The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1899-11-08
Shining Against Children.

One of the most needed and one of
the most useful of modern benevolent
organizations is the Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Children.
Its object is to protect the victims of
parental brutalities or of cruel neglect.
Its sphere of action is chiefly among
the degraded classes. But there is
many a well-fed child in well-fur-
nIshed home that is suffering badly
from bad management or parental
| ignorance or false views of parent
duty. An immense number of fathers
and mothers need to have the solemn
caution which Reuben gave to his
churlish brothers, "Do not sin against
the child"
There is no trust in this world more
tremendous than the trust of parent
age; and none which many persons
seem to treat more lightly. Food,
clothing, shelter and schooling they
provide, but they utterly ignore the
fact that the Creator has intrusted to
them the most susceptible and recep-
tive creature on earth when he COM
mits to their charge young immortal.
We can detect the finger-marks and
footprints of parental influence upon
the character of children when grown
to manhood and womanhood.
Children are very initiative Great
ures and we all know how tendencies
to good or evil character spring from
parental influence, and the chief ele-
ment in moral heredity is the force of
example. There is monotonous uni
formity in the history of certain
Jewish kings. Each one of them
"walked in the ways of this father
who caused Israel to SIM" That word
ways" is very significant. The faith
er made the path and the son walked
in it. Just as true is this now as IN
those olden times. The most difficult
cases to reform in ;nebriate asylums are
the victims of hereditary drunkenness.
Often when I see young man bring
| ing disgrace on himself think "that
youth was as much sinned against as
SHINING" He is walking in the path
in which his parents placed him.
Thorn bushes never yield grapes, and
figs do not grow from thistles. The
word "iniquity" signifies something
twisted; and the ugly twist is too
often given by fathers or mothers
hand. The wrong which the child
does is the natural sequence of the
wrong done to him by an evil exam
pie. By and by comes the retribution
when the child once 'sinned against
wrings the parental heart with agony.
When you sin against your child you
may be pretty sure "that your sin
will find you out"
What q piece of open soil to sow
teachings in is young mind! Words
uttered by parents sprout. A sneer
against the Bible spoken at the table
| or by the fireside, lodges in boys
memory and helps to make him q
skeptic. A great deal of the foolish
and caviling criticisms of sermons, in
which parents wilfully or carelessly
indulge when they come home from
church, kills the influence of Gods
message. This may amount to sin
against the Holy Spirit who inspired
| the message, and who may be silently
working on the mind of some child in
that family. The question of how
much actual good the best sermon
may do is commonly settled on the
day of its delivery. Parents often
help to settle it. In most cases relig-
ious errors are hereditary. Dishonest
practices also descend from father to
son. Bad books in parents hands
are very apt to be read by the younger
members Of the family. And, when a
father takes his son and daughter to
the average theater, the lad is in dan
ger of having passion infamed by the
indecencies of the stage, and the
daughters purity is soiled by the lewd
displaysor the immoral innuedoes. 1t
| is bad enough to smutch your own
soul. I entreat you, don't sin against
your child!
It does not require that we be will
fully cruel in order to sin against our
children. The foolish petting and
pampering of pride, and gratifying of
every selfish whlm may be as mis-
chievous. as harsh brutality. No
worse sin can be committed against
that son than to let him always have
his own way. Pride will grow fast
enough in that daughters heart with
out you adding fuel to the flame with
extravagant fineries and silly adula-
ton. It Is curious fact that praise
| DGSUOWGu Ou uOOlC CohouCe heAS q
sweetening and strengthening inf1u.
ence; but praise lavished on mere ex.
ternals lide physical beauty or fine
dress-is only apt to infame selfish
ness.
Many a father studies his account
books and many q mother studies her
MAGAZINES or her receipt books or her
visiting lists more than they study the
peculiarities Of their own children.
That boy is scolded into sullenness
that other one is ridiculed till he gets
desperate harsh treatment often bar.
dens the hart and then Phariseeism
prays that God will soften it! There
is steady decline in the percentage
of conversions reported in the annual
statistics of several denominations
How much Of this is to be attributed
to decline in home religion God only
knoweth. The family udderlies both
commonwealth and church. All the
preaching power of the pulpit will
lovoil hut little as 1onp "a narents are