Religion in the Home Part 1

 A message by Rev. John Church:

Scripture Lesson:

Deuteronomy 6:4-9

"Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 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." -- Proverbs 22:6

"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." Proverbs 13:24

"He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes." Proverbs 3:11, 12

"My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord: neither be weary of his correction: For whom the Lord loveth he correcteth; even as a father, the son in whom he delighteth." Proverbs 19:18

"Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying." Proverbs 29:15

"The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother shame." Ephesians 6:1-2

"Children obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise." Genesis 18:19

"For I know him (Abraham) that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him."

In the very beginning of this message I want to confess that, from the standpoint of age and experience I feel very poorly qualified to deliver this particular message. Some one has said that the only people who can really tell you how to rear children are old maids and bachelors, and I imagine there is a great deal of truth in that statement. The more experience a person has in trying to rear their own children right, and the more keenly conscious they are of their failings along that line, the less inclined they are to tell other people how it should be done. I want to say, however, that it is not my purpose to speak primarily on how to rear children. I do feel led to speak to you on the general subject of "Religion In The Home," and that naturally involves the matter of the proper rearing of children.

The home is the oldest institution in the world and was the first divinely established institution known to man. God had a two-fold purpose in establishing the home. The first was that of bringing children into this world; and the second objective He had in mind was that these children should beproperly taught and trained.

Though these were the purposes God had in mind in setting up this great institution called the home, many homes fail in both of them.

Of course we recognize that there are some men and women who marry and are denied the glorious privilege of having children born to them. Such people are to be pitied, for they have missed something rich and fine out of their lives. Children bring something rich and fine to a marriage and to the home where they come. So, though the couple that never have children of their own may be happy, they have missed something rich out of their lives.

On the other hand, there are many who marry and could have children that shirk the responsibility of parenthood because of selfishness or sin. I am sure that God will judge them for their failure along that line. Such a couple rebels against the direct command and will of God and they will suffer for it. The first command that God ever gave to man, was to "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth and, subdue it." It is God's will for children to be brought into this world, and any couple who deliberately shirks their responsibility along this line dishonors God.

These days we are hearing a great deal of talk about birth control, but it might be well for us to forget what some of the modern leaders have to say along this line and go back to find out what God's Word teaches on the subject. I have often thought about Susannah Wesley and her great family of children. No doubt some of our society leaders would feel that she was a case to be pitied and used as an example of what not to do. However, when the books are opened and the records are all in, it will be found that she has done more for the world than some of the modern-day women that spend their time running around trying to run the world and set things right. I came from a family of eight children and have often been thankful that my mother and father did not know and practice birth control. There are two of us boys who are ministers of the gospel, and I imagine we would have been the very ones that mother and father would have decided were not needed. I was the third child, and was born less than two years after my older brother. No doubt mother would have decided that I was not needed just at that time. My other brother, who is a minister, was the seventh child born into our home. Again, human wisdom might have decided that six children were enough for a poor home like ours. But God thought differently about it. Some of the greatest leaders this world has ever known came from homes where there were a large number of children. God intended that when men and women married they should bring children into this world, and to use the marriage relationship merely to gratify the sex desire and then shun the duties of parenthood is a sin in the sight of God.

While there are some men and women who fail to bring children into the world, there are others that do bring children into this world but fail to teach and train their children as God would have them taught. This is just as great a tragedy as for people to refuse to have children. To take the responsibility of bringing children into this world means that a great duty and responsibility are thrust upon us. God has entrusted to our care and keeping an immortal soul that has infinite possibilities, and to fail to do our part for that soul is a crime of the worst sort. The greatest work that any man or woman can ever do is to so mold and teach a child that it will grow up to do God's will and live for Him. There is no greater work than the great business of rearing children for the glory of God. It is better to mold a life for God than to write a best seller. It is better to train and develop a great character than to be elected to Congress or some other public office. Susannah Wesley made a greater contribution to her day than any other woman that lived at that time. Some of her old classmates may have looked upon her with pity and felt that she had thrown away her life, but God looked upon her and smiled with approval. While other selfish women of her day have died andpassed into oblivion, her name still lives today and will live for centuries to come. She gave to this world something that only a man and woman can give: she gave new lives. You can't add to the material wealth of this world, but you can add to its wealth by giving a life.

Some years ago my father had lost a considerable sum of money, and he was greatly upset about it. In talking with me about it one day he made this statement, "Well, John, I came into this world with nothing, and it looks like I am going out the same way. I guess about the only contribution I will ever make to this world is six sons and two daughter." I don't know whether my father has ever thought of the real meaning of that statement or not, but I have thought about it many, many times. Think of contributing six sons and two daughters to the world, properly taught and trained. If they live as they should and do all that God would have them do, who knows what their lives may mean to the world. It may be a greater contribution to the world than R. J. Reynolds ever made. It may mean more to the world than the millions of Henry Ford or J. P. Morgan. Only God knows what one life can mean to the world.

The great superstructure of civilization rests upon three mighty pillars. One of them is the home, another is the church, and the third one is the government. If any one of these pillars is destroyed, civilization will come crashing to the ground. It seems to me that the first and most vital of these three pillars is the home; for no church can ever rise any higher and become any better than the home life of the people of that church. And certainly no government can ever rise any higher and become any better than the home life of the people that make up that government.

It is said that Mr. Henry W Grady, the great Southern statesman and orator, on one occasion was in New York City. As he stood on Wall Street, surrounded by the great banking institutions, he said to himself, "I am now at the heart of America: I am now feeling the pulse beat of this great nation, for here it is that the business of this great nation is largely transacted." However, sometime later, Mr. Grady had occasion to be in Washington. As he stood in the capital of our nation, surrounded by the great government buildings, he said to himself, "I was mistaken. When I was in New York I was not at the heart of America. It is true that there is where the business of our nation is largely transacted, but this is the capital of our nation, here is where the laws of our land are made, and the policies wrought out that go to guide the destiny of this great nation. I believe that I have now gotten up close to the heart of the nation and have really felt her pulse beat." But sometime after that Mr. Grady was on a speaking tour in the State of Georgia. One night he delivered an address in a rural community. After he had finished his address, a humble farmer came up and invited Mr. Grady to go home with him and spend the night. Mr. Grady accepted the invitation and went home with the man. After they had enjoyed a season of fellowship together the man of the house, said: "Mr. Grady, I imagine you are tired and would like to retire and get some rest, but we make it a practice to have family prayer twice each day at our house. If you don't mind I will ask you to read the Scripture lesson and then we will pray and you may retire." Said Mr. Grady, "I took that old family Bible in my hand and saw that it had been used a great deal. I read a lesson from the book, and then that humble man of the soil got down on his knees and began to pour out his heart to God in prayer. He thanked God for the blessings of the past, both temporal and spiritual. He praised God for his wife and children and prayed for each member of the family by name. He prayed for the President and for those in authority, and asked God to guide them and give them wisdom. He prayed for me, the stranger within his gates, and then committed us all into the hands of God and said, 'Amen."' Mr. Grady continued, "I went to bed that night with that man's prayers still ringing in my ears. I now said to myself, I was mistaken. When I was in New York I was not at the heart of America. It is true the business of our land is largely transacted there. And when I was in Washington I was not at the heartof America. It is true that is the capital of our nation and that is where the laws of our land are made, but tonight I have really gotten up close to the heart of America, and I believe I have really felt the pulse beat of this great nation; for it is such citizens and homes as this one that has made our nation what she is today. So long as our national life rests upon such citizens and such homes our nation is safe and secure. However, if the homes of our lands are disrupted and the family altar is broken down and our children are permitted to grow up without religious teaching and training, then Wall Street and Washington can never save us from chaos and ruin."

My friends, I believe Mr. Grady was right in his judgment. I am frank to confess to you that I do not fear the armies of Germany or Russia half as much as I fear the godless influences that are sweeping across this nation today -- those that are eating at the very foundations of our homes. I do not fear the navies of Japan half as much as I do the sin and wickedness that are wrecking the lives of our boys and girls. If this nation ever goes down in defeat and ruin, it will not be because of some great invading army or navy; it will be because we have turned away from God and have permitted the family altars to decay. It will be because we raised a generation of boys and girls that were not properly taught about God and religion. Surely one of the greatest needs of this day and time is a revival of religion that will bring the family altar back into the home, a revival that will cause the fathers ind mothers of this nation to see their duty about training their children in such a way that they will grow up to be Christian men and women. Such teaching and training is the surest safeguard for the future of our nation and civilization. May God grant that it may soon come.