Marshall County independent. (Plymouth, Marshall County, Ind.) 1897-1902, 1900-06-01

think that Is q good name for many OF
the fathers. Undoubtedly, they mean
to be good to their families, but in their
ambition to do well for them they
trample out the true duty of father
hood and become fathers only in name.
They eat at home and sleep at home,
but aside from this they are seldom
found there.
What effect has this on the child ?
Not only is he robbed of the influence
and training of Christian home, but
he is led to form wrong ideals. In
tuitively, children honor and respect
their parents. The child begins early
to look forward to manhood and quite
naturally looks to his father. Does he
see there God fearing man, walking
daily in Gods favor, cheering and max
ing happy all those around him? No.
So ne forms his ideal, not with quail
ties of truth, love, nobility and virtue,
possessing selfish wealth, smoking hab-
it's and perhaps other qualities as bad.
Now, it is the work of the Sunday
school to take the child and in one
hours time Overturn all the false doc
trines he has learned to advocate, efface
all the wrong impressions which have
been formed in the other 167 hours, per-
verting the low ideal, and setting be-
fore him high one, and in addition 20
all this, instruct him in the bible.
The Sunday-school workers must be
tsctful, too, making the period an in
teresting one or the child may not re-
turn. Most of the fathers, however,
though they never appear at Sunday
school or church, compel their children
to attend. l once heard small boy
who refused to be interested in the les
son and persisted in sticking pins into
boys who were paying attention. say
that he would be thankful when be
grew up, so he wouldn't have to come
to Sunday-school. told him growing
up" wouldn't have any effect on his
coming to Sunday school. He said,
80, yes it would" because his father
made him come now, and when he
grew up father wouldn't have any
thing to say about it. tried to show
him how necessary it was that he
should always come and bring others.
He said very decidedly, showing that
all argument was useless: "Well,
father never comes" | couldn't help
thinking about this father. He GER
tsinly recognizes and reveIes the good
of the church and Sunday-schOol and is
anxious that his children should par
take of the benefits of both; but where
is he? Why doesn't he lead the way
and say to his children, "COme with me
and let us go into the house of the
Lord" The father who hopes to see
his children grow up in the church as
christian men and women, is by his
own example doing more to draw them
from Christ than the Sunday schOo
workers can overcome with hours OF
well-plsnned work.
All children are not compelled to at
tend, and it is to this class that Sunday
: school teachers must turn their specis
attention to make the hour attractive
! as we'll as profitable.
All children possess three natures
viz: physical, intellectual and spiritual
: and temptations come in each nature.
When Christ was tempted in th'
+ wilderness the devil recognized hi
, three natures as man. The tempta
tion to turn stones into bread to relieve
the hunger of the body is a type of al
| temptations that come to us to gratif,
the appetites and desires of the bod.
? in improper ways. The temptation t.
3 cast himself down from the temple wa
type of all the temptations that conn
D to our intellectual nature to crafty on
pride, our love of applause and pop
ularity, and to seek our triumph il
!, mems good will The third temptation
!, Is type of all temptations that ma.
/; come to our religious nature, to neglec
the paying of homage to God, who de
: serves it, and of transferring it to an
{ other object.
The Sunday school workers mus
Q recognize this triple nature of the child
g and though they have chiefly to dea
3 with the spiritual nature, still must th
1 teacher realize that no progress can b
i made without the full use of all tn
e intellectual powers with which Co
0 has endowed us. To appeal TO tn
{ spiritual nature, We must first appeal t
b the intellectual nature. The bible says
t "If any man will do His will, he sha
Q know of His doctrine 1t dosen't reaC
n If any do His will" which nc man ca
: do perfectly, but if any man be simpl
f willing to do His will-if he has an at
It solutely undivided mind about it-tha
t man will know what truth is and kno'
d what fasehood is, and will follo'
d Christ.
Q To appeal to the intellectual nature
J" we must first appeal TO the physicis
d nature, and though the intellect ha
q control over the physical powers, still
u is through the physical nature that th
h intellectual nature is reached. If W
g. will observe the temptations that com
N to everyone, we shall find that the
q. come first to our physical natures, mex