Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1902-12-01


a child learn to deSpise him.
/ used to be very harsh in my con-
demnation of parents who were over
indulgent and would not compel obedi-
ence upon the part of their children.
But the older l grew the more lenient
1 became in my criticism of this evil. |
have found out that the invariable
reason why most parents are over
ahiaxt with their children is because
they have family plot in which they
have buried some of their little ones. It
is on account of the little pale faces Of
the dead that they shrink from causing
tears to flow over the rosy cheeks of
the living 'It is all well enough for
you, Mr.. Talmage, to say that ought
to be stricter with my children" once
said member of my church, 'but
and / am living in constant fear that
may have to bury my other two. They
are all that / have left"
But, fathers and mothers, though
you may have buried two of your chill
dren, remember that you are not just
to the living unless you teach them the
laws of filial obedience. A disobedient
son invariably means willful, way
ward, selfish petulant, unbalanced and
God defying man. An undutiful daugh
ter generally means a quick tempered,
sinful, ungovernable woman, who will
ultimately despise and trample upon all
pure love. 1t was because Queen
Agrippina laughed at her little, willful
boy, Nero, who doubled up his tiny
fists and struck at her, that she was
compelled to live to see the day when
the queen mother would have to bare
her flesh for the fatal stroke of the
royal hirelings who came to do the
bidding Of a murderous son. Some
times the unkindest act that a parent
can do to a child is to give to the boy
or girl a sugar plum when that child
ought to have. according to the Solo
monte advice, d good, sound thrashing.
The Sin of Hypocrisy.
Hypocrisy is the most awful of all
parental sins. No matter what the
father or mother may do, as long as the
child can firmly believe that his par
ents are living consecrated, godly, pure
and noble lives, that child is bound to
the foot of the cross with bands Of
steel. but when the child believes that
his mother and father are leading hypo-
critical lives, pretending one thing to
the world and living another kind of
life at home, as Il rule. there is very lit
tie temporal or spiritual hope for the
child. Bad parents generally have bad
children. The sins Of those fathers and
mothers are visited upon the children,
even to the third and fourth genera
tons.
Sometimes the reverse of this rule
seems to be true. Good parents. also,
for awhile may seem to have bad chill
dren, but if you will carefully study
the history of different Christian homes
you will generally-aye, l believe al
ways-find that the children of conse-
Grated, cody parents who have trained
them up in the way they should 60
will always turn out right. while those
hypocritical parents who do not train
up their children right will ultimately
have their children turn out wrong.
Good old Dr. Alexander Of Princeton
college once preached upon this text:
"Train up q child in the way he should
go, and when he is old he will not de-
| part from it," He preached to prove
that nearly all the sins which men and
women practice can ultimately be traced
| back towrOnG parental training or to the
| hypocrisieS of parents who have lived
| in the home a religion of sham. After
| the sermon was over some Of DR.. Alex
ander's friends said to him: Professor
it is absurd for you to preach q sermon
like that. If what you say is true, then
| you yourself have been living the wrong
kind of Christian life or else you have
not trained your children as you should
have done. You know, doctor, that
your boy Dick is one of the worst boys
in all Princeton college. He is as wild
as wild can be- Oh answered the
good old doctor, you did not hear my
text Alright. My text was, Train up &
child in the way he should go, anC
when he is old Dick is not old yet
Just wait awhile, and the boy will come
out all right" Dr. Alexander spoke
the truth Dick did come out all right
In few years he not only gave his
heart to God, but he went to New York
city and entered business as a Chris
tan layman, and long after his hon
ored father had pillowed his head il
the dust Richard Alexander, the wilG
Princeton student, welded a mighty
influence for God and for heaven. So
my friends, today, as Christian mel
and women, we must realize that the
whole future .destinies of our children
are largely dependent upon us. If W.
live consecrated, cody lives and tran
up our children in the way they Shout
go, they will also become conSecrateC
Christian men and women, and if W.
are hypocrites and do not train then
as they ought to be trained then oul
children will also turn out wrong. Ba(
parents have bad sons and daughters
good parents produce good children