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Fathers to Spend Time with Children, June 9
And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in
the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
Ephesians 6:4
.
While we have dwelt upon the importance of the mother’s work and mission,
we would not lightly pass over the duty and responsibility of the husband and
father in the training of his children. His efforts should be in harmony with those
of the God-fearing mother. He should manifest his love and respect for her as the
woman he has chosen and the mother of his children....
Fathers should ... mingle with the children, sympathizing with them in their
little troubles, binding them to their hearts by the strong bonds of love, and
establishing such an influence over their expanding minds that their counsel will
be regarded as sacred....
Upon returning home from his business he should find it a pleasant change to
spend some time with his children. He may take them into the garden, and show
them the opening buds, and the varied tints of the blooming flowers. Through such
mediums he may give them the most important lessons concerning the Creator, by
opening before them the great book of nature, where the love of God is expressed
in every tree, and flower, and blade of grass. He may impress upon their minds the
fact that if God cares so much for the trees and flowers, He will care much more
for the creatures formed in His image. He may lead them early to understand that
God wants children to be lovely, not with artificial adornment, but with beauty
of character, the charms of kindness and affection, which will make their hearts
bound with joy and happiness.
Parents may do much to connect their children with God by encouraging them
to love the things of nature which He has given them, and to recognize the hand
of the Giver in all they receive. The soil of the heart may thus early be prepared
for casting in the precious seeds of truth, which in due time will spring up and
bear a rich harvest. Fathers, the golden hours which you might spend in getting a
thorough knowledge of the temperament and character of your children, and the
best methods of dealing with their young minds, are ... precious.—
The Signs of
the Times, December 6, 1877
.
The father’s duty to his children should be one of his first interests. It should
not be set aside for the sake of acquiring a fortune, or of gaining a high position in
the world. In fact, those very conditions of affluence and honor frequently separate
a man from his family, and cut off his influence from them more than anything
else. If the father would have his children develop harmonious characters, and be
an honor to him and a blessing to the world, he has a special work to do.—
The
Signs of the Times, December 20, 1877
.
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