The Penn's Grove record., 1907-07-12
NUMBER 1.
Toe gUZMF
A SERMON GES&
IpY THE REV NW
IAMAENDERSoNN@
Subject: The Claims of Authority.

At"Hiou46 avenue ana Welrheld
street, on the above theme, the pas
tor, Rev. Ira Wemmell Henderson,
took as his text Elk. 20:12, Honor
my Father and Thy Mother" He
said:
The recognition by society and the
Individual of the authority of par
entage Is at the centre of all the
theory of social government. The
agreement of society that parents
may n should control the youth of
their offspring is the foundation upon
which u system of social AUTHORITY
Is reared. The individual recogni-
ton of the ruling right of parents is
expressed in a larger sense in this
Republic in the submission of the
minority to the decree of the MAORI
ty. The command speaks the truth
when it enjotns honor to parents as
the sure means into long life. Small
success would we enjoy did we not
pay some heed to the mandates of
our elders. Little power would the
law of city, State or Nation exert
over our lives were the fundamental
ideas of obedience eliminated from
family life. The individual and that
Nation which has a poor sense of the
need for obedience is sure to meet an
early death. The man who won't
learn from the past will not live long
to instruct his descendants. The
State within whose boundaries the
recognition of the rights of the law
has fallen into disrepute will O
totter, fall and be dashed to pieces.
The text calls to our minds three
things: First, that children should
h0nnr thNCn who - nuar 4hano hr
birth. Secondly, that parents should
be worthy OF honor from their chill
dren. Lastly, that, broadly speak
ing. the principle of obedience-that
is to say, respect for law-must be
manifested in all our civic life.
Honor thy father and thy moth
err" says the commandment. In
urging The need for honor it implies
that obedience, respect and Difference
be yielded to those who are above us
in birth.
The man who doesn't honor a good
father and mother is not much of a
man. The first law of family life is
that we should give honor to those
who have given US life and that need
of love which we enjoy at their
hands. The man who works loving
~ w AOIS " Tic WS1LdlS VI IIo
children, the woman who strives with
motherly affection to make her home
the pleasant harbor CT her children,
both are entitled to and should re-
ceive the honor of their children.
Honor implies obedience. The
youth who obeys the wise mandates
of a good parent can never fail or
fall. The parents who speak out of
tho f11nd Of a frTIn ovnnrinnon n
teach any youth the way to the hap
piest life, and their words should be
law.
Honor implies respect. 1t is not
dignified to belittle the place and dig
who essays to speak with dogmatic
assurance upon the full range of
human problems pronounces him
self a fool at the start. The disre-
spectful youth who disdains wise
will ere long find out that his al
cestors can tell him at least one or
two things of which he is ignorant.
Honor implies difference. A youth
who is to be the true being that Re
all should be must learn first to
yield primacy in all departments in
life to ripe years full of wisdom and
noble experience. The mar who
pushes his way into places where re-
serve should, very properly, be
shown will soone OF later find that
cheek doesn't ay checks, but rath-
er rebuffs.
We must, in our youth, yield
honor, respect, obedience and defer
ice to those who lead US worthily
in the home. He who would lead
must learn to obey. He who would
gain honor must grant honor. The
man who wish the respect of other
men must first of all be respectful.
A little yielding of the point or place
to age does no mar any harm. Def
n is delightful either in young
or old.
1t isn't at all necessary for me to
point to our youth the wrecks upon
the shores of life who are monu-
ments to dishonorable actions in the
home. Tha cutters and the jails are
all too full of men and women who
refused to honor, to obey, to respect
or to listen.
On the other hand, the command
ment forces en- ethical duty on the
parent. Many times men become
criminals because of parental mis-
management and lack of wise, sound
and pure leadership in the home.
Honor be to whom honor is due.
The man or the woman who demands
honor from a child must be honor
able-that is to say, worthy of honor.
Parents must be respectable before
they shall merit or gain their chill
dren's respect.
Obedier &c is the due of that man VINO
doesn't c~ontravene the moral law or
the laws of common sense-and the
due of him alone. Age deserves def
erence not on the basis of years so
much as on the basis of wisdom.
Parents are many times more re
sponsible for the lack of honor that
children show them than are the
children themselves. Honor in many
minds begins and stops with ODE
dience. Many parents seem to think
that the subsection of the Individual
ity of a child to their within and will
is the sum and total of obedience.
Obedience consists in becoming as
much like themselves as possible
some parents seem to think. Chill
dren cannot be held down in that
matter. Freedom must be allowed
AOA IL - VI 44AAf AN0oAASy oA0
personal preference and bent. ODE
dience must be given aid required
only when a moral principle is at
stake or the best interests of a child
make it necessary that parental au-
thority be enforced. But the unrea-
sonable exercise of Undue authority
which many PEOPLE exhibit in their
home life is pitiful-and the more
so because the consequences are quite
sure. The whole of honor is not
bound up in obedience. Obedience
should not stife individuality. Chill
dren have rights to wise leadership
and %unceasing parental love. Many
times they receive silly government
and no love-and whom shall we
blame for the consequences?
The wise parent will realize that
as we grow older our ideas chan.
and our perceptive powers strength
en-. Guidance for a boy of four will
hardly ever be the sort of advice the
youth of fourteen will need. You
may be the apotEeosis of wisdom to
vour child of five nd the finest mar