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The Work of Both Parents is Important, June 11
[The Lord] blesses the home of the righteous.
Proverbs 3:33
, N.I.V.
The Word of God should be judiciously brought to bear upon ... youthful
minds, and be their standard of rectitude, correcting their errors, enlightening and
guiding their minds, which will be far more effectual in restraining and controlling
the impulsive temperament than harsh words, which will provoke to wrath....
A sunny countenance and cheerful, encouraging words will brighten the poor-
est home, and be as a talisman to guard the father and the children from the many
temptations that allure them from the love of home....
But the work of making home happy does not rest upon the mother alone.
Fathers have an important part to act. The husband is the house-band of the home
treasures, binding by his strong, earnest, devoted affection the members of the
household, mother and children, together in the strongest bonds of union. It is for
him to encourage, with cheerful words, the efforts of the mother in rearing her
children.
The mother seldom appreciates her own work, and frequently sets so low an
estimate upon her labor that she regards it as domestic drudgery. She goes through
the same round day after day, week after week, with no special marked results.
She cannot tell, at the close of the day, the many little things she has accomplished.
Placed beside her husband’s achievement, she feels that she has done nothing
worth mentioning.
The father frequently comes in with a self-satisfied air, and proudly recounts
what he has accomplished during the day....She has not done much except take
care of the children, cook the meals, and keep the house in order. She has not
acted the merchant, bought nor sold; she has not acted the farmer, in tilling the
soil; she has not acted the mechanic—therefore she has done nothing to make her
weary....
Could the veil be withdrawn, and father and mother see as God sees the work
of the day, and see how His infinite eye compares the work of the one with that of
the other, they would be astonished at the heavenly revelation. The father would
view his labors in a more modest light, while the mother would have new courage
and energy to pursue her labor with wisdom, perseverance, and patience.
Now she knows its value. While the father has been dealing with the things
which must perish and pass away, the mother has been dealing with developing
minds and character, working, not only for time, but for eternity. Her work, if
done faithfully in God, will be immortalized.—
The Signs of the Times, September
13, 1877
.
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