Preparation for Christ’s Coming
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many responsibilities resting upon us in this life, a neglect of which
will not only cause suffering to ourselves, but others will sustain loss
in consequence.
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Men and women professing to revere the Bible and follow its
teachings fail in many respects to perform its requirements. In the
training of children they follow their own perverse natures rather than
the revealed will of God. This neglect of duty involves the loss of
thousands of souls. The Bible lays down rules for the correct discipline
of children. Were these requirements of God heeded by parents, we
should today see a different class of youth coming upon the stage of
action. But parents who profess to be Bible readers and Bible followers
are going directly contrary to its teachings. We hear the cry of sorrow
and anguish from fathers and mothers who bewail the conduct of
their children, little realizing that they are bringing this sorrow and
anguish upon themselves, and ruining their children, by their mistaken
affection. They do not realize their God-given responsibilities to train
their children to right habits from their babyhood.
Parents, you are in a great degree responsible for the souls of
your children. Many neglect their duty during the first years of their
children’s lives, thinking that when they get older they will then be very
careful to repress wrong and educate them in the right. But the very
time for them to do this work is when the children are babes in their
arms. It is not right for parents to pet and humor their children; neither
is it right for them to abuse them. A firm, decided straightforward
course of action will be productive of the best results.
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