Sin of Parental Neglect
Quotations from the writings of Ellen G. White with the phrase . . .
| the Sin of Parental Neglect |
| Satan has had great power over the minds of parents through their undisciplined children. The sin of parental neglect stands marked against many Sabbathkeeping parents. The spirit of gossip and talebearing is one of Satan's special agencies to sow discord and strife, to separate friends, and to undermine the faith of many in the truthfulness of our positions. Brethren and sisters are too ready to talk of the faults and errors that they think exist in others, and especially in those who have borne unflinchingly the messages of reproof and warning given them of God. Testimonies, Vol. 4, page 194.3 |
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The sin of parental neglect is almost universal. Blind affection for those who are connected with us by the ties of nature too often exists. This affection is carried to great lengths; it is not balanced by the wisdom or the fear of God. Blind parental affection is the greatest obstacle in the way of the proper training of children. It prevents the discipline and training which are required by the Lord. At times, because of this affection, parents seemed to be bereft of their reason. It is like the tender mercies of the wicked--cruelty disguised in the garb of so-called love. It is the dangerous undercurrent which carries children to ruin. {CG 234.4}
Parents are in constant danger of indulging natural affections at the expense of obedience to God's law. Many parents, to please their children, allow what God forbids. {CG 235.1}
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| Oh, the sin of parental neglect! How many children are lost to God and become a source of sorrow and distress to their parents, because they are not trained according to God's express directions! What a history the Judgment will reveal of affliction and misery produced by the children of parents who professed to be Christians, but who did not make the word of God their standard, their rule of life! What a record of crimes of every magnitude will then be opened to the view of parents, and traced to their lax discipline! Their children, like Eli's, did wickedly from childhood; but instead of firmly restraining them, they caressed and indulged them. The inborn evil of the natural heart was permitted to grow and strengthen. Even the house of God was not revered. {RH, May 4, 1886 par. 7} and {ST, April 8, 1886 par. 18} |
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| Parents whose hearts are filled with true and sanctified love for their children will follow the way marked out by God for the education and discipline of their children. But the sin of parental neglect is almost universal. Blind affection for those who are connected with us by the ties of nature too often exists. This affection is carried to great lengths; it is not balanced by the wisdom or the fear of God. Blind parental affection is the greatest obstacle in the way of the proper training of children. It prevents the discipline and training which are required by the Lord. At times, because of this affection, parents seem to be bereft of their reason. It is like the tender mercies of the wicked,--cruelty disguised in the garb of so-called love. It is the dangerous undercurrent which carries children to ruin. {RH, April 6, 1897 par. 1} |
| O parents, for the sake of yourselves, and your children, I make this appeal to you. My heart is greatly burdened. I cannot sleep as I think of parental neglect and its fatal results. I pray that you may be impressed with the importance of the work on which so much depends. There is set before you "a blessing and a curse; a blessing if ye obey the commandments of the Lord your God, . . . and a curse, if ye will not obey." This is your day of trust. Soon will come your day of reckoning. Take up your work with earnest prayer and faithful endeavor. Let Christ find you his helping hand in carrying out his purposes. Prepare for the coming of the Lord. This is the preparation day. Set your own hearts in order, and work earnestly for your children. An unreserved surrender to God will sweep away the barriers that have so long defied the approaches of heavenly grace. When you take up the cross and follow Christ, when you bring your lives into conformity to the will of God, your children will be converted. The world will take knowledge of them that they have been with Jesus and have learned of him. In word and deed they will bear witness to the power of Christ's grace. {RH, July 15, 1902 par. 13} |
| The ill-balanced mind, the hasty temper, the fretfulness, envy, or jealousy, bear witness to parental neglect. These evil traits of character bring great unhappiness to their possessors. How many fail to receive from companions and friends the love which they might have, if they were more amiable. How many create trouble wherever they go, and in whatever they are engaged! {CG 207.1} |
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| The highest duty of parents is to give their children a religious training. To allow a child to follow his natural impulses is to allow him to deteriorate and to become proficient in evil. The results of wrong training begin to be revealed in childhood. In early youth a selfish temper is developed and as the youth grows to manhood he grows in sin. A continual testimony against parental neglect is borne by children who have been permitted to follow a course of their own choosing. Such a downward course can be prevented only by surrounding them with influences that will counteract evil. From infancy to youth and from youth to manhood, a child should be under influences for good. {RH, September 15, 1904 par. 1} |
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| On this occasion I dwelt particularly upon the evils resulting from parental neglect. Notwithstanding our boasted advancement in education, the training of children is sadly defective. For this state of things, must not mothers to some extent be held responsible? Are they not generally the willing servants of worldliness and fashion? Are not even those who profess to have renounced the vanities of the world, influenced to a great degree by its customs? It is too true that mothers are not standing at their post of duty, faithful to their motherhood. God requires of us nothing that we cannot in his strength perform; nothing that is not for our own good and the good of our children. He does not call woman to engage in any work that will lead her to neglect the physical, mental, and moral training of her own children. She may not shift this responsibility upon others, and leave them to do her work. {ST, February 9, 1882 par. 3} |
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The Lord has a controversy with parents, because they have permitted their children to follow their own pernicious ways, by which the way of truth is evil spoken of. Education should be commanded in the home at the dawn of reason, and is to be carried forward in the fear and love of God. The reason that children do not become godly is because they are allowed too much freedom. Their will and inclination is indulged. Parental neglect in restraining children is the cause of so much evil in the world today. Oh, what sad things the judgment will reveal. Many prodigal sons become such because of indulgence in the home, because their parents have not been doers of the Word. The mind and purpose are to be sustained by firm, undeviating, sanctified principles. Consistency and affection are to be enforced by a lovely and consistent example. {11MR 40.3}
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