Chapter 59—The Aged Parents
“Honor Thy Father and Thy Mother.”—The obligation resting
upon children to honor their parents is of lifelong duration. If the
parents are feeble and old, the affection and attention of the children
should be bestowed in proportion to the need of father and mother.
Nobly, decidedly, the children should shape their course of action even
if it requires self-denial, so that every thought of anxiety and perplexity
may be removed from the minds of the parents....
Children should be educated to love and care tenderly for father
and mother. Care for them, children, yourselves; for no other hand can
do the little acts of kindness with the acceptance that you can do them.
Improve your precious opportunity to scatter seeds of kindness
Our obligation to our parents never ceases. Our love for them, and
theirs for us, is not measured by years or distance, and our responsibil-
ity can never be set aside
Let children carefully remember that at the best the aged parents
have but little joy and comfort. What can bring greater sorrow to their
hearts than manifest neglect on the part of their children? What sin
can be worse in children than to bring grief to an aged, helpless father
or mother
Smooth the Pathway—After children grow to years of maturity,
some of them think their duty is done in providing an abode for their
parents. While giving them food and shelter, they give them no love
or sympathy. In their parents’ old age, when they long for expression
of affection and sympathy, children heartlessly deprive them of their
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attention. There is no time when children should withhold respect and
love from their father and mother. While the parents live, it should be
the children’s joy to honor and respect them. They should bring all the
cheerfulness and sunshine into the life of the aged parents that they
possibly can. They should smooth their pathway to the grave. There is
1
Manuscript 18, 1891
.
2
The Review and Herald, November 15, 1892
.
3
Ibid
.
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