Home Responsibility

Faithfulness in Home - Better Leader of the Flock—I beseech you for Christ's sake to cut away this spirit of harshness and censure. You need a mother's tender love. You need the Christ-love. Then you will not chide for every mistake; you will have something of the same patience toward these lambs of the flock that Christ has manifested toward you. Then God will accept your labors for others. When you faithfully bear the responsibilities in your own home, you will be better prepared to bear the responsibility of feeding the flock of God and especially of manifesting the Saviour's tender care for the lambs of the flock.ChL 23.1

Will you both seek to bring the truth into the inner sanctuary of the soul? Will you, if brought into connection with your children, exercise that charity that suffereth long and is kind? Will you bring the same meekness and gentleness of Christ into your labors for the church? Will you guard your lips so as not to utter one word of fault finding, but kindly instruct?ChL 23.2

No longer lay upon the foundation stone, wood, hay and stubble, perishable material which will be burned, but lay thereon gold, silver, and precious stones that will be valuable for all time, and enduring as eternity. You must love the Lord supremely. He cannot accept halfhearted service, work that is negligently performed. His curse is upon all those who do the work of God deceitfully or negligently. You have been on the losing side. You have not kept your lamp trimmed and burning. As you both now stand you cannot indeed be a light to the world in good works.—Letter 23, 1890, p. 9 (January 6, 1890 to Brother Stone).ChL 23.3

Leaders to be Examples—All parents should strive to make their families patterns of good works, perfect Christian households. But in a pre-eminent degree is this the duty of those who minister in sacred things, and to whom the people look for instruction and guidance? The ministers of Christ are to be examples to the flock. He who fails to direct his own household, is not qualified to guide the church of God.—The S.D.A. Bible Commentary 2:1009 (Statement, November 10, 1881).ChL 23.4