Words to Parents
NP
April 25, 1899
Portions of this manuscript are published in CG 27, 80, 97, 101, 194; 1MR 112-113.
There are things which it is [well] for the people of God to keep in mind. Jesus paid a great ransom to redeem the soul of men and women from the penalty of sin. He gave His own life, that all who believe in Him should have pardon, grace, and eternal life. Let men and women remember that to save them from eternal ruin God made a sacrifice that cannot be surpassed. The Son of the infinite God took human nature, that He might give His life as a sacrifice for the sinful race. All heaven was included in the gift of God’s Son. The heavenly universe is united with Christ in leading men and women to reach a high and holy standard. God calls upon us to be laborers together with Him, to put all our capabilities into the work of representing Christ. 14LtMs, Ms 64, 1899, par. 1
God never contradicts Himself. His revealed Word is His wisdom and goodness, shadowed forth by His works. When in communication with God, we constantly advance. We find nothing in the religious life burdensome or oppressive. God’s character, correctly estimated, leads us to reflect is love to others. The lives of those who know God are characterized by Christlike deeds and words. And the brightness of the rays of the Sun of Righteousness shines forth from them, flashing the illumination of the light of Christ upon the lives of others. 14LtMs, Ms 64, 1899, par. 2
There is no such thing as a joyless religion. Addressing His disciples Christ said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. ... He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me; and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. ... If a man love me, he will keep my words; and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings; and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me.” [John 14:15-17, 21, 23, 24.] 14LtMs, Ms 64, 1899, par. 3
“If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.” [John 15:10, 11.] Who but the world’s Redeemer could utter such precious words as these? This is no mere empty theory; it is a positive promise that there is joy in obedience. Upon the obedient the Sun of Righteousness arises with healing in His wings. He who wears the yoke of Christ will walk cheerfully, bravely bearing the cross. In so doing he becomes a partaker “of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” [2 Peter 1:4.] 14LtMs, Ms 64, 1899, par. 4
“Thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God: the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: but because the Lord loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations.” [Deuteronomy 7:6-9.] A thousand generations will bring us through all the trials of this life to the victorious end, when the reward will be given to God’s commandment-keeping people. 14LtMs, Ms 64, 1899, par. 5
“Wherefore it shall come to pass, if ye hearken to these judgments, and keep, and do them, that the Lord thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant and the mercy which he sware unto thy fathers: and he will love thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee: he will also bless the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy land, thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep, in the land which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee ... And the Lord will take away from thee all sickness, and will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which thou knowest, upon thee; but will lay them upon all them that hate thee.” [Verses 12, 13, 15.] 14LtMs, Ms 64, 1899, par. 6
Shall we not teach our children that willing obedience to the will of God proves whether those claiming to be Christians are Christians indeed? The Lord means every word He says. Christ died that the transgressor of the law of God might be brought back to his loyalty, that he might keep the commandments of God, and His law as the apple of His eye, and live. God cannot take rebels into His kingdom; therefore He makes obedience to His requirements a special requirement. Parents should diligently teach their children what saith the Lord. Then God will show to angels and to men that He will build a safeguard round about His people. Fathers and mothers should feel that there is most sacred missionary work to be done in their own home, in their own family, that the members of the family may become missionaries in every sense of the word. 14LtMs, Ms 64, 1899, par. 7
“Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day; lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein; and when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied, then thy heart be lifted up, and thou forget the Lord thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water; who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint; who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end; and thou say in thine heart, My power, and the might of mine hand hast gotten me this wealth. 14LtMs, Ms 64, 1899, par. 8
“But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God; for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day. And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the Lord thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish. As the nations which the Lord destroyeth before your face, so shall ye perish; because ye would not be obedient unto the voice of the Lord your God. ... All the commandments which I command thee this day, shall ye observe to do, that ye may live.” [Deuteronomy 8:11-20, 1.] We cannot keep the commandments unless Christ, the Lamb of God, takes away our sins. He is willing to bear the penalty and to impute His righteousness to every believing, repenting soul. 14LtMs, Ms 64, 1899, par. 9
“And now, Israel, what doth the Lord require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, to keep the commandments of the Lord, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?” [Deuteronomy 10:12, 13.] Parents, you are to keep the commandments of God perfectly, through the power given you by God. “As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name, which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. ... And of his fullness have all we received, and grace for grace.” [John 1:12-14, 16.] 14LtMs, Ms 64, 1899, par. 10
Temporal and spiritual prosperity are made conditional upon obedience to the law of God. But we do not read God’s Word, and thus become familiar with the terms of the blessing that is to be given to all who hearken diligently to God’s law and teach it diligently in their families. Obedience to God’s Word is our life, our happiness. We look upon the world and see it groaning under the wickedness and violence of men who have degraded the law of God. He has withdrawn His blessing from orchard and vineyard. Were it not for His commandment-keeping people who live upon the earth, He would not stay His judgments. He extends His mercy because of the righteous, who love and fear Him. 14LtMs, Ms 64, 1899, par. 11
The Lord has declared that His Sabbath “is a sign between me and the children of Israel ... throughout your generations, that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you. Ye shall keep the Sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you. Everyone that defileth it shall surely be put to death; for whoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six days may work be done, but in the seventh is a Sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord: whosoever doeth any work in the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations for a perpetual covenant.” [Exodus 31:17, 13-16.] But men boldly transgress God’s Word regarding His Sabbath. 14LtMs, Ms 64, 1899, par. 12
The wickedness of man has almost reached its boundary. Parents have neglected the education of their children, permitting them to follow their own unsanctified wills. Thus have been added to the ranks of Satan’s army thousands upon thousands of rebellious transgressors, who war against God and the truth. Those parents who betray their sacred trust will have much to answer for. By allowing Satan to use their uninstructed, untrained children, they lose their spiritual eyesight. They are unable to distinguish between righteousness and unrighteousness. They close the windows of the soul heavenward, opening them earthward, and the malarious atmosphere of unbelief poisons the spiritual life-current. They are weighed in the balance, and found wanting. 14LtMs, Ms 64, 1899, par. 13
I lift up my voice in warning, both by pen and voice, saying, Let the professed commandment-keeping people of God awake; let them arouse; let them receive the holy oil from the two olive branches, which empty this oil out of themselves into vessels prepared for its reception. Then they will feel that they have a work to do. They will realize that they must let their light shine. They will see that God will not accept a wrong example in the home. Parents who allow the minds of their children to become estranged from God, because they do not take up their God-given work, but choose to do a work, which seems more agreeable, will stand condemned in the judgment; for through that one element, that one strange branch, an example is set which makes many strange branches. Parents are the natural guardians of their children, and if they refuse to do the work in the family which God has given them to do, the curse resting upon Eli will most assuredly rest upon them. 14LtMs, Ms 64, 1899, par. 14
Can we be surprised, as we see how the words spoken by Christ from the pillar of cloud are disregarded, that the Lord cannot and will not bless the world? He cannot honor unfaithful stewardship in the home or in the church. Those who leave their children to be rebels against God rob Jesus Christ of souls. Parents, it is your duty to use every God-given talent in working to the utmost for your children. Those who neglect their work in the home cannot feel travail of soul for the children of others. They cannot carry the church up higher and higher to a purer, holier altitude. Fathers and mothers should study attentively how they can develop in their children sound minds in sound bodies. Any lax, loose, immoral, unclean habits, which are allowed to exist, will be revealed in the countenance; for the intellect is connected with the organic structure; it grows with its growth and strengthens with its strength. 14LtMs, Ms 64, 1899, par. 15
Why do parents so terribly neglect their children? Why do they not feel the solemn responsibility that rests upon them as parents to co-operate with God in imparting to their children the knowledge they should have? God has given them plain directions in [His] law. They are to stand in the place of God to their children in imparting salutary knowledge. By every judicious means they are to use all their talents for the good of their children. The parasites of the natural temperament, the inclinations to wrong which have been inherited, God would have parents cut away from the life. This is a work that cannot be undertaken and carried out without prayer. If the mother is not herself under submission to God, if she does not purify her own soul, and subordinate her own will to the will of God, it will be a miracle if the child does not lose its soul. 14LtMs, Ms 64, 1899, par. 16
One objectionable trait of character, left to grow, deforms the whole being, for it germinates and expands. One word spoken concerning matters that ought not to be spoken of will bear its fruit. Education must be all-round and uniform. Every mother needs to be diligent. She must allow nothing to divert her mind. She must not allow her children to follow their uneducated will in handling things in the home. They should be taught that they are not to keep the house in perpetual disorder by handling things for their own amusement. 14LtMs, Ms 64, 1899, par. 17
Mothers, teach your children from their earliest years that they are not to look upon everything in the home as playthings for them. By these little things order is taught. No matter what fuss the children may make, let not the organ of destruction, which is large in babyhood and childhood, be strengthened and cultivated. “Thou shalt,” and “Thou shalt not,” God says. Without loss of temper, but decidedly, parents are to say to their children, No, and mean it. With firmness they are to refuse to allow everything in the home to be handled freely and thrown about on the floor or in the dirt. Those who allow a child to pursue such a course are doing him a great wrong. He may not be a bad child, but his education is making him very troublesome and destructive. Children should be taught to be neat, cleanly, and orderly. Quench, when it first appears, any habit that is not desirable. There is order in heaven, and God requires every family to be disciplined to orderly ways. 14LtMs, Ms 64, 1899, par. 18
A mother should know how to train her children aright, how to develop the best qualities in them. The first child especially should be trained with great care, for he will educate the rest. Children grow according to the influence of those who surround them. If they are handled by those who are noisy and boisterous, they become noisy and almost unbearable. Mothers, be sure that you properly discipline your children during the first three years of their lives. Do not allow them to form their wishes and desires. The mother must be mind for her child. The first three years is the time in which to bend the tiny twig. Mothers should understand the importance attaching to this period. It is then that the foundation is laid. 14LtMs, Ms 64, 1899, par. 19
If these first lessons have been defective, as they very often are, for Christ’s sake, for the sake of your children’s future and eternal good, seek to repair the wrong you have done. If you have waited until your children were three years old to begin to teach them self-control and obedience, seek to do it now, even though it will be much harder. 14LtMs, Ms 64, 1899, par. 20
When will parents become wise? Let not a mother allow her mind to be occupied with too many things. Her aspirations must not be feeble. Unceasingly she must manifest tenderness and firmness. With the greatest diligence and the closest watchfulness she must care for the little ones who, if allowed, will follow every impulse springing out of the fulness of their unpracticed, ignorant hearts. In their exuberance of spirit, they will give utterance to noise and turbulence in the home. This should be checked. Children will be just as happy if they are educated not to do these things. They are to be taught that when visitors come, they are to be quiet and respectful. Let mothers gain the confidence of their children. Show them that you love them, but never, never let them rule you or disobey you. Eternal vigilance must be practiced. Gentle, but firmly, wrong tendencies must be repressed and bound about. See that your expressed word is obeyed. The future happiness of your children depends on their home-training. 14LtMs, Ms 64, 1899, par. 21