House of God
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and worldly business transactions. These should be left outside the
church. God and angels have been dishonored by the careless, noisy
laughing and shuffling of feet heard in some places.
Children to Be Reverent
Parents, elevate the standard of Christianity in the minds of your
children; help them to weave Jesus into their experience; teach them
to have the highest reverence for the house of God and to understand
that when they enter the Lord’s house it should be with hearts that are
softened and subdued by such thoughts as these: “God is here; this is
His house. I must have pure thoughts and the holiest motives. I must
have no pride, envy, jealousy, evil surmising, hatred, or deception in
my heart, for I am coming into the presence of the holy God. This is
the place where God meets with and blesses His people. The high and
holy One who inhabiteth eternity looks upon me, searches my heart,
and reads the most secret thoughts and acts of my life.”
The delicate and susceptible minds of the youth obtain their es-
timate of the labors of God’s servants by the way their parents treat
the matter. Many heads of families make the service a subject of
criticism at home, approving a few things and condemning others.
Thus the message of God to men is criticized and questioned, and
made a subject of levity. What impressions are thus made upon the
young by these careless, irreverent remarks the books of heaven alone
will reveal. The children see and understand these things very much
quicker than parents are apt to think. Their moral senses receive a
wrong bias that time will never fully change. The parents mourn over
the hardness of heart in their children and the difficulty in arousing
their moral sensibility to answer to the claims of God
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Reverence should be shown also for the name of God. Never
should that name be spoken lightly or thoughtlessly. Even in prayer its
frequent or needless repetition should be avoided. “Holy and reverend
is His name.”
Psalm 111:9
. Angels, as they speak it, veil their faces.
With what reverence should we, who are fallen and sinful, take it upon
your lips
453
Testimonies for the Church 5:493-497
454
Education, 243