1964 Awake! - Theocratic Collector.com
1964 Awake! - Theocratic Collector.com
1964 Awake! - Theocratic Collector.com
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THE ability to have<br />
children is one of<br />
the most pleasurable<br />
gifts the Creator has<br />
given mankind. They<br />
can-be a source of genuine<br />
happiness to parents.<br />
Their sunny dispositions,<br />
trusting<br />
natures, ever-present curiosity, boundless<br />
energies and deep affection are qualities<br />
that make them truly lovable. When small,<br />
their chubby hands invite hugs, blow kisses<br />
to you and cling to you with afTectionate<br />
dependence. When there are children, marriage<br />
takes on greater meaning. But while<br />
it is natural for parents to love their children,<br />
you must realize, if you are a parent,<br />
that there are many ways you can fail to<br />
manifest love while imagining that you<br />
are loving them.<br />
It has been said that children should be<br />
seen and not heard. In our day, however,<br />
they are definitely seen, heard and often<br />
greatly feared, bringing sorrow and anxiety<br />
to their parents. Very frequently this<br />
situation is traceable to the fact that some<br />
parents, thinking that they are loving their<br />
children and wanting to make them happy,<br />
excessively indulge and spoil them, only<br />
to find that they be<strong>com</strong>e even more demanding<br />
and troublesome.-Prov. 17:21.<br />
Many parents are confused as to their<br />
proper role by reason of the great volume<br />
of "expert," though contradictory, advice.<br />
8<br />
'>-'1 The greatest authority,<br />
however, is the Creator<br />
himself; and his counsel<br />
remains unchanged and<br />
dependable, for the principles<br />
he established are<br />
as workable today as<br />
when first given. He<br />
counsels parents to spend<br />
much time with their<br />
children, building up<br />
moral values and disciplining<br />
them in righteousness<br />
while the children<br />
are still in the<br />
tender and formative<br />
years. He recognizes that<br />
the foolishness peculiar<br />
to youths is but the inheritance<br />
of imperfect<br />
tendencies from the parents, and that the<br />
rod of correction or parental authority has<br />
to be exercised to drive it away. Children<br />
will rarely grow up to be good on their<br />
own. They have to be trained to conform to<br />
godly principles.-Prov. 22:6, 15.<br />
Spend Time with Them<br />
When the people of Israel were a people<br />
for God's own name, the care of their<br />
young ones was no small matter in His<br />
eyes. Parents were <strong>com</strong>manded to supply<br />
not only for the physical but, more importantly,<br />
for the spiritual needs of their children,<br />
and this on a daily basis. (Deut. 6:<br />
6-9) The main responsibility for such<br />
training was placed on the shoulders of the<br />
father, and his role is just as important in<br />
this atomic age. He cannot treat this obligation<br />
lightly without inviting sorrow.<br />
One who constantly meets his child's questions<br />
with: "Why ask me? Go ask your<br />
mother," reveals a reluctance to assume<br />
his proper place in the household, and he<br />
must answer to God for such neglect. He<br />
may even have to answer to the local law<br />
AWAKE!
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