334
The Adventist Home
struction should be continued through all their years to manhood and
womanhood
Let every family seek the Lord in earnest prayer for help to do the
work of God. Let them overcome the habits of hasty speech and the
desire to blame others. Let them study to be kind and courteous in the
home, to form habits of thoughtfulness and care
[439]
What harm is wrought in the family circle by the utterance of
impatient words, for the impatient utterance of one leads another to
retort in the same spirit and manner. Then come words of retaliation,
words of self-justification, and it is by such words that a heavy, galling
yoke is manufactured for your neck; for all these bitter words will
come back in a baleful harvest to your soul
Hard words beat upon the heart through the ear, awakening to life
the worst passions of the soul and tempting men and women to break
God’s commandments .... Words are as seeds which are planted
Passionate Words a Species of Swearing—Among the members
of many families there is practiced the habit of saying loose, careless
things; and the habit of tantalizing, of speaking harsh words, becomes
stronger and stronger as it is indulged, and thus many objectionable
words are spoken that are after Satan’s order and not after the order of
God.... Burning words of passion should never be spoken, for in the
sight of God and holy angels they are as a species of swearing
How a Father Lost His Children’s Confidence—My brother,
your overbearing words hurt your children. As they advance in years,
their tendency to criticize will grow. Faultfinding is corrupting your
life and is extending to your wife and to your children. Your children
are not encouraged to give you their confidence or to acknowledge
their faults, because they know that your stern rebuke is sure to follow.
Your words are often as a desolating hail which breaks down tender
plants. It is impossible to estimate the harm thus done. Your children
practice deception in order to avoid the hard words you speak. They
will evade the truth to escape censure and punishment. A hard, cold
[440]
21
Manuscript 53, 1912
.
22
Manuscript 31, 1907
.
23
The Review and Herald, February 27, 1913
.
24
Letter 105, 1893
.
25
The Youth’s Instructor, September 20, 1894
.