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Establishing Right Principles in the Youth
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children are becoming demoralized, they are inclined to find fault
with those who have charge of the work, when the evils have been
caused by the course of the parents themselves.
Instead of uniting with those who bear the burdens, to lift up the
standard of morals, and working with heart and soul in the fear of
God to correct the wrongs in their children, many parents soothe
their own consciences by saying, “My children are no worse than
others.” They seek to conceal the glaring wrongs which God hates,
lest their children shall become offended and take some desperate
course. If the spirit of rebellion is in their hearts, far better subdue
it now than permit it to increase and strengthen by indulgence. If
parents would do their duty, we should see a different state of things.
Many of these parents have backslidden from God. They do not
have wisdom from Him to perceive the devices of Satan and to resist
his snares....
Every son and daughter should be called to account if absent from
home at night. Parents should know what company their children
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are in and at whose house they spend their evenings. Some children
deceive their parents with falsehoods to avoid exposure of their
wrong course. There are those who seek the society of corrupt
companions and secretly visit saloons and other forbidden places of
resort in the city. There are students who visit the billiard rooms, and
who engage in card playing, flattering themselves that there is no
danger. Since their object is merely amusement, they feel perfectly
safe. It is not the lower grade alone who do this. Some who have
been carefully reared, and educated to look upon such things with
abhorrence, are venturing upon the forbidden ground.
The young should be controlled by firm principle, that they
may rightly improve the powers which God has given them. But
youth follow impulse so much and so blindly, without reference
to principle, that they are constantly in danger. Since they cannot
always have the guidance and protection of parents and guardians,
they need to be trained to self-reliance and self-control. They must
be taught to think and act from conscientious principle.