
The little ones should be educated in childlike simplicity. They should
be trained to be content with the small, helpful duties and the pleasures
and experiences natural to their years. Childhood answers to the blade in
the parable, and the blade has a beauty peculiarly its own. Children should
not be forced into a precocious maturity, but as long as possible should
retain the freshness and grace of their early years. The more quiet and
simple the life of the child—the more free from artificial excitement and
the more in harmony with nature—the more favorable it is to physical and
mental vigor and to spiritual strength.
Parents should by their example encourage the formation of habits of
simplicity, and draw their children away from an artificial to a natural life.
Those children are most attractive who are natural and unaffected
The greatest Teacher the world ever knew was admired for His simplic-
ity; for He presented divine truth in such a way that even children could
comprehend His words, and at the same time He drew the attention of the
best educated and deepest thinkers of the world. By the use of familiar
illustrations He made truth plain to the minds of the common people. In
simplicity He sowed the seed of the gospel truth in the minds and hearts of
His hearers, and it sprang up and yielded a harvest unto everlasting life
His [Christ’s] glory was in His simplicity
[87]
53
The Signs of the Times, September 29, 1881
.
54
Child Guidance, 139
.
55
The Youth’s Instructor, May 4, 1893
.
56
Counsels on Health, 320
.
87