The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-06-20
CHILD'S TRAINING
REV. STUART M'QUEEN PREACHED
 ON TRAINING OF CHILDREN.
The Duty of Parents and the Training Itself of Children Outlined by
 the Minister.

I tram CullOTen m CnrlStldn truth, anu
 the training itself of children for the | duties of life. First as regards the | duty of parents in this matter. They and they alone Cit Is mockery if not | downright blasphemy to put it op Prov l idence. where so many people are wont | to shift their responsibilities), the par 1 ents. and they alone, say. are directly 1 accountable for the presence of their children in this world. Therefore, the obligation of training them. of fit l ting them for life, with it's manifold duties, rests primarily upon the par ents. They may shirk 1t. they may neglect it, they may put 1t off on the Sunday School teachers. Gas is the fash ion of the day). but that does not de- stroy it. They must and will answer to God at the dreadful day of judg- ment for the soul of each child born unto them. Now, the average parent is fairly faithful in training children for the various fields of human activity tfor the life of this world, alone, I mean), as earning livelihood, winning success and so on. For instance, most parents are as careful as they know how. of their childrens physical well fare. They watch over their health providing them as far as possible with wholesome food and suitable raiment. Indeed. many parents. just here, are too careful. or rather are not wisely care ful. They coddle their children and do them more harm than good. In many households, children are injured in health far more through over-anx- iety and foolish coddling on the part of their parents than through neglect. Most parents are careful enough also to give their children all the advant- ages they can. in training the mind. They require them to attend school and prepare their lessons properly at home indeed. It Is common thing for par ents to push their children too much In their studies, deeming 1t far more lmportant 10 have smart" children than good, obedient children. Up to this point, I say parents are not usually neglectful of their duty to the child They see to the care and training of the body and mind. Elaboration iron, the preacher on these two points is not specially needed.
 But we are not to stop here, We must inquire further: "Is the cbild made up of body and mind solely? Does the duty of the parents end in train ing them alone?" We answer, No" a thousand times no. For as Christians we believe the child has also a soul We believe he is destined for eternai life. either in the presence of God bis Father, or banished that Presence, into outer darkness. Therefore parents owe to their children the duty of tralning not only body and mind, but also the soul m word, the duty of religious in- struction. This is the highest possi- ble instruction that can be given a child. It prepares him as nothing else can prepare him for the duties of life, wherever and whatever thev may
 be, whether they are what Is caned secular or are distinctively religious
 l say called secular. observe. for they are not secular. There is no such thing as secular duties for the Chris tian because religion should enter into the discharge of all duties. that is to say, the principles of religion ought to
 be applied to every duty of life. Therefore, how essential. how impera- lively necessary for parents to give their children the most careful and persistent and painstaking Christian training, that is. training in the prin- ciples of the Gospel of Jesus Christ
 This training should be founded on one thing only-faith-faith from ~e- ginning to end. Tn the first place, parents should have faith that this training Is useful. important. absolute ly indispensable, and above all that 1t rests solely upon them and that they cannot possibly delegate 1t to others without mourning the everlasting dis pleasure of Almighty God The para
 mount need of faith cannot be over estiuated. People, you know, never do any thing, never put the faculties and powers of their whole being into any purpose unless they have faith in 1t, faith that it means something and is worth something.
 Obviously. the first form which the faith of parents should take is-faith in God. We must always look above for light and inspiration. And what kind of faith should we parents have
 in God? Our faith must not be simp- ly general sort of belief In His exis- tence and perfection. It should be
 much more than that. It must go far deeper than that. if we would be earnest and hopeful in training our children rightly. We must have faith in God as the everlasting Father and Heavenly Friend of our children We must have faith in Him as desiring their highest welfare. both temporal and eternal. infinitely more than all human friends could possibly desire it.
 We must have faith in Him as ever ready and longing to aid us in our efforts for our children's good. This means we shall feel we are not work ing alone, It means we are not to rely on our own power and wisdom It means we will feel near us always a Higher Presence as we instruct our children: feel their Heavenly Father and ours is near us. that He loves them with boundless love, that lit tie. helpless feeble child is as dear to His great Fatherly heart as the dis tinguished and mighty of earth as the bravest hero ,or the profoundest phil osopher.
 But, our faith as parents should go further stiu. Not only must we have faith in God, we must also have faith in our children. We must believe in the goodness and greatness of their natures. in their capacity for training and growth. We should realize that in g few years our children will 20 forward into lifes activities, will grapple with life's duties and respon- abilities. And remember. all the fac ulties which they are to put forth in this world all the qualities anu powers which are to be unfolded in their endless being. now potentially exist within them, are in the germ How imperative and pressing. there fore, our duty as Christian parents to train and develop them along the lines of the life giving religion of Jesus Christ We must have faith in their natures, especially as fitted for reli- gion We must have faith in them. holy at birth. or that they are better than anybody else's children simply because they are ours, Ca very com mon weakness among parents and an equally common cause of ruin to child ren). No. the kind of faith we are to have in our children is. that they