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Counsels for the Church
it is qualifying and educating the mind and body better to perform the
work God designs men shall do in various lines
None of us should be ashamed of work, however small and servile
it may appear. Labor is ennobling. All who toil with head or hands
are workingmen or workingwomen. And all are doing their duty
and honoring their religion as much while working at the washtub or
washing the dishes as they are in going to meeting. While the hands
are engaged in the most common labor, the mind may be elevated and
ennobled by pure and holy thoughts
One great reason why physical toil is looked down on is the slip-
shod, unthinking way in which it is so often performed. It is done from
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necessity, not from choice. The worker puts no heart into it, and he
neither preserves self-respect nor wins the respect of others. Manual
training should correct this error. It should develop habits of accuracy
and thoroughness. Pupils should learn tact and system; they should
learn to economize time and to make every move count. They should
not only be taught the best methods, but be inspired with ambition
constantly to improve. Let it be their aim to make their work as nearly
perfect as human brains and hands can make it
It is a sin to let children grow up in idleness. Let them exercise their
limbs and muscles, even if it wearies them. If they are not overworked,
how can weariness harm them more than it harms you? There is
quite a difference between weariness and exhaustion. Children need
more frequent change of employment and intervals of rest than grown
persons do; but even when quite young, they may begin learning to
work, and they will be happy in the thought that they are making
themselves useful. Their sleep will be sweet after healthful labor, and
they will be refreshed for the next day’s work
One’s Mother Tongue Should Not Be Ignored
And in every branch of education there are objects to be gained
more important than those secured by mere technical knowledge. Take
language, for example. More important than the acquirement of for-
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Fundamentals of Christian Education, 229
353
Testimonies for the Church 4:590
354
Education, 222
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The Adventist Home, 289