The Fruit of the Godly Example by C. M. S.

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Jul 19, 1906

The Fruit of the Godly Example

By C. M. S.

C. M. S.

PAUL’S exhortation to the Ephesians, “Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children,” has in it a thought which is worthy of the attention of every parent. The American Revised Version reads: “Be ye therefore imitators of God, as beloved children.” Eph. 5:1.

Every parent knows how natural it is for a child to do what it sees its parents do, or its teacher do, or its older playfellows. The “beloved children” are those who are heeding parental advice, copying their living pattern, and so meriting continual approval. The parent is to follow, or imitate, his pattern (Christ) as he expects his child to follow, or imitate, the pattern which he sets. The ideal result would be that the child would learn to follow Christ by following the example of his own parent. The more closely the parent followed Christ, the more closely would the child follow Christ in following, or imitating, the parent. What a grand opportunity!

But the child will imitate the parent, the teacher, whether they are following Christ or the adversary. What a weighty responsibility! The example which we set before the child, which is imitated by the child, does not cease with the child, but is passed on and on, carrying with it a blessing or a blight, the sunshine of helpfulness or the mildew of selfishness.

If we expect politeness and courteousness in the children, we must set before them the example we desire to see worked out in them. We must be polite and courteous both before them and to them. It is not enough to say, “Johnnie, you must say, ‘Thank you,’ ‘If you please,’ ‘Excuse me,’” etc., etc. We must practise the courtesies we exact from them. I once saw a child compelled to sit at a table for a long time after the rest of the family had left, because he would not preface his request with “If you please.” He had not been accustomed to hearing the expression from his parents and older brothers and sisters; and his own bashfulness and the fear of being ridiculed kept him from saying the words. That child was declared to be stubborn and wilful; and the only lesson he learned from the experience was to refrain from asking for anything at the table. If the child is accustomed to hearing such expressions in the home, they will generally become his natural language; and if the child is accustomed to seeing the courteous acts which are the true accompaniment of such expressions, they will almost invariably be seen in his life.

When neighbors call, it is a common thing with some parents to rehearse the misdoings of the children to the callers, in the presence of the child who has done the wrong. It is done in the hope of making the child so ashamed of the deed that he will not repeat it. It does not accomplish the result, and it breeds in the heart of the child a spirit of hatred which the parent may never be able to eradicate. It is perfectly natural that the child should dislike being held up to ridicule. Parents do not like it themselves, and they come to dislike very heartily those who ridicule them before others. It is a very dangerous place for any parent to put himself in with reference to his own child. “Be ye imitators of God, as beloved children.” God does not accuse his children before those outside his family.

What you wish your children to be, live that before them. Copy Christ. Learn his ways, and imitate them till the graces of Christian kindness are seen in your every act. Then you may rightfully expect to see some of them at least in the lives of your children.