The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1886-05-27
PlETY AT HOME.

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PlETY At HOME.
The Alleged Decline In Family Religion
Time for Fathers and Mothers to Stop
and Think.
When our Saviour told His disciples
to 60 into the world and preach the
Gospel He added: Beginning at Jer-
usalem." Jerusalem for us as Chris
tians is not the local church to which
we belong, or the community in which
we live, but our home Paul writes to
Timothy: LET them learn first to show
piety at home" A religion that does
not brighten and bless the home but
reserves all its interest and activities
for outer circles is not the religion of
the Bible. That holy Book magniiies
the family. 1t declares that the prom
Use is "to you and to your children"
Abraham was 'the father of the faith
full" because God knew that he would
command his children and his house,
hold after him SO that they would keep
the way of the Lord. Gen. xviii, 49,
And hence God said that in him should
all "the families Of the earth be
blessed" The long genealOgies in the
Old Testament show that the covenant
of grace embraces households and gen.
erations. They teach us that though
piety is not inherited it can and should
be transmitted. The Hebrews were
enjoined not only to keep Gods words
in their hearts but to teach them dill
gontly to thor children. In tho last
verse of the Old Testament God prom
ises that He will send Elijah, the
prophet, to turn the hearts of the faith
ers to the children and the hearts of
the children to their fathers. And the
angel Gabriel quotes this prophecy to
Zacharias in the temple as about to be
fulfilled in the mission of John and of
Jesus. duke j, ~ Family religion
was to be a characteristic of the New
Dispensation. as it had been of the old.
God placed His eternal Son in the home
of Joseph and Mary. Christ spent
thirty years of His earthly life as a
pious son, obedient to His human
parents.
The history of the Christian church
is in harmony with the prophecies con-
corning it, and with the nurture and
training of it's Lord. 1t has rooted it.
self in the family in all ages. Its most
eminent ministers and missionaries
have come from pious homes. There
is no nobler record on the earth than
that Of 1.-THE mothers of the great and
good There are no saints who will
wear brighter crowns in glory than the
humble, pious parents who trained up
their children in the nurture and ad-
mOnition of the Lord.
Home piety is the earliest outgrowth
of personal piety, and hence the best
test of it. Ii there are closets where
parents or children commune daily
with God, they will be like store-rooms
filled with spices. A fragrance will 90
out from them into every apartment.
The visitors in the parlor and the serv-
ants in the kitchen will inhale an arc.
ma testifying the presence of the Holy
Spirit. As single furnace. though
out of sight, will, if supplied with fuel,
warm the whole house; so single true
Christian will create new atmosphere
where he dwells. He will change the
chilling air of selfshness to the genial
glow of love.
In the home all can exert Christian
influence and do Christian work. Many
are too ditfident to speak or pray in the
church meeting. Some have not the
gifts that tit them for conspicuous use
fulness But who is too young or toe
ignorant to'shOw piety at homer Who
can not keep little light burning
there that shall tell of the love of Christ
and shall illuminate the way to Christ!
And as obligation always runs parallel
with opportunity, we are all bound t.
do that which we all can do 80 easily
Our first duty is to try by daily minis
tries in the loving intercourse of hom,
to win those who are our nearest an(
' dearest to Christ. If parent shOul(
: let his children go naked or perish will
/. hunger he would be execrated as
monster. He would not be excused OF
the plea that he was not great bust
.. ness man, gifted with special talen
for making money. We would So
he surely could do something, and h
was bound to do what he could. Blu
how much worse for parent to neg
,. lect the spiritual interests of his chi
/. dren-to make no earnest and persist
: cnt effort for the salvation of their soul.
He may not be great scholar, or q
eloquent talker, but he can set up
, family altar and gather his childre
, around it. and read to them the Vol
, of God and pray with and for them.
We should all learn to show piety