The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1872-02-15
Parents: Position and Duty.


The character of the various families which
compose any single congregation of Christians
in the land, give, tone and. character to the
whole congregation. In fact, the largest com
gregations and States are but one large family
made up of many families, as single family is
made MP of its several members. IF the indi-
Yidual members of family are corrupt and
sinful, the whole family will inevitably be of
the same description. The whole is like its
parts. ALL the parts make the whole. 1t is
easy to see that Christian parents exercise a
tremendous influence upon the destiny of the
world. They are the instruments in the hand
Of God to build up and establish the church in
the community in which God has cast their lot.
The church and state in the future will be what
the children of the present day will make them.
What the children of the present day, when
they become men ard women, will make the
church and state, depends very much upon the
manner in which they are educated by their
parents. y This is not ALL Whether. the chill
dren of the present! day are to become honora-
BILE or dishonorable men and women, depends
very much upon the parental training they are
at present receiving. Some parents are raising
up their sons and daughters in such a way that
they wifbfill their old age with bitterness and
sorrow. Other parents are 30 instructing their
sition in society and live useful lives. This is
not all: The great majority of those who will,
in few years, compose the visible church, are
the sons and daughters of Christian parents
Many outsiderstnas they are called, will be
sayingfyiconverted and brought into che fold Of
Jesus |; but their number will be infinitely less
than that of those who have been instructed by
Christian parents. 20 '2. . = - -
. The relation which exists between parent
and child, is like no other relation. instinct
lively the child has implicit confidence N its
parents. Civilized children learn with diff
Guilty that their parents either do anything
wrong, or are, capable of perpetrating wrong.
The child respects the opinions of o parent as
it does those OF, no other individual. The the
illogical views, both, practical and doctrinal, of
a. father or mother are regarded as orthodox.
In other words, every child has to learn that
its parents are, not an exception to the rule,
that "to err is human" The duties devolying
upon parents are, from the nature of the! case,
many any exceedingly important Upon pa
rents is imposed the duty Of feeding end cloth,
ing, rs we'll as providing for the intellectual
training of their offspring. This is g. great,
duty, aud in some instances, an onorous duty ;
but parents have q greater duty to perform than
this They, by the ordinance of GOO, are made
the instruments in training their children for
heaven, This is q simple and oft-repeated:
Bible doctrine, and needs no long labored ar ar
gunents to prove it to the, attentive reader of
the Bible. Abraham ordered his house Alright,
and God blessed him and his children. Eli
failed to do his whole duty in training his sons,
and God made an END Of him and his sons in
one GEay. Blessings await the parents who
bring up their children in s.the nurture and adj
monftion of the, Lord," and terrible judgments.
will, in Gods own time, be poured out upon
those. parents whe neglect the. moral training
of their precious children. d..rpf : .rlG
In, vSieW,. then, Of all the facts in the case,
what, is the duty Of parents? We say guard
your families. God has SO ordered it that the;
beast of the field, the fowls Of the air and the
fish Of the sea guard and protect their young
These irrational creatures have no moral ma
lures hence, their defense can extend no far
ther than to the defense of the bodies of their
Young. The young of the human family have
immortal souls incased in their mortal bodies.
Our precious children are to live and reign
with Christian . world without end or they
are to writhe In interminable agony with flends
and lost spirits in the bottomless pit. What
parent can bear the thought that his darling
children, either in part or as whole, are to
swell that throug to whom an incensed Saviour
will say "departfn That this terrible result
may be avoided, parents must guard and pro-
tect their offspring from morelfharm 5;i :! ~
! One thing from which all children must be
most strictly guarded is bad company. How
ever we'll, Satan succeeds in corrnpting the.
minds and morals of youth by other means,
one thing is certain, he never fails when ne
has resort to bed company: No parents should
suffer their children to associate witt, those
who are known, or even suspected OF being I'M
moral. The companions with whom our chill
dren are accustomed to associate, have very
much to do with moulding their character for
this world, and determining the destiny for the
next. Our hearth should be sacred. 'iNo
wicked person should be allowed to pollute 1t.
AS eternity is longer than time, and as the soul
is of more worth chan the body, the true inter
ests of the souls of our children should. out
weigh every other consideration in choosing.
for them companions. ., Too often parents, in
selecting companions. for their children, are
dazzled by wealth or, fame. Parents should re-
feet that worldwide fame or all the gold IN
the universe, is but q poor, pitiabie compensa..
ton for son or a daughter reduced to moral
wreck
The moral and intellectual character of our
children is moulded by the circumstances by
which we are surrounded. The neigborhood IN
Wnlcn we I'VE OILen ucCeIuiihes VIC ueIuJ "
our children. There are certain localities in
this world in which children see and hear little
that is good, and much that is positively sinful
and degrading. In such neighborhoods, it is
so difficult to train children properly, that it
may be set down as an impossibility: The inn
morality, of the city Of Leyden drove the Pu,
ritans from Holland to the bleak and cold
shores of Massachusetts. "Tell Us where you
came from and we will tell you what you are" !"
is. an old proverb. 1t is full of common sense.
No parent ought to be so presumptuous as to
try f rear pous family 20 in a. sge Of d0m
straints, his children will be- likely to become
immoral. God works by means. He does not
promise to protect US if we heedlessly rush into,
danger Good moral neighbors is blessing Of
almost incalculable worth to parents. In such
a community children can be raised properly,
both for church and state. Amongst other