Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1902-06-13

every TIC ouu dSSOCldtlOH tutI SUOulu
bind him to home and loved ones,
the mother patiently waits and
watches for her wandering boy. The
room stays just as he left il; the old
familiar seat at the family board
remains and big place in his moth.
er's heart endures. The true wo-
man is faithful to home, husband
and children; faithful in the per-
formance of everything conducive to
the happiness and welfare Of those
around her.
What is true of , all these is true
of the Sunday school. a faithful,
consecrated teacher' filled with love
for and actuated by burning zeal
to do something for the Master, will
be faithful to his class. He will not
neglect them. He looks after their
moral and spiritual welfare. What
parents are to the children at home
the Sunday school is to the church.
We all love and respect reliable
man, one whom we can rely on to
do all he promises to do. The most
successful men and women that have
ever lived in this age or any other
have been those who were noted for
their fidelity and faithfulness in per-
forming every duty assigned them.
Among those in the political world
| might mention Abraham Lincoln,
James A. Garfield, Ulysses S. Grant
and last but not least our own be-
loved, William Mckinley, and hosts
of Others did time and space permit.
In the religious world / will men,
ton d. j.. Moody, Charles Spurgeon,
George Whitfield, Charles Wesley
and AdoniTam Judson. All of these
have left behind them Influences
that are building for time and eter-
nifty.
OF true and noble women l make
mention the names of Amelia Barr.
Margaret Sangster, Frances Willard
and Marion Harland. These by
their faithfullness to the duties of
life have exerted great influences
over the young and rising generation.
A II men who travel by water know
The value of compass. By it
mariners fpd their way over the
trackless seas. A great deal often
depends upon its accuracy. The
neglect of the captain to watch his
compass would be oft times to place
the lives of those under his care in
inlinent peril of their lives. All of
us know low very important il is to
have IN our possessions reliable clocks
and understanding that will
give lis the correct hour and minute.
something that we can depend on.
Neglect of the Importance of time
has led to mSly disastrous results.
And then, again, in travelling we
like to be able to satisfy ourselves of
the safety of the vehicle or mode of
conveyance in which we are travel
ling. We like to think the steam boat
is perfectly reliable and Trustworthy.
We want the crew to be composed of
men who will not neglect their duties,
who will stand by their posts though
they may endanger their lives by so
doing. The same is applicable to
railroad travel. Every man employed
from the bell boy up must perform
his duties faithfully. Any neglect
or wandering from their posts of
duty may mean great loss of life and
much damage to traffic.
The value of reliable teachers in
the Sunday school cannot be over
estimated. Their promptness in
meeting their classes will to large
degree stimulate the members of the
class to be prompt. And this alone
will be lesson of great worth to
them in after-life. And then, again.
when teachers are prompt and relia-
BILE the superintendent feels that
much of the burden is off bis shoul-
ders. 1t has been proven time after
time that Sunday school teachers can
do much toward making the Sunday
school a success.
Let us now note some of the evil
results of wandering. The man who
neglects his store, whose store is
often closed when others are open,
and in many other ways fails to give
his business his time and attention
will soon find his trade slowly and
surely drifting away from him. Let
man neglect his farm, neglect to
cultivate his crops properly, or fail
to save them when matured and he
will be a heavy loser. He will find
himself growing poorer each year, his
farm will go down and his debts rise
like mountains before him.
Neglect your Sunday school, fail
to meet your class, lose interest in
the boys entrusted to your care, and
l will write out the results in one
word, namely: "Failure." Indiffer-
ence begets indifference, wandering
begets wandering, neglect begets
failure. When the teacher wan.
ders the scholars squander. "Roll.
ing stones gather no moss" The
wandering teacher exerts no in
fuence for reliability. He fails to
interest his class because he is not
interested in them.
among The reasons tor neglect and
indifference on the part of many
Sunday school teachers is an unwill-
ingness to deny self, to make sacri.
ices for the interests of the class,
a deep need of more love for God, a
greater love for Sunday school work,
a satisfied conscience as to the saliva
ton of the rising generation. Il
would suggest as remedy, not over
looking in the meantime my own
weaknesses and many deficiencies,
that we ask God often in earnest.
sacred prayer "What will Thou have
me to do" And when He says ''feed
my Lambs" accept gladly every op-
portunity to DO it in the Sunday
school. Gather the little ones in from