EDUCATION IN THE HOME by Mrs. L. D. Avery-Stuttle

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Sep 7, 1904

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 30, No. 36.

EDUCATION IN THE HOME.

By Mrs. L. D. Avery-Stuttle

BY MRS. L. D. AVERY-STUTTLE.

I am not sure but that I may incur the criticism of many, when I declare that in my opinion the great need of the world—and the church—to-day is not schools and school-teachers and school-books; I will go farther;—nor church schools nor church-school teachers nor church-school books,—tho these are all good. But the greatest, most crying, desperate need in the world, and in the church as well, is for mothers—“old-fashioned mothers”—mothers and fathers who can spare time to instruct their own children, and who do not depend upon the church-school teacher to teach their little ones the Ten Commandments.

Mothers are needed who are more interested in the spiritual welfare of their girls, than in the number of ruffles upon their gowns; fathers are needed who care more for the eternal salvation of their boys, than to know which side won in the last ball game; mothers who prize character more than beauty of form or feature, and fathers who spend more time teaching their sons the principles of God’s Law than they do in fault-finding, and who, by practise as well as by precept, illustrate in their home lives the mighty power of love. Mothers and fathers are needed who give themselves no rest day nor night until they have taught their sons and their daughters the Scriptural reasons for the faith which they hold.

Such mothers and such fathers are needed to-day more than ever in the history of the world,—and the demand has always exceeded the supply, and always will.

I am making a plea for education in the home. Public schools are good, church schools are better—or ought to be—but, best of all, most lasting of all, in its influence for good, is the daily home training of the girls and boys.

O mothers! O fathers! are your days so filled with the cares of life, in answering the questions, “What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, wherewithal shall we be clothed?” that you are too busy to spend an hour with your children in teaching them the truths of God’s Word for this time? Some day a knowledge of this blessed Word will be to your children as a shield and buckler. Ah! we do not half realize what it means to be acquainted with the Guidebook. Some day a “thus saith the Lord,” upon the lips of your son may save him from an overmastering temptation. Some hour of soul agony, some night of darkness, may be illuminated by the light from the throne of God, because, in the midst of the trial, John or Mary call to mind some principle of eternal truth, or some soul-cheering promise, which father taught them in childhood.

There are times of trial just ahead of us, which will try men’s souls, and determine who among us are dross, and who are silver and gold. Some day it will be said of somebody, “Ephraim is joined to his idols; let him alone.”

A friend said to me, “I was very much surprised and grieved the other day when chatting with a young girl whose father and mother have for years believed in the distinctive Bible truths for this time, when the conversation turned upon religion. I asked her if she could give the Bible reasons for the peculiar faith which we hold as a people. I was surprised and saddened by the careless reply:— “O, I don’t know anything at all about it. I only know that pa and ma believe it,—that’s all.”

O, what a pity! and that unfaithful father and careless mother have been members of the church for years. “Well, I was not very much surprised a few Sabbaths ago,” continued my friend, “as I glanced out of my window, to see the younger members of the same family—little tots—out playing noisily with the neighboring children. But my very soul was sad.”

In the name of the Master I ask: How can such negligence be answered for, in the day when the Lord expects us to say to Him: “Here am I, and the children whom Thou hast given me?”

We shall not be asked in the last great day, why we failed to bank as much money as neighbor A., or to dress ourselves and our children in as grand style as Sister B.,—and I hardly believe we shall be asked if we sent our young people to church school,—tho the church school is, or ought to be, one means of grace. But I know we shall be asked to give an account of our stewardship over the precious souls intrusted to our keeping.

O, that we all felt to say with anguish of soul, as Judah did when urged to leave young Benjamin in Egypt: “How shall I go up to my father, and the lad be not with me?”

Can we not make up our minds that perilous times are right upon us, and that our children must be instructed in those blessed Scriptures which are the bulwark of our faith?”

Christ Himself met the temptations of the arch fiend with the Scriptures. But how can we do likewise unless we have them like nuggets of gold laid away in the storehouse of memory? We have the promise that the Holy Spirit shall bring “all things to our remembrance” in times of need; but how can we remember what we have never learned?

“Well, it seems to me you are pretty hard on mothers and fathers. I thought that was the business of the church school. I send my boy and girl, and pay out my money, and I expect the church-school teacher to do the rest.”

Do you? Listen: The man Moses was given such a thorough education in the things of heaven, that he chose “rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.” Now I never have learned that he had the advantage of a church school in his life. Where did he get his knowledge of the true God, in the midst of idolatry and vanity? Where did he get his integrity and his sterling character?—From his mother,—she was his only tutor. Where did young Timothy receive his training?—From his godly grandmother.

Well, there are some faithful parents, some, at least, who will not leave the moral and religious training of their children to others,—and who consider it a precious charge,—a sweet responsibility.

I know a little girl who, at the time I am speaking of, was not more than six or seven years old. But her parents have so faithfully trained her in Bible truths, that she was, even at this tender age, perfectly able to give chapter and verse for the reason of her faith. One day a lady called at the house, when her mama was out. In the course of the conversation with her young hostess, the lady mentioned the Sabbath-school.

“You ought to keep the Sabbath, Mrs. Blank, don’t you think so?” questioned the little missionary.

“Perhaps I ought, but I suppose you keep it because papa and mama do.”

“No, Mrs. Blank, I’ll show you why I keep the seventh day; I do it because God commands me to.”

Then, much to the astonishment of the visitor, the little one produced her Bible and without hesitation turned to the commandment and read the Word of God to her guest. Then, rapidly turning to the New Testament, she read Matt. 28:1, and Luke 23:56. Closing the Book, she said: “Now don’t you think you ought to obey God, Mrs. Blank?”

Of course the woman was amazed beyond expression. But should she never again hear her duty from any other lips than those of the little preacher, if she fails to obey, she certainly can not affirm that she does it ignorantly.

O, why can we not have more little preachers among us—a whole army of them? Ah, we may, if parents will only heed the injunction given by the Almighty to His people, hundreds of years ago, on this very subject:— “And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.” Deut. 6:7-9.