MOTIVE and not amount is the measure of every human action, according to the divine rule. The widow’s mite, being an expression of unselfish sacrifice, is more in God’s sight than the millions of the miser given to ease a guilty conscience or cajole an expectant public. Her offering was given in the love which vaunteth not itself. To suppose that she cast her all into the treasury or that Mary anointed the Saviour’s feet for the praise which might be gained thereby, would rob those deeds of merit as good works. These acts were justly commended by Jesus because they were actuated by the Christian motive of service.
Necessity of Judging One’s Own Motives
It is not the Christian right of any man to judge the motives of another; but it is the first and highest duty of every one to consider the motives governing his own actions. In accepting Christian service, what are my motives? Is it the spirit of barter or personal profit? Is it merely to escape condemnation and save my own soul? Is it to avoid doubt and gain intellectual ease or temporal happiness? Is it merely to ease conscience and gain a passive peace? These are imperative questions which press themselves upon every Christian today. They ought to be considered honestly and answered conscientiously by every Seventh-day Adventist.
The Christian Attitude Toward Criticism of Motives
The oft-repeated accusations of critics that these unseemly motives actuate many professed Christians, may have some foundation. It is lamentable to read and hear the apologies offered and the denials given against these accusations. Nothing is gained by beggarly apologizing or indignantly denying. Let us face the charge of the accuser with an honest test of our motives. Job’s comforters turned out to be his accusers, who sought to convince him of evil motives.
After seeing God, Job’s view of himself was abhorrent. “I have heard thee by the ear,” he says, “but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” The theology prevalent at that time, and perhaps not entirely absent from the Christian church of our day, was that it paid to serve God; for otherwise calamity and unhappiness were sure to follow. Job’s view of God taught him to abominate such a conception of service.
The Church’s Need of a New Conception of Service
The church today needs to get a new view of God and of the motives of Christian service. This means that each individual Christian must learn by experience what Job learned and what sustained Jesus in making his supreme sacrifice for sin-stricken humanity. The lesson that their experience teaches is that righteousness and integrity are their own reward, no matter whether success and prosperity attend or not. Lincoln must have learned that lesson when he said, “I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to do right.” Job exclaimed, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him.” In the face of seeming defeat, Jesus’ dying words were, “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.” We see in each instance a sublime confidence in God’s eternal power and justice in spite of adverse providences. None of the religion of barter was found in Job’s experience. Although no temporal reward was held out to him, and unalleviable pain stretched before him, Job’s confidence in his religious experience remained unshaken.
Satan’s Contempt for Service Which Seeks Only Reward
Job learned that character must be built upon the eternal principles of right, that no external code of conduct or the profession of any category of theology could satisfy the soul in the moment of crisis. Satan looks with satisfied contempt upon a religion which does right for a reward. He has tried incessantly to fasten the stigma upon God’s servants that they would serve him for mere gain. Of course he is right in his contempt for such a religion, but he knows from long experience that that is not the only religion practiced by men.
One of Satan’s strongest efforts was to divert Christ’s mission and service into an expedition for temporal gain. The disciples of Jesus sought to press upon him this conception of service. But he invariably promised them bitter cups to drink and fierce baptisms wherewith to be baptized. When they talked of rewards, he offered them humble service mingled with persecution. Their principal task was to serve him for the good their service would do others. In proportion as they forgot temporal reward in this unselfish mission, would their rewards be great.
Experience in Christ’s Service Not Gained by Magic
This kind of experience is not attained by a magic stroke which accepts service for Christ at a revival in exchange for a future reward. All true service is its own reward, whether in heaven or on earth. The experience needed by the servant of Christ is gained by a joyful resignation to follow God’s leading, no matter where it takes him. It may be through disappointments or disillusionment of partial or mistaken conceptions of truths; it may involve loss of every earthly treasure, as in the case of Job; or the brink of utter despair, as when Christ said, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” But let it be so if it takes us nearer to God. His chastenings are sweet to him who with patience waits upon God to reveal himself. It was not until Job had been tried and found faithful that he was permitted to see God.
Joy in the Christian service does not depend upon prosperity. To the contrary, oftentimes those who find life purposeless and insipid are only gorged with prosperity. The prosperity of the wicked does not afford satisfaction. Fellowship with God gives the only lasting joy. This remains when wife becomes faithless, friends turn disloyal, ideas of theology prove inadequate, and there is left only the assurance of a God of truth and justice upon whom to depend. Such was Job’s experience through which he found supreme blessedness. When he arrived at this point in his experience, neither the disasters of time, the loss of earthly love, nor the false theories and heartlessness of friends could shake his confidence.
The Tried and Triumphant
By Mrs. Llala V. Everett
MRS. LLALA V. EVERETT
“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce-breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.” 2 Tim. 3:1-5.
THE “perilous times” spoken of in the preceding scripture have arrived, and the perils of the “last days” are thickening all around us. God’s people are right in the midst of these “perils,” which are rushing in like a deluge upon the unprepared. Unbelief and infidelity are filling the churches at an alarming rate. The time has come when “they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;” people are turning away “their ears from the truth,” and are “turned unto fables.” “Cunningly devised fables,” “smooth things,” and theories of men are being accepted and substituted for the living word of God, for a “Thus saith the Lord.” The faith of God’s people is being severely tested. The temptations of Satan which so easily beset us, are greater now than ever before; for Satan knows that his time for deception is growing shorter and shorter, and very soon the cases of all who have professed Christ will be decided forever, either for life or for death.
This is the testing time; God’s people are passing through many trials and afflictions. And in order to pass safely through this testing time, we must endure the “trial of our faith” and bear up under all our afflictions, trusting in the strength of the Almighty, whose “grace12is sufficient” for us.
The preceding catalogue of sins is found among those “having a form of godliness,” professing to know and to be following the Lord Jesus Christ, “but denying the power thereof;” yet God has a work for his people to do,—a work of perfection, a holy character to build for eternity.
Deep searching of heart is required; for the Lord searcheth “the heart” and trieth “the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.” Jer. 17:10; Mal. 3:5; Rev. 22:12. A purifying work is necessary in the lives of God’s people, who must be pure, “even as he is pure.” “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.” I John 3: 2, 3. That our lives may be purified the Lord allows great trials and afflictions to come upon us, thus proving us, whether we will walk in his ways or not. We have an example of this work in all the patriarchs and prophets of old.
Business affairs, the cares of this life, and worldly pleasures have so taken up the time and thoughts of some of the people who profess to know God, that he is crowded out of their hearts, and they thereby become blind to the things which God meant for their good, to enable them to “attain unto perfection.”
God’s people should not live and act like the world. They should not partake of the pleasures of this world; for God has called us to “better things.” We are his “peculiar treasure,” a “chosen people.” We are to be different from the world, that we may “show forth the praises of his glory.” “No man can serve two masters.” “Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” We are to come out from the world, away from its influence; for God has called us out to be a “separate people.” Yea, Jesus says of his people, “They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.” “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord.” 2 Cor. 6: 17, 18.
It is said of God’s chosen people, “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” I Peter 2: 9. “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” Titus 2: 11-14. “And this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.”
In the proving or “trial of our faith” through which God brings his people, they must expect to suffer affliction. “For thou, O God, hast proved us: thou hast tried us, as silver is tried. Thou broughtest us into the net; thou laidst affliction upon our loins. . . . But thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place” (Ps. 66:10-12), that we “might learn thy statutes” (Ps. 119:71). In all our trials Christ faithfully cares for us. I Peter 3:12; 5:7. He sits as a refiner. Mal. 3:3. To be partakers of Christ we must “hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end.” Heb. 3:14. And this is the blessed assurance that God gives all those who yield themselves to his purpose: “All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Rom. 8:28. And this is the pledge he has given us of the proving and “trial of our faith:” God “spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all.” As Christ is a “tried stone,” so would he have a “tried people;” for it will be only a “tried people” that will be triumphant at last. Rev. 3:10-12. In the proving or the “trial of our faith,” we have two mighty helpers—“God the Father” and “God the Son.” Rom. 8:33, 34. And in all our trials, we shall be “more than conquerors through him that loved us.” Rom. 8:35-39.
Gardnerville, Nev.
The North Honduras Mission
By Isaac Baker
ISAAC BAKER
OUR camp meeting was held in La Ceiba the last of May, where it was voted to divide Spanish Honduras into two fields by a line drawn east and west, the southern field to be known as the South Honduras Mission, and the northern part, including the Bay Islands and British Honduras, to be known as the North Honduras Mission.
It was voted to reorganize the Central American Conference into a General Conference mission field.
Nine persons have been baptized, and seven added to the church, while others are awaiting baptism.
A mission house was begun in the latter part of 1914; and although it is not yet finished, it is occupied by the offices of the conference and tract society.
In August, Brother Charles M. Paden, with his wife and baby, arrived in this field, to act as secretary and treasurer of the conference and tract society.
It was voted at the camp meeting to ask the General Conference to send us a canvasser capable of instructing others in the canvassing work, and we now have the promise of two, who are expected sometime in January, 1916.
A new church building was begun in La Ceiba in 1914, and is now nearing completion. It is painted and well seated, and services are regularly conducted in it, in both English and Spanish.
Our workers are, one ordained minister, one Bible worker who is past seventy years of age, a conference Sabbath school and Young People’s Missionary Volunteer secretary, and a conference and tract society secretary.
The area of Spanish Honduras is about 46,000 square miles, with a population of nearly 600,000. The most thickly settled portions are along the coasts, though there are some fair-sized towns in the interior.
Gospel Work Among the Kafirs of South Africa
By I. B. BURTON
(Concluded)
I. B. BURTON
From that time [the death of Reverend Williams] to the present, a period of ninety-six years, native missions have been conducted in Kafirland. The people in the homeland, surrounded by every comfort of life, can hardly appreciate the great sacrifice and privations that the early missionaries to this people underwent. They were always upon the altar, and were always ready to give their lives that souls might be rescued from the darkness of heathenism.
There is a tendency on the part of many to see the romantic side of mission life, while the reality is overlooked. With some it has an attraction from this standpoint, but not so with those who really have the love of souls at heart. It is well for those who are expecting to labor in the future in this dark corner of the earth to prove themselves before they enter the field. When one really confronts mission life in a heathen land, it does not take him very long to realize that the bringing of the heathen to the light of Christianity is serious, solemn work. Nothing but hard work, and the life that is filled by the Holy Spirit, will win in this conflict.
The foundation of native education was laid at Necera, on the nineteenth day of December, 1823; and since that time the Bible has been translated into their language, and many books, hymns, and tracts, as well as newspapers, have been published. One hundred native teachers and ministers are now in the field who have been educated at the large institutions, and there are hundreds in the schools at the present time who will carry on the work of the gospel among their own people.
The Kafirs are a simple, but very superstitious13people; and until very recently the witch doctors held great influence over them, and even yet work secretly among them. The native as a rule is very social and fond of ease. His wealth consists of sheep, goats, cattle, pigs, and fowls. He is an early riser, and goes the first thing to his cattle kraals to see that all is right there. He then sits by his fire and smokes, and later goes for a hunt or visits his neighbor; or, if it is harvest time, he will go to the field early, and perhaps help a little in the harvest, although the most of the work falls to the women. The work of construction, and the hoeing of the land, the carrying of wood and water and all heavy loads, are given to them. The cooking and looking after the various household duties also fall to their lot. They are practically slaves. The natives do not like this term, but really this is the true condition of many of the native African women. The husband purchases his wife with so many head of cattle. She is his, and he feels he has a right to her, body, soul, and spirit, and that she must do exactly as he directs in everything.
As a rule the husband's word is law in his home, and he has fairly good control over his children. The next of kin also have unquestioned right in the correction of the children. It is sometimes a little strange to see the children quarreling all around the parents, who take no notice of it, while an uncle, aunt, or other relative comes over to stop the trouble.
The natives do not care for work. In the past some did a little smelting of iron, and worked it up into knives, spears, etc. Others make and dress skin rugs, or work a little garden and plant some tobacco. In former years many of the natives became quite proficient in the making of spears, bows, arrows, shields, baskets, and pottery. To some extent the manufacture of these articles is still an art among the tribes, but gradually as civilization comes to them they are losing these native arts, and are adopting the implements and ways of the white man.
The heathen natives are very superstitious and have a great dread of being bewitched, and to prevent this they resort to the use of various remedies that are supplied by the native witch doctors. If a hut has been struck by lightning, the wood and grass must not be used, and many will not touch it. To ward off disease of all kinds, a witch doctor plants his medicine in the kraals and at the entrance of the same, and also in the various paths leading to the village. This is to keep away evil spirits from both the people and the cattle.
In one native village a poor woman was taken very ill, and called in a native doctor. He went to the kraal, selected the best beast that he could find, had it killed, went through many ceremonies, and finally gave the poor woman some abominable mixture that he had prepared, to work a recovery. She became worse rather than better, but he had gone, leading with him two fine goats and taking a liberal supply of meat besides. Under more rational treatment the woman was soon restored to strength and health. This opened her eyes with reference to the value of the services of the witch doctor, and today she is rejoicing in the glorious light of the gospel. When the power of God reaches the hearts of these people, the fake doctors have no more influence over them.
Among this people we have been working for a number of years, and we find the gospel wagon a very efficient means of laboring. We go among them with our stereopticon; and hanging up our sheet outside the wagon, we call them around us, show them pictures, of which they are very fond, and then tell them of the Saviour's love and of their relation to God. The Holy Spirit, we are glad to say, is working upon their hearts, and we trust that in the future many of these benighted souls may be brought to a knowledge of Christ.
We have much to encourage us; and while the work is attended with privations and difficulties, we are glad to have a part in it for the love of those for whom Christ has died.
Portugal
By C. E. RENTFRO
C. E. RENTFRO
MISSIONARY work is being conducted in Portugal in two places, Lisbon and Porto. At the beginning of the war, public work was stopped in Porto and in a small town called Vianna de Castello. In the latter place the landlord rented the building to others, as he feared he would lose money through our work; but in Porto we were able to rent another hall after getting into communication with our Latin Union headquarters.
According to the law, we must have a license from the authorities in order to hold meetings at night. At the time the Germans in Africa invaded Portuguese territory, the authorities, fearing disturbances, refused to give us the license. We appealed to the minister of the interior through our ambassador, Colonel Birch, and after two months or more we were given full liberty. I had often visited the administrator and explained to him our work, and told him that we advocate the separation of church and state, and obedience to the authorities, and had given him literature. He assured the higher official that we would cause no trouble.
During the interval we held day meetings, which were attended by a few. The Sunday meetings were quite well attended. We also endeavored to get articles printed in the papers. One daily accepted six articles, to which the editor gave the following titles: “The Fall of Universal Nations;” “The Destruction of Turkey;” “The Place of the Last War;” “The Part That Russia Will Take in the Last War;” etc. These articles attracted considerable attention. One man and his wife began to attend the meetings. He had been an earnest Catholic, and was warned against us, but continued studying and soon began to keep the Sabbath. Others are interested as a result of reading the articles. One minister requested that I speak in his church on “The War and the Coming of Christ.”
In Lisbon the work is progressing quite well. A minister and a Bible worker are leading out in the work, and are helped by members of the church in a personal way. A hall has been rented in the outskirts of the city, where an interest had been awakened by the sale of literature by some of the members; and with aggressive labor and the aid of the stereopticon we look for good results.
We have desired to see more literature printed, on a greater variety of subjects, so that better work might be done in distributing tracts among the people. This branch of the work does not get the attention it deserves, though we hope to see it strengthened in the near future. Two editions of the Signs series were printed in 1914, of 5,000 copies each, and in 1915 another edition, and a tract entitled “The Universal War and the Destiny of the Nations.”
In this city, in the month of July, a baptismal service was held at a bathing establishment on the river Leca, an ideal spot and our usual place for such services. Five persons were baptized, among them three young men whom we desire to see educated for the gospel work. Our aim is, besides finding those who will walk in the light, to find young people who may be trained for service. Later, the man and his wife whose attention was called to the truth by the articles in the paper, were baptized. A church was organized, with a membership of twenty-three.
In the month of May, Elder L. P. Tieche, the president of our Latin Union Conference, made us a timely visit, the first in four years. Owing to sickness in his family, he could not visit our work in Porto. Although his stay was short, it was much appreciated.
The canvassing work has been carried on by a young man, who has gone over nearly all of Portugal, and a girl of seventeen years. But the church members in Lisbon and in Porto have helped in the distribution of our literature.
We rejoice to learn of progress in the world-wide work in spite of the great war, and pray that God may hasten the day for the coming of the great King, our Lord and Saviour.
Porto.
Be Like a Star
By J. R. Miller
THERE are ways in which even silent people can belong to God and be a blessing in the world. A star doesn’t talk, but its calm, steady beam shines down continually out of the sky, and is a benediction to many. Be like a star in your peaceful shining, and many will thank God for your life.—J. R. Miller.
The Work of Gentle Help
By George MacDonald
If I do what I may in earnest, I need not mourn if I work no great work on the earth. To help the growth of a thought that struggles toward the light; to brush with gentle hand the earth stain from the white of one snowdrop—such be my ambition!—George MacDonald.
Conducted by Mrs. I. H. Evans, Takoma Park, Washington D. C
By Mrs. I. H. Evans; Miss Lora E. Clement
Assisted by Miss Lora E. Clement
Through the columns of this department, hints will be given on all matters pertaining to the home life. Short articles and letters are solicited from home makers, telling of their everyday experiences,—their joys and sorrows, their failures and successes.
The Child in the Home
By Laura Spencer Porter
THERE is a great deal said about making the home suitable and happy for the child; too little said of the child’s share in molding the home to suitability and happiness.
Home is primarily, or should be, a place of “caring and sharing,” but one would think we had forgotten all that. I have visited in homes which could hardly be called homes at all, so much were they nurseries, houses in which all serious and important adult thought, conversation, speculation, and mutual adult service to the world were rendered practically impossible by the overwhelming preponderance of the child’s demands on the attention.
I recall such a household in which the visit of a distinguished guest, which would have been an honor to any home, was forgone because Tommy, aged three, was accustomed to be taken by his mother to the zoological gardens at that time. “It is an appointment I never break,” said his mother regretfully, “and as Mr. S—— can come only on that day, I am afraid it is my duty to give up the pleasure of his visit. I do not undervalue the honor it would be; but there are things greater still. The trust and confidence of a little child ——” and so on, and on.
Useless to point out the lack of judgment; useless to note the higher privileges of which both the child and the mother were in this manner robbed; the young mother was an ardent student and upholder of “children’s rights.”
In contrast to this is another home, in which the idea of parental authority is upheld as uncompromisingly. The mother in this case is the one in whom such authority is vested. I have seen some of her children’s most cherished desires vanish away at the mere raising of her eyebrows. Her little boy, scrupulously trained to reply to her with respect and promptness, “Yes, mother,” “No, mother,” never speaks of her out of her presence save as “she”—as if there were only one of her power in the world: “If she says so, I’ve got to do it;” or, “No, she won’t let me.”
In these cases—and they are types of many more—it would be useless to discuss the child’s place in the home, since here, obviously, is no home. For a home is never an autocratic government, never a despotism; whether of parent or child, it admits of no tyranny. It is a republic, in which the rights of all are equally sacred.
In this republic of the home the child has, indeed, very definite rights. His home is not merely his nursery, established to minister to his wants; nor is it merely a place of schooling, in which he is to be molded; it is his country. Here he has his possessions, as the citizen has his possessions in the commonwealth. Here, too, he should have his tasks, his responsibilities, and his privileges.
Possessions, tasks, responsibilities, and privileges—these he shall have; and it is further important that he have them in as equal a degree as possible; for if he have them in unequal degree, the very foundations of the republic—and of the home—are threatened. If he have, for instance, possessions and privileges far in excess of his tasks and responsibilities, he constitutes a privileged class, as it were; and in the ideal republic there is no privileged class. Or, conversely, if he have a preponderance of tasks and responsibilities, and an insufficiency of possessions and privileges, he represents an oppressed class, lacking freedom; and such classes are not compatible with the ideals of either the true republic or the home.
The Child’s Possessions
What shall be the child’s possessions in the republic of the home? “A room of his own”—we are familiar enough with that plea. Of course, a room of his own, if possible; for it undoubtedly fosters a child’s self-respect and his respect for the property and rights of others, to have property of his own. He should have bookshelves, a table, a treasure closet, a workbench, a playroom—some place distinctly his own, suited to his particular tastes.
But besides the child’s material possessions in the home, he must be given some of the spiritual possessions as well; he must have a definite share in upholding the ideals of the home. He must know and feel its cheer, its kindness, its warmth, its sympathy, and its honor. He must know that these are a part of his home, and that they are in a deep sense his.
The Child’s Tasks
When it comes to the child’s tasks in his home, they must in each case be adapted to his needs and temperament. They should be sufficiently serious to interest him; not sufficiently heavy to discourage. They should invariably be tasks of service, something to render the home more pleasant, more cheery, more homelike. Many children have as little share in making and establishing the interests of the home as paying guests have in the management of a hotel. Everything is run for the child’s benefit; every pleasure, every comfort, comes to his hand ready-made.
If you will note how much more pleasure a boy takes in an open fire for which he himself has gathered and brought in the wood, you will see what I mean. I know a delightful little girl who, once a week, bakes a batch of ginger cookies for Sunday supper. Now Sunday supper is one of the most delightful and homelike things about that particular home. Nearly always there are guests, and always there is an air of festivity. The little girl’s task is a definite contribution to that homelikeness and festivity. She showed me with shy pride not long ago the following lines written in her autograph book by one who is a frequent and distinguished guest at her home, “Edgemere:”—
“One thing at ‘Edgemere’ does my soul delight—
’Tis Margery’s cookies of a Sunday night.”
It seems a little thing, I know, but behind it lies all Margery’s pride and delight in “Edgemere,” in its warmth, its brightness, and its hospitality. This is her home, and her little diligent hands have helped to make some of its loveliness.
The Child’s Responsibilities
With responsibilities—the child’s responsibilities in the home—we come at once to something spiritual. There are, of course, the more material responsibilities, such as neatness, punctuality, and the like, things without which the comfort and harmony of the home cannot be maintained; but in the main the child’s responsibilities in the home are responsibilities of the spirit. He is to be fair, just, honorable, truthful, unselfish. If he neglects these, the beauty and harmony of his home are harmed or its peace destroyed.
I remember hearing a delightful old French nurse say to a tempestuous little15boy who was in a temper: “Dear heart, let me close the door! Let not the old, quiet, well-behaved rooms hear! Here have I lived since your grandfather’s time—nor ever heard aught but gentle speech. What will the rooms think, dear heart? What will the old home think? So gentle a home,—and such behavior in it!”
He was only a little boy, but I believe he got a sense of the integrity of the home, its gentleness and kindness and high behavior, its good breeding and loveliness, against which his own violent temper showed in ugly contrast.
The Child’s Privileges
As to the child’s privileges in the home, these should include all legitimate enjoyments. There should be the privilege of pleasure, of companionship, of quiet hours, the sharing of joys and sorrows, and leisure for gentle entertainment of many kinds.
Love of home can never, I think, be taught by precept. It should never be said to a child, “You should love home,” or, “You have a good home and kind parents, and you ought to be thankful.” I remember my mother returning from a journey, and saying, as she looked about at us all in the firelight of the old homelike sitting room, “Oh, it is so good, so good to be home again!” That taught me more love of home than a thousand admonitions. Of course it was good! Indeed, yes! Were we not all there together? Was it not a home of warmth and kindness and hospitality and charm, where many found comfort and understanding?
A Place of Caring
Home is a place where people care, and where they always care more for each other than for themselves. This is the ideal of home which should be fulfilling itself before the child every day of his life, and in which he should feel himself to have a definite share. He, also, must care more for others than for himself, if this ideal is to be maintained.
Yet how many of us depart far from such an ideal! Perhaps we are very good managers and housekeepers. Perhaps our houses are run like clockwork for the benefit of our children, and yet have about them nothing more ideal and inspiring than have clocks.
A Place of Sharing
The home is a place of sharing; it is a place of entertainment of guests, let the entertainment be however humble; it is a place of sympathy and hospitality and understanding. But many of these houses which we call homes are so full of the petty fret and noise of daily living that they have little leisure for guests or hospitality. The child sees too often that the coming of a guest is cause for anxiety, sometimes for regret. Too often it is a matter of regret to the child himself.
“Oh, bother!” said a little boy I know, who has never enjoyed the privilege of a real home, “shall I have to give up my room? I don’t want to.”
In contrast to this I recall a little girl of long ago who stood on tiptoe to whisper into a sympathetic ear, “O aunty, mother says Cousin Ethel is coming; and mother says I may let her have my room!” I was a little girl, only about seven, I think, but mine was the hospitality and sharing that day; and as I sat waiting in my best frock for the occasion, I knew delightedly, without wordy definition, down in the bottom of my expectant and hospitable soul, what home meant.
The frequent use of the words “we” and “our” is of help in doing away with egotism, personal selfishness, and special privilege. The assigning of helpful tasks to the child—tasks which shall add definitely to the charm and comfort of the entire household; to plan definitely with the child for the arrival and entertainment of guests; training in habits of punctuality, neatness, gentleness of speech and manner—all these are helpful; but it must be remembered that home, though it includes all these, is yet more, far more than them all. It is an entirely spiritual and ideal thing. It is not the form, but the perfume of the flower; not the body, but the soul of the house.
Never were houses themselves better than they are today; never so convenient; never so sanitary. But in many a house nowadays I have missed that spiritual soul of kindness; I have found lacking that mutual love, that mutual reverence, that mutual service and desire for larger life, which give a house the air and loveliness and true spirit of home.
A real home is not a place of mere material comfort; it is a wholly spiritual ideal. The child’s own relation to the home is an entirely spiritual thing. Here is an ideal government, a republic to which it is his privilege to be devoted and loyal. Here shall he be neither despot nor slave; but with the other members of that home he shall be equal in his rights, proud in his privileges and possessions, eager in his responsibilities, happy in his tasks.
This ideal of home it is the part of all of us to establish for our children in so far as we can, allowing the child himself the stimulating and ennobling privilege of doing his share to bring about so high an ideal.—Laura Spencer Porter, in The Mother’s Magazine.
The Hills of God
By Arthur W. Spaulding
ARTHUR W. SPAULDING
Up to the hills I lift mine eyes,
Where dwell the balsamed airs,
Up where the living fountains rise,
And the whispering winds are prayers.
Up from the moil of the teeming plain
And the maze of the city's street,
Up where the thoughts of life are sane,
And the loves of life are sweet.
Away from the marts by mammon trod,
Aside from the mummer's play,
I turn mine eyes to the hills of God,
And trudge my lifting way.
Hendersonville, N. C.
Front Porch Visits
By MARTHA E. WARNER
MARTHA E. WARNER
“What should you do in case a child will not answer, but stands with closed lips, and refuses to speak?” asked Mrs. Bowen.
“I should first of all try to find out the reason for this strange behavior,” I answered. “Sometime when he is talkative, ask him why he does so. If he opens his heart to you, you may be able to get a clue that will help you. If he proves stubborn, treat him as if he were ill; for he is. Put him to bed. Make hot or cold applications to his chest or throat. Don’t ask him to speak. Have it understood that he cannot. A few courses of such treatment will often effect a cure. Perhaps some form of nervousness is at the root of the trouble; in that case you must act differently.”
“But to give a child a course of treatment like that would take the time I ought to be doing my housework,” my neighbor protested.
“‘Well,’ I replied, ‘housework is for today; home work is for eternity. You must make the choice as to which shall receive your first attention.’”
Clintonville, Conn.
In Twilight Land
In twilight land there are beautiful things,
The soft, low songs that a mother sings,
Patters and twinkles of dimpled feet,
And the brightest of dreams that come sliding down,
On a starry stairway from Slumbertown.
In twilight land where the shadows creep,
Dear little eyes fall fast asleep;
Birds and blossoms have gone to rest,
And babies are cuddled to mother's breast;
And always are tenderly whispered there
The sacred words of the children's prayer.
— Selected.
Sugar Yeast
The following recipe for a homemade yeast is sent by Mrs. Mattie A. Creager, of Keene, Tex. She says: “I have tried all kinds of yeast, and never found anything equal to that made by this formula:—
“To one pint of lukewarm water, add one-half cup sugar and sufficient flour to make a stiff batter. Mix all together, and beat until the batter is smooth. Pour into a glass fruit jar, cover, and set in a warm place to rise. This will require from three to five days, according to the temperature. When it has risen to about twice its original bulk, it is ready to use.
“Add two quarts of lukewarm water to the yeast, thicken with flour until the batter is quite stiff, but not too stiff to beat well, and let it rise overnight. (In very warm weather unheated water may be used.) In the morning take out a cupful of yeast and put it into a glass jar, add one-fourth cup of sugar, cover, and put in a cool place until next baking day; then treat it the same as suggested above. Never add any salt to the yeast.
“The remainder of the yeast may be treated like any other sponge. This is the method I follow: Put three quarts of sifted flour into a pan, make a hollow in the middle, and pour in the sponge. Add sugar and salt to taste. Knead until the dough is stiff enough so it will not stick to either the hand or the kneading board, and set away to rise. When light, shape into loaves, and after these have risen, bake in a moderate oven. Hard-wheat flour is always to be preferred.”