144 Historical Sketches of the Foreign Missions of the Seventh-day Adventists
down their own insatiable craving, their inflamed blood and irritated
nerves, as a legacy to their offspring. And as the children have less
power to resist temptation than had the parents, each generation falls
lower than the preceding.
The inquiry of every father and mother should be, “What shall
we do unto the child that shall be born unto us?” Many are inclined
to treat this subject lightly; but the fact that an angel of heaven was
sent to those Hebrew parents, with instruction twice given in the most
explicit and solemn manner, shows that God regards it as one of great
importance.
When the angel Gabriel appeared to Zacharias, foretelling the birth
of John the Baptist, this was the message which he brought: “He
shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine
nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost.” God
had an important work for the promised child of Zacharias to do; a
work that required active thought and vigorous action. He must have
a sound physical constitution, and mental and moral strength; and it
was to secure for him these necessary qualifications that his habits
were to be carefully regulated, even from infancy. The first steps in
intemperance are often taken in childhood and early youth; therefore
most earnest efforts should be directed toward enlightening parents
as to their responsibility. Those who place wine and beer upon their
tables are cultivating in their children an appetite for strong drink. We
urge that the principles of temperance be carried into all the details
of home life; that the example of parents be a lesson of temperance;
that self-denial and self-control be taught to the children and enforced
upon them, so far as possible, even from babyhood.
The future of society is indexed by the youth of today. In them
we see the future teachers and law-makers and judges, the leaders
and the people, that determine the character and destiny of the nation.
How important, then, the mission of those who are to form the habits
and influence the lives of the rising generation. To deal with minds is
the greatest work ever committed to men. The time of parents is too
valuable to be spent in the gratification of appetite or the pursuit of
wealth or fashion. God has placed in their hands the precious youth,
not only to be fitted for a place of usefulness in this life, but to be
prepared for the heavenly courts. We should ever keep the future life
in view, and so labor that when we come to the gates of paradise we