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to their children. That they might set their hope in God, and not forget
the works of God, but keep his commandments; and might not be as
their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation; a generation that
set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not steadfast with God.”
[
Psalm 78:5-8
.]
Deal honestly and faithfully with your children. Work bravely
and patiently. Fear no crosses, spare no time or labor, burden or
suffering. The future of your children will testify to the character of
your work. Fidelity to Christ on your part can be better expressed in
the symmetrical character of your children than in any other way. They
are Christ’s property, bought with his own blood. If their influence is
wholly on the side of Christ, they are his co-laborers, helping others to
find the path of life. If you neglect your God-given work, your unwise
course of discipline places them among the class who scatter from
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Christ and strengthen the kingdom of darkness.
This practical instruction in religious experience is what Christian
parents should be prepared to give their children. God requires this
of you, and you neglect your duty if you fail to perform this work.
Instruct your children in regard to God’s chosen methods of discipline
and the conditions of success in the Christian life. Teach them that
they cannot serve God and have their minds absorbed in over-careful
provision for this life; but do not let them cherish the thought that they
have no need to toil and may spend their leisure moments in idleness.
God’s word is plain on this point. Jesus, the Majesty of Heaven, has
left an example for the youth. He toiled in the workshop at Nazareth
for his daily bread. He was subject to his parents, and sought not
to control his own time or to follow his own will. By a life of easy
indulgence a youth can never attain to real excellence as a man or as
a Christian. God does not promise us ease, honor, or wealth in his
service, but he assures us that all needed blessings will be ours, “with
persecutions,” and in the world to come “life everlasting.” Nothing
less than entire consecration to his service will Christ accept. This is
the lesson which every one of us must learn.
The idea that we must submit to the ways of perverse children,
is a mistake. Even kindness must have its limits. Authority must
be sustained by a firm severity, or it will be received by many with
mockery and contempt. The so-called tenderness, the coaxing and
the indulgence used toward youth, by parents and guardians, is the