Bringing up the children religiously
To bring up a child righteously is not to deprive his life of sunshine. To guard from danger is not necessarily to encase in a strait waistcoat. When the baby is likely to fall downstairs, the mother does not lash him to a table-leg, and leave him to scream. She just fixes a wicket in the doorway, gives him plenty of playthings, and the baby is barely conscious of his captivity.
A parent with ordinary discretion will adopt a similar policy with the other children, and the moral dangers to which they are exposed. It would be folly to put burdens on young shoulders which they are unable to bear. Christ carried the lambs in his bosom. This is suggestive of the treatment which children should receive. To carry the lambs in the bosom is neither to put them within reach of the devil’s meshes nor to surround them with a gloom unnatural to childhood.
Great care should be exercised in regard to the associations with which the children’s enjoyments are surrounded.
The young are very quick to connect ideas. If their enjoyments are made to depend upon worldly companions and questionable amusements, the children will naturally grow to prefer the company of the disobedient. Therefore, when any little extra enjoyment of God’s blessings is contemplated—whether it pertain to physical or mental recreation, to gifts of the table or of the wardrobe—let it be partaken of, not in the society of those who heed not God, but in the society of those who acknowledge and thank Him as the Giver of it. Under the law, certain periods were set apart, in connection with the worship of God, as seasons of social enjoyment, feasting and cessation from labor. These yearly feasts were occasions of rejoicing, not to the parents only, but also to the children. Thus Elkanah is described as taking his sons and daughters up to the feast and bestowing a gift upon each. And later on it is noted that Hannah made her visit to Shiloh the occasion of a yearly gift of a little robe to Samuel. Parents do well to ponder the lessons which these records suggest.
The children should not be forgotten in the ecclesial arrangements. Every parent has a voice in making these. It is good for the children to know that they are thought of, and that a special day or evening is sometimes devoted to giving them pleasure. It is not wise to exclude the elder children from ecclesial tea meetings. There are gatherings, as, for instance, when business has to be transacted, at which it would be inadvisable for them to be present, but let their absence be limited to such occasions. A brother was once asked why he was not present at a certain bank-holiday tea meeting. The meeting was a closed one, i.e., no unbaptized person was admitted. The brother replied: “I had my boys to look after. I could not leave them to run riot whilst I was away at a tea meeting.” That brother acted wisely and consistently, and his conduct led one ecclesia at least to abolish closed tea meetings.
Young learn by imitation
Parents who walk uprightly and consistently give their children a daily object lesson upon the truth. The young learn more quickly by imitation than from precept; therefore the exemplification of right doing forms no unimportant part in their training. When the truth occupies a low place in the home example, the children will come to the conclusion that God’s commands are of little moment, and may be set aside at the bidding of convenience. An item that should ever be remembered in the home example is worship. God should continually be held in remembrance, and thanked in the children’s presence for His mercies day by day. Until the parents have rendered thanks, they should allow no meal to be commenced.
The father and mother should be careful to uphold each other’s authority. The mother should teach the children to honor and obey the father, and vice versa. An order given by one parent should never be set aside by the other parent. When both father and mother are in the truth, there should be harmonious working, but should they unhappily not be of one mind, their differences, particularly those affecting the children, should not be threshed out in the hearing of the latter.
It sometimes happens that an alien partner, widowhood, or extreme ill health creates a situation in which it is impossible to keep the children free from Gentile control. Let not those who are so placed be unduly cast down. Let them do what they can, little though it be, toward the enlightenment of their children. If they can only pray for the truth to be brought nigh to the children, let the request continually ascend. It will not fall on heedless ears. God will in His own good time stretch forth His arm to bring the young ones in touch with the truth.
Children differ
It may be asked: Is a child who has had proper care and admonition bestowed upon him sure to obey the truth? Such an idea seems to be precluded by the fact that many righteous parents have had unrighteous children. For instance, there is Esau, who, being the twin brother of Jacob, must, presumably, have been trained and educated under precisely the same conditions as the latter. One is described as a profane person, the other is placed among the worthies of Hebrew 11. That children are not always amenable to wise influences is also apparent from the enactment in the Mosaic law which condemned the stubborn and rebellious son to death. Had the blame rested upon the parents, punishment would not have been meted out to the son. Although, among the human race, many are quite unimpressionable to wisdom, it must not be forgotten that the human mind cannot attain to excellence apart from instruction and training. This holds true in every department of knowledge. The uncultured mind is a barbaric mind. Legislators recognize this, and make the inculcation of rudimentary knowledge in certain branches compulsory. Patriotism causes them to do this. The cognizance that in some cases their efforts will prove futile does not cause them to desist. Paternal love should exceed patriotism. The teaching of the school will effect nothing in what should be the end and aim of existence —affinity of mind with the Creator. The only knowledge which will serve this end is the knowledge of the Word—a knowledge which has to be carefully implanted by the parents. The best of soil will only bring forth according to the sowing. Parents may get discouraged because they see no immediate results from their labors. Let them be patient. Reaping does not immediately follow sowing. Seed requires time in which to germinate and fructify. Again, some children are slower of apprehension than others.
Baptism at what age?
Those who are quick and tractable will frequently importune their parents for immersion. At what age should these requests be acceded to? In the qualifications which the Bible presents as essential in a candidate for immersion, age is not mentioned. Faith—belief of the gospel and an earnest desire to conform to the will of God, these are the pre-immersional requirements. Therefore, when there is unmistakable evidence that a child possesses these, his desire to render obedience should in no wise be delayed. But the evidence of his faith should be beyond all question, not only for the satisfaction of the parents, but also for the future satisfaction of the child. Some brethren and sisters demur to the immersion of the young on account of the “great responsibility” which the act of obedience entails. But surely the responsibility of submission is not so great as that of non-submission! Is it not a reflection on God to keep a child out of His service? God does not demand of anyone that which is beyond his power to give. He will not expect from the young service beyond their years. Nay, His tender compassion for those who especially call for it exceeds that of any earthly parents.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One