Those who recognize science in the humblest work will see in it nobility and beauty, and will take pleasure in performing it with faithfulness and efficiency.
The Dignity Of Labor
Notwithstanding all that has been said and written regarding the dignity of manual labor, the feeling prevails that it is degrading. Popular opinion has, in many minds, changed the order of things, and men have come to think that it is not fitting for a man who works with his hands to take his place among gentlemen. Men work hard to obtain money; and having gained wealth, they suppose that their money will make their sons gentlemen. But many such fail to train their sons as they themselves were trained, to hard, useful labor. Their sons spend the money earned by the labor of others, without understanding its value. Thus they misuse a talent that the Lord designed should accomplish much good.
The Lord's purposes are not the purposes of men. He did not design that men should live in idleness. In the beginning He created man a gentleman; but though rich in all that the Owner of the universe could supply, Adam was not to be idle. No sooner was he created than his work was given him. He was to find employment and happiness in tending the things that God had created, and in response to his labor his wants were to be abundantly supplied from the fruits of the Garden of Eden.
While our first parents obeyed God, their labor in the garden was a pleasure, and the earth yielded of its abundance for their wants. But when man departed from obedience, he was doomed to wrestle with the seeds of Satan's sowing and to earn his bread by the sweat of his brow. Henceforth he must battle in toil and hardship against the power to which he had yielded his will.
It was God's purpose to alleviate by toil the evil brought into the world by man's disobedience. By toil the temptations of Satan might be made ineffectual and the tide of evil stayed. And though attended with anxiety, weariness, and pain, labor is still a source of happiness and development, and a safeguard against temptation. Its discipline places a check on self-indulgence and promotes industry, purity, and firmness. Thus it becomes a part of God's great plan for our recovery from the Fall.
Manual Labor Versus Games
The public feeling is that manual labor is degrading, yet men may exert themselves as much as they choose at cricket, baseball, or in pugilistic contests, without being regarded as degraded. Satan is delighted when he sees human beings using their physical and mental powers in that which does not educate, which is not useful, which does not help them to be a blessing to those who need their help. While the youth are becoming expert in games that are of no real value to themselves or to others, Satan is playing the game of life for their souls, taking from them the talents that God has given them, and placing in their stead his own evil attributes. It is his effort to lead men to ignore God. He seeks to engross and absorb the mind so completely that God will find no place in the thoughts. He does not wish people to have a knowledge of their Maker, and he is well pleased if he can set in operation games and theatrical performances that will so confuse the senses of the youth that God and heaven will be forgotten.
One of the surest safeguards against evil is useful occupation, while idleness is one of the greatest curses; for vice, crime, and poverty follow in its wake. Those who are always busy, who go cheerfully about their daily tasks, are the useful members of society. In the faithful discharge of the various duties that lie in their pathway, they make their lives a blessing to themselves and to others. Diligent labor keeps them from many of the snares of him who "finds some mischief still for idle hands to do."
A stagnant pool soon becomes offensive, but a flowing brook spreads health and gladness over the land. The one is a symbol of the idle, the other of the industrious.
Manual Training Among the Israelites
In God's plan for Israel every family had a home on the land with sufficient ground for tilling. Thus were provided both the means and the incentive for a useful, industrious, and self-supporting life. And no devising of men has ever improved upon that plan. To the world's departure from it is owing, to a large degree, the poverty and wretchedness that exist today.
By the Israelites, industrial training was regarded as a duty. Every father was required to see that his sons learned some useful trade. The greatest men of Israel were trained to industrial pursuits. A knowledge of the duties pertaining to housewifery was considered essential for every woman; and skill in these duties was regarded as an honor to women of the highest station.
Various industries were taught in the schools of the prophets, and many of the students sustained themselves by manual labor.
Christ's Example
The path of toil appointed to the dwellers on earth may be hard and wearisome; but it is honored by the footprints of the Redeemer, and he is safe who follows in this sacred way. By precept and example, Christ has dignified useful labor. From His earliest years He lived a life of toil. The greater part of His earthly life was spent in patient work in the carpenter's shop at Nazareth. In the garb of a common laborer the Lord of life trod the streets of the little town in which He lived, going to and returning from His humble toil; and ministering angels attended Him as He walked side by side with peasants and laborers, unrecognized and unhonored.
When He went forth to contribute to the support of the family by His daily toil He possessed the same power as when on the shores of Galilee He fed five thousand hungry souls with five loaves and two fishes. But He did not employ His divine power to lessen His burdens or lighten His toil. He had taken upon Himself the form of humanity, with all its attendant ills, and He did not flinch from its severest trials. He lived in a peasant's home; He was clothed with coarse garments; He mingled with the lowly; He toiled daily with patient hands. His example shows us that it is man's duty to be industrious and that labor is honorable.
The Relation Between Christianity and Human Effort
The things of earth are more closely connected with heaven and are more directly under the supervision of Christ than many realize. All right inventions and improvements have their source in Him who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in working. The skillful touch of the physician's hand, his power and nerve and muscle, his knowledge of the delicate mechanism of the body, is the wisdom of divine power, to be used in behalf of the suffering. The skill with which the carpenter uses his tools, the strength with which the blacksmith makes the anvil ring, come from God. Whatever we do, wherever we are placed, He desires to control our minds, that we may do perfect work.
Christianity and business, rightly understood, are not two separate things; they are one. Bible religion is to be brought into all that we do and say. Human and divine agencies are to combine in temporal as well as spiritual achievements. They are to be united in all human pursuits, in mechanical and agricultural labors, in mercantile and scientific enterprises.
There is a remedy for indolence, and that is to throw off sluggishness as a sin that leads to perdition, and go to work, using with determination and vigor the physical ability that God has given. The only cure for a useless, inefficient life is determined, persevering effort. Life is not given us to be spent in idleness or self-pleasing; before us are placed great possibilities. In the capital of strength a precious talent has been entrusted to men for labor. This is of more value than any bank deposit and should be more highly prized, for through the possibilities that it affords for enabling men to lead a useful, happy life it may be made to yield interest and compound interest. It is a blessing that cannot be purchased with gold or silver, houses or lands; and God requires it to be used wisely. No man has a right to sacrifice this talent to the corroding influence of inaction. All are as accountable for the capital of physical strength as for their capital of means.
The race is not always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong; and those who are diligent in business may not always be prospered. But it is "the hand of the diligent" that "maketh rich." And while indolence and drowsiness grieve the Holy Spirit and destroy true godliness, they also tend to poverty and want. "He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand." (Proverbs 10:4)
Judicious labor is a healthful tonic for the human race. It makes the feeble strong, the poor rich, the wretched happy. Satan lies in ambush, ready to destroy those whose leisure gives him opportunity to approach them under some attractive disguise. He is never more successful than when he comes to men in their idle hours.
The Lessons of Contented Industry
Among the evils resulting from wealth, one of the greatest is the fashionable idea that work is degrading. The prophet Ezekiel declares: "Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy." (Ezekiel 16:49) Here are presented before us the terrible results of idleness, which enfeebles the mind, debases the soul, and perverts the understanding, making a curse of that which was given as a blessing. It is the working man or woman who sees something great and good in life, and who is willing to bear its responsibilities with faith and hope.
The essential lesson of contented industry in the necessary duties of life is yet to be learned by many of Christ's followers. It requires more grace, more stern discipline of character, to work for God in the capacity of mechanic, merchant, lawyer, or farmer, carrying the precepts of Christianity into the ordinary business of life, than to labor as an acknowledged missionary in the open field. It requires a strong spiritual nerve to bring religion into the workshop and the business office, sanctifying the details of everyday life, and ordering every transaction according to the standard of God's word. But this is what the Lord requires.
The apostle Paul regarded idleness as a sin. He learned the trade of tentmaking in its higher and lower branches, and during his ministry he often worked at this trade to support himself and others. Paul did not regard as lost the time thus spent. As he worked, the apostle had access to a class of people whom he could not otherwise have reached. He showed his associates that skill in the common arts is a gift from God. He taught that even in everyday toil God is to be honored. His toil-hardened hands detracted nothing from the force of his pathetic appeals as a Christian minister.
God designs that all shall be workers. The toiling beast of burden answers the purpose of its creation better than does the indolent man. God is a constant worker. The angels are workers; they are ministers of God to the children of men. Those who look forward to a heaven of inactivity will be disappointed, for the economy of heaven provides no place for the gratification of indolence. But to the weary and heavy-laden rest is promised. It is the faithful servant who will be welcomed from his labors to the joy of his Lord. He will lay off his armor with rejoicing, and will forget the noise of battle in the glorious rest prepared for those who conquer through the cross of Calvary.
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On every hand parents are neglecting to instruct and train their children for useful labor. The youth are allowed to grow up in ignorance of the simple and necessary duties. Those who have been thus unfortunate must awake and take the burden of the matter upon themselves; if they ever expect to succeed in life they must find incentives to the useful employment of their God-given powers.
Words of Counsel
It is in the order of God that the physical as well as the mental powers shall be trained; but the character of the physical exercise taken should be in complete harmony with the lessons given by Christ to His disciples. Those lessons should be exemplified in the lives of Christians so that in all the education and self-training of teachers and students the heavenly agencies may not record of them that they are "lovers of pleasures." This is the record now being made of a large number, "Lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God." (2 Timothy 3:4) Thus Satan and his angels are laying their snares for souls. They are working upon the minds of teachers and students to induce them to engage in exercises and amusements which become intensely absorbing, and which are of a character to strengthen the lower passions and to create appetites and passions that will counteract the operations of the Spirit of God upon human hearts.
All the teachers in a school need exercise, a change of employment. God has pointed out what this should be--useful, practical work. But many have turned away from God's plan to follow human inventions to the detriment of spiritual life. Amusements are doing more to counteract the working of the Holy Spirit than anything else, and the Lord is grieved.
Those teachers who have not a progressive religious experience, who are not learning daily lessons in the school of Christ, that they may be examples to the flock, but who accept their wages as the main consideration, are not fit for the solemn position they occupy. "Take heed therefore unto yourselves," the word of God declares, "and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which He hath purchased with His own blood." "Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind." (Acts 20:28; 1 Peter 5:2) These words are spoken to the teachers in all our schools, which are established, as God designed they should be, after the example of the schools of the prophets, to impart knowledge of a high order, not mingling dross with the silver. But false ideas and unsound practices are leavening that which should ever be kept pure, institutions in which the love and fear of God should ever be first.
Let the teachers learn daily lessons in the school of Christ. "Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me," He says; "for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls." (Matthew 11:29) There is altogether too little of Christ and too much of self. But those who are under the dictation of the Spirit of God, under the rule of Christ, will be ensamples to the flock. When the Chief Shepherd shall appear, these will receive the crown of life that fadeth not away.
"Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time." (1 Peter 5:5, 6)
All self-uplifting works out the natural result--making character of which God cannot approve. Work and teach; work in Christ's lines, and then you will never work in your own weak ability, but will have the co-operation of the divine.
"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." (Verse 8) He is on the playground, watching your amusements, and catching every soul whom he finds off guard, sowing his seeds in human hearts, and gaining control of human minds. He is present in every exercise in the schoolroom. Those students who allow their minds to be deeply excited over games are not in the best condition to receive the instruction, the counsel, the reproof, most essential for them.
Physical exercise was marked out by the God of wisdom. Some hours each day should be devoted to useful education in lines of work that will help the students in learning the duties of practical life, which are essential for all our youth.
There is need of everyone in every school and in every other institution being, as was Daniel, in such close connection with the Source of all wisdom that he will be enabled to reach the highest standard in every line. The love and fear of God was before Daniel; and conscious of his amenability to God, he trained all his powers to respond as far as possible to the loving care of the Great Teacher. The four Hebrew children would not allow selfish motives and love of amusements to occupy the golden moments of life. They worked with willing heart and ready mind. This is no higher standard than every Christian youth may reach.
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Our workers--ministers, teachers, physicians, directors--all need to remember that they are pledged to co-operate with Christ, to obey His directions, to follow His guidance. Every hour they are to ask and receive power from on high. They are to cherish a constant sense of the Saviour's love, of His efficiency, His watchfulness, His tenderness. They are to look to Him as the shepherd and bishop of their souls. Then they will have the sympathy and support of the heavenly angels. Christ will be their joy and crown of rejoicing. Their hearts will be controlled by the Holy Spirit, and they will have a knowledge of the truth which merely nominal believers can never gain.
We do not half comprehend the significance of the Saviour's lessons. We do not realize how much they mean to the beings He has created. He loves the human race. Do you ask how much? I point you to Calvary. But earthly cares and earthly interests hide from our view the things of heavenly origin, so that their importance is not understood. If ministers and teachers had a deeper sense of their spiritual need, they would enter upon their work filled with the realization of the sacredness of their trust, and a higher life would circulate through our churches and institutions.
Physical Labor for Students
With the present plan of education, a door of temptation is opened to the youth. Although they generally have too many hours of study they have many hours without anything to do. These leisure hours are frequently spent in a reckless manner. ... Very many young men who have been religiously instructed at home, and who go out to the schools comparatively innocent and virtuous, become corrupt by associating with vicious companions. They lose self-respect and sacrifice noble principles. Then they are prepared to pursue the downward path; for they have so abused conscience that sin does not appear so exceeding sinful. These evils ... might be remedied in a great degree if study and labor could be combined. ...
Some students put the whole being into their studies and concentrate their minds upon the object of obtaining an education. They work the brain, but allow the physical powers to remain inactive. Thus the brain is overworked, and the muscles become weak because they are not exercised. When these students are graduated, it is evident that they have obtained their education at the expense of life. They have studied day and night, year after year, keeping their minds continually upon the stretch, while they have failed to exercise their muscles sufficiently. ...
Young ladies frequently give themselves up to study, to the neglect of other branches of education even more essential for practical life than the study of books. And after having obtained their education, they are often invalids for life. They have neglected their health by remaining too much indoors, deprived of the pure air of heaven and of the God-given sunlight. These young women might have come from school in health had they combined with their studies household labor and exercise in the open air.
Health is a great treasure. It is the richest possession that mortals can have. Wealth, honor, or learning is dearly purchased if it be at the loss of the vigor of health. None of these attainments can secure happiness if health is wanting. ...
The Curse of Inaction
In many cases parents who are wealthy do not feel the importance of giving their children an education in the practical duties of life as well as in the sciences. They do not see the necessity, for the good of their children's minds and morals, and for their future usefulness, of giving them a thorough understanding of useful labor. This is due their children, that, should misfortune come, they could stand forth in noble independence, knowing how to use their hands. If they have a capital of strength they cannot be poor even if they have not a dollar.
Many who in youth were in affluent circumstances may be robbed of all their riches and be left with parents and brothers and sisters dependent upon them for sustenance. Then how important that every youth be educated to labor, that he may be prepared for any emergency! Riches are indeed a curse when their possessors let them stand in the way of their sons and daughters' obtaining a knowledge of useful labor, that they may be qualified for practical life. ...
Poverty, in many cases, is a blessing, for it prevents youth and children from being ruined by inaction. The physical as well as the mental powers should be cultivated and properly developed. The first and constant care of parents should be to see that their children have firm constitutions, that they may be sound men and women. It is impossible to attain this object without physical exercise. For their own physical health and moral good, children should be taught to work, even if there is no necessity so far as want is concerned. If they would have pure and virtuous characters they must have the discipline of well-regulated labor, which will bring into exercise all the muscles. The satisfaction that children have in being useful, and in denying themselves to help others, will be the most healthful pleasure they can enjoy. ...
Parents, inaction is the greatest curse that ever came upon youth. Your daughters should not be allowed to lie in bed late in the morning, sleeping away the precious hours lent them of God to be used for the best purpose, and for which they will have to give an account to Him. That mother does her daughters great injury who bears the burdens that, for their own present and future good, they should share with her. ...
Advantages of Physical Labor
Exercise in household labor is of the greatest advantage to young girls. Physical labor will not prevent the cultivation of the intellect: far from it. The advantages gained by physical labor will balance a person and prevent the mind from being overworked. The toil will come upon the muscles and relieve the wearied brain. ... A sound body is required for a sound intellect. Physical soundness and a practical knowledge of all the necessary household duties will never be a hindrance to a well-developed intellect; both are highly important. ...
Provision should have been made in past generations for education upon a larger scale. In connection with the schools should have been agricultural and manufacturing establishments. There should also have been teachers of household labor. And a portion of the time each day should have been devoted to labor that the physical and mental powers might be equally exercised. If schools had been established on the plan we have mentioned, there would not now be so many unbalanced minds. ...
A constant strain upon the brain while the muscles are inactive, enfeebles the nerves and gives to students an almost uncontrollable desire for change and exciting amusements. When they are released, after being confined to study several hours each day, they are nearly wild. Many have never been controlled at home. They have been left to follow inclination, and they think that the restraint of the hours of study is a severe tax upon them; and because they have nothing to do after study hours, Satan suggests sport and mischief for a change. Their influence over other students is demoralizing. ...
Had there been agricultural and manufacturing establishments connected with our schools, and had competent teachers been employed to educate the youth in the different branches of study and labor, devoting a portion of each day to mental improvement and a portion to physical labor, there would now be a more elevated class of youth to come upon the stage of action, to have influence in molding society. Many of the youth graduated from such institutions would come forth with stability of character. They would have perseverance, fortitude, and courage to surmount obstacles, and such principles that they would not be swayed by a wrong influence however popular.
There should have been experienced teachers to give lessons to young ladies in the cooking department. Young girls should have been taught how to cut, make, and mend garments, and thus become educated for the practical duties of life. For young men, there should have been establishments where they could learn different trades, which would bring into exercise their muscles as well as their mental powers.
If the youth can have but a one-sided education, which is of the greater consequence, a knowledge of the sciences, with all the disadvantages to health and life, or a knowledge of labor for practical life? We unhesitatingly answer, The latter. If one must be neglected, let it be the study of books.
The Education of Girls
There are very many girls who are married and have families who have but little practical knowledge of the duties devolving upon a wife and mother. They can read, and play upon an instrument of music; but they cannot cook. They cannot make good bread, which is very essential to the health of the family. They cannot cut and make garments, for they have never learned how. They regard these things as unessential, and in their married life they are as dependent upon someone to do these things for them as are their own little children. It is this inexcusable ignorance in regard to the most needful duties of life which makes very many unhappy families. ...
Equalizing Labor
The minds of thinking men labor too hard. They frequently use their mental powers prodigally; while there is another class whose highest aim in life is physical labor. The latter class do not exercise the mind. Their muscles are exercised, while their brains are robbed of intellectual strength; just as the minds of thinking men are worked while their bodies are robbed of strength and vigor by their neglect to exercise their muscles. ... If the intellectual would to some extent share the burden of the laboring class, and thus strengthen the muscles, the laboring class might do less, and devote a portion of their time to mental and moral culture. Those of sedentary and literary habits should take physical exercise, even if they have no need to labor as far as means are concerned. Health should be a sufficient inducement to lead them to unite physical with mental labor.
Moral, intellectual, and physical culture should be combined in order to have well-developed, well-balanced men and women. Some are qualified to exercise great intellectual strength, while others are inclined to love and enjoy physical labor. Both of these classes should seek to improve where they are deficient, that they may present to God their entire being, a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to Him, which is their reasonable service. ...
Those who are content to devote their lives to physical labor, and leave others to do the thinking for them, while they simply carry out what other brains have planned, will have strength of muscle, but feeble intellects. Their influence for good is small in comparison with what it might be if they would use their brains as well as their muscles. This class fall more readily if attacked by disease, because the system is not vitalized by the electrical force of the brain to resist disease. Men who have good physical powers should educate themselves to think as well as to act, and not depend upon others to be brains for them.
Work Not Degrading
It is a popular error with a large class to regard work as degrading; therefore young men are very anxious to educate themselves to become teachers, clerks, merchants, lawyers, and to occupy almost any position that does not require physical labor. Young women regard housework as belittling. And although the physical exercise required to perform household labor, if not too severe, is calculated to promote health, yet they seek for an education that will fit them to become teachers or clerks, or they learn some trade that will confine them indoors to sedentary employment. ...
True, there is some excuse for young women not choosing housework for an employment because those who hire kitchen girls generally treat them as servants. Frequently the employers do not respect them, but treat them as if they were unworthy to be members of the family. They do not give them the privileges they give the seamstress, the copyist, and the teacher of music.
But there can be no employment more important than that of housework. To cook well, to place wholesome food upon the table in an inviting manner, requires intelligence and experience. The one who prepares the food that is to be placed in the stomach, to be converted into blood to nourish the system, occupies a most important and elevated position. The position of copyist, dressmaker, or music teacher cannot equal in importance that of the cook.
A Reformatory Work
Time is too short now to accomplish that which might have been done in past generations; but we can do much, even in these last days, to correct the existing evils in the education of youth. ...
We are reformers. We desire that our children should study to the best advantage. In order that they may do this, employment should be given them which will call the muscles into exercise. Daily systematic labor should constitute a part of the education of the youth, even at this late period. Much can now be gained by connecting labor with our schools. In following this plan the students will realize elasticity of spirit and vigor of thought, and will be able to accomplish more mental labor in a given time than they could be study alone. And they can leave school with their constitutions unimpaired and with strength and courage to persevere in any position in which the providence of God may place them.
Because time is short, we should work with diligence and double energy. Our children may never enter college, but they can obtain an education in those essential branches which they can turn to a practical use, and which will give culture to the mind and call its powers into exercise. Very many youth who have gone through a college course have not obtained that true education that they can put to practical use.[1]
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I appeal to our churches where there are schools, to appoint as teachers of the children and youth those who love the Lord Jesus Christ and who will make the word of God the foundation of education. And they should teach the youth to keep themselves in health by obedience to the laws of right living. Teachers and pupils will derive mental and spiritual help from self-denial, by practicing the principles of health reform. They will surely find, as did Daniel and his companions, that blessings come from conforming the life to God's word.
"Watch and pray," is an injunction often repeated in the Scriptures. In the lives of those who obey this injunction there will be an undercurrent of happiness that will bless all with whom they are brought in contact. Those who are sour and cross in disposition will become sweet and gentle; those who are proud will become meek and lowly.
Health and Efficiency
Health is an inestimable blessing and one more closely related to conscience and religion than many realize. It has a great deal to do with one's capability for service and should be as sacredly guarded as the character, for the more perfect the health the more perfect will be our efforts for the advancement of God's cause and for the blessing of humanity.
There is an important work to be done in our schools in teaching the youth the principles of health reform. The teachers should exert a reformatory influence in the matter of eating, drinking, and dressing, and should encourage their students to practice self-denial and selfcontrol. The youth should be taught that all their powers are from God; that He has a claim upon every faculty; and that by abusing their health in any way they slight one of God's choicest blessings. The Lord gives them health to use in His service, and the greater their physical strength, the stronger their powers of endurance, the more they can do for the Master. Instead of abusing or overtaxing their physical powers, they should jealously guard them for His use.
Youth is the time to lay up knowledge in those lines that can be put into daily practice throughout the life. Youth is the time to establish good habits, to correct wrong ones, to gain and hold the power of self-control, to accustom oneself to ordering all the acts of life with reference to the will of God and the welfare of one's fellow creatures. Youth is the sowing time that determines the harvest of this life and the life beyond the grave. The habits formed in childhood and youth, the tastes acquired, the self-control gained, are almost certain to determine the future of the man or woman.
The importance of caring for the health should be taught as a Bible requirement. Perfect obedience to God's commands calls for conformity to the laws of the being. The science of education includes as full a knowledge of physiology as can be obtained. No one can properly understand his obligations to God unless he understands clearly his obligations to himself as God's property. He who remains in sinful ignorance of the laws of life and health, or who willfully violates these laws, sins against God.
The time spent in physical exercise is not lost. The student who is constantly poring over his books, while he takes but little exercise in the open air, does himself an injury. A proportionate exercise of the various organs and faculties of the body is essential to the best work of each. When the brain is constantly taxed while the other organs are left inactive, there is a loss of physical and mental strength. The physical powers are robbed of their healthy tone, the mind loses its freshness and vigor, and a morbid excitability is the result.
In order for men and women to have well-balanced minds, all the powers of the being should be called into use and developed. There are in this world many who are one-sided because only one set of faculties has been cultivated, while others are dwarfed from inaction. The education of many youth is a failure. They overstudy, while they neglect that which pertains to the practical life. That the balance of the mind may be maintained, a judicious system of physical work should be combined with mental work that there may be a harmonious development of all the powers.
Students should have manual work to do, and it will not hurt them if in doing this work they become weary. Do you not think that Christ became weary? Indeed He did. Weariness injures no one. It only makes rest the sweeter. The lesson cannot be too often repeated that education will be of little value without physical strength with which to use it. When students leave college, they should have better health and a better understanding of the laws of life than when they entered it.
Overstudy
The student who desires to put the work of two years into one should not be permitted to have his own way. To undertake to do double work means, with many, overtaxation of the mind and neglect of physical exercise. It is not reasonable to suppose that the mind can assimilate an oversupply of mental food, and it is as great a sin to overload the mind as it is to overload the digestive organs.
To those who are desirous of becoming efficient laborers in the cause of God I would say, If you are putting an undue amount of labor on the brain, thinking you will lose ground unless you study all the time, you should at once change your views and your course. Unless greater care is exercised in this respect, there are many who will go down to the grave prematurely.
In regulating the hours for sleep, there should be no haphazard work. Students should not form the habit of burning the midnight oil and taking the hours of the day for sleep. If they have been accustomed to doing this at home, they should correct the habit, going to bed at a seasonable hour. They will then rise in the morning refreshed for the duties of the day. In our schools the lights should be put out at half past nine.
Voice Culture
Voice culture is a subject that has much to do with the health of students. The youth should be taught how to breathe properly and how to read in such a way that no unnatural strain shall come on the throat and lungs, but that the work shall be shared by the abdominal muscles. Speaking from the throat, letting the sound come from the upper part of the vocal organs, impairs the health of these organs and decreases their efficiency. The abdominal muscles are to do the heaviest part of the labor, the throat being used as a channel. Many have died who might have lived had they been taught how to use the voice correctly. The right use of the abdominal muscles in reading and speaking will prove a remedy for many voice and chest difficulties, and the means of prolonging life.
Diet
The character of the food and the manner in which it is eaten exert a powerful influence on the health. Many students have never made a determined effort to control the appetite or to observe proper rules in regard to eating. Some eat too much at their meals, and some eat between meals whenever the temptation is presented.
The need of carefulness in habits of diet should be impressed on the minds of all students. I have been instructed that those attending our schools are not to be served with flesh foods or with preparations of food that are known to be unwholesome. Nothing that will serve to encourage a desire for stimulants should be placed on the table. I appeal to all to refuse to eat those things that will injure the health. Thus they can serve the Lord by sacrifice.
Those who obey the laws of health will give time and thought to the needs of the body and to the laws of digestion. And they will be rewarded by clearness of thought and strength of mind. On the other hand, it is possible for one to spoil his Christian experience by abuse of the stomach. Those things that derange the digestion have a benumbing influence on the finer feelings of the heart. That which darkens the skin and makes it dingy also clouds the spirits and destroys cheerfulness and peace of mind. Every habit that injures the health reacts upon the mind. That time is well spent which is directed to the establishment and preservation of sound physical and mental health. Firm, quiet nerves and a healthy circulation help men to follow right principles and to listen to the promptings of conscience.
Ventilation and Sanitation
Special attention should be paid to ventilation and sanitation. The teacher should put into practical use in the schoolroom the knowledge of the principles of physiology and hygiene. He may thus guard his pupils from many dangers to which they would be exposed through ignorance or neglect of sanitary laws. Many lives have been sacrificed because teachers have not given attention to these things.
Sudden changes of temperature should be avoided. Care should be taken to see that the students do not become chilled by sitting in drafts. It is not safe for the teacher to regulate the heat of the schoolroom by his own feelings. His own good, as well as that of the students, demands that a uniform temperature be maintained.
The Reward of Obedience
The brain is the citadel of the being. Wrong physical habits affect the brain and prevent the attainment of that which the students desire--a good mental discipline. Unless the youth are versed in the science of how to care for the body as well as for the mind, they will not be successful students. Study is not the principal cause of breakdown of the mental powers. The main cause is improper diet, irregular meals, a lack of physical exercise, and careless inattention in other respects to the laws of health. When we do all that we can to preserve the health, then we can ask God in faith to bless our efforts.
Before students talk of their attainments in the so-called "higher education," let them learn to eat and drink to the glory of God and to exercise brain, bone, and muscle in such a way as to fit them for the highest service. A student may devote all his powers to acquiring knowledge, but as he disobeys the laws that govern his being he will weaken his efficiency. By cherishing wrong habits, he loses the power of self-appreciation, and he loses self-control. He cannot reason correctly about matters that concern him most deeply, and becomes reckless and irrational in his treatment of mind and body.
The obligation resting upon us to keep the body in health is an individual responsibility. The Lord requires each one to work out his salvation day by day. He bids us reason from cause to effect, to remember that we are His property, and to unite with Him in keeping the body pure and healthy, and the whole being sanctified to Him.
The youth should be taught that they are not at liberty to do as they please with their lives. God will not hold guiltless those who treat lightly His precious gifts. Men should realize that the greater their endowment of strength, of talent, of means, or of opportunities, the more heavily should the burden of God's work rest upon them, and the more they should do for Him. The youth who are trained to believe that life is a sacred trust will hesitate to plunge into the vortex of dissipation and crime that swallows up so many promising young men of this age.
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The teacher whose physical powers are already enfeebled by disease or overwork should pay especial attention to the laws of health. He should take time for recreation. When a teacher sees that his health is not sufficient to stand the pressure of heavy study, he should heed the admonition of nature and lighten the load. He should not take upon himself responsibilities outside of his schoolwork which will so tax him physically and mentally that his nervous system will be unbalanced, for by this course he will be unfitted to deal with minds and cannot do justice either to himself or to his students.
Sometimes the teacher carries into the schoolroom the shadow of darkness that has been gathering on his soul. He has been overtaxed and is nervous, or dyspepsia has colored everything a gloomy hue. He enters the schoolroom with quivering nerves and irritated stomach. Nothing seems to be done to please him; he thinks that his pupils are bent on showing him disrespect; and his sharp criticisms and censure are given on the right hand and on the left. Perhaps one or more of the students commits errors or is unruly. The case is exaggerated in his mind, and he is severe and cutting in his reproof of the one whom he thinks at fault. And the same injustice afterward prevents him from admitting that he has taken a wrong course. To maintain the dignity of his position, he has lost a golden opportunity to manifest the spirit of Christ, perhaps to gain a soul for heaven.
It is the duty of each teacher to do all in his power to present his body to Christ a living sacrifice, physically perfect, as well as morally free from defilement, that Christ may make him a co-worker with Himself in the salvation of souls.
Some Principles of Healthful Dressing
The Bible teaches modesty in dress. "In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel." (1 Timothy 2:9) This forbids display in dress, gaudy colors, profuse ornamentation. Any device designed to attract attention to the wearer or to excite admiration is excluded from the modest apparel which God's word enjoins.
Our dress is to be inexpensive--not with "gold, or pearls, or costly array." Money is a trust from God. It is not ours to expend for the gratification of pride or ambition. In the hands of God's children it is food for the hungry and clothing for the naked. It is a defense to the oppressed, a means of health to the sick, of preaching the gospel to the poor. You could bring happiness to many hearts by using wisely the money that is now spent for show. Consider the life of Christ. Study His character, and be partakers with Him in His self-denial.
In the professed Christian world enough is expended for jewels and needlessly expensive dress to feed all the hungry and to clothe the naked. Fashion and display absorb the means that might comfort the poor and the suffering. They rob the world of the gospel of the Saviour's love. ...
But our clothing, while modest and simple, should be of good quality, of becoming colors, and suited for service. It should be chosen for durability rather than display. It should provide warmth and proper protection. The wise woman described in the Proverbs "is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with double garments." (Proverbs 31:21, margin)
Our dress should be cleanly. Uncleanliness in dress is unhealthful, and thus defiling to the body and to the soul. "Ye are the temple of God. ... If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy." (1 Corinthians 3:16, 17)
In all respects the dress should be healthful. "Above all things," God desires us to "be in health" (3 John 2)--health of body and of soul. And we are to be workers together with Him for the health of both soul and body. Both are promoted by healthful dress. It should have the grace, the beauty, the appropriateness, of natural simplicity.
Christ has warned us against the pride of life, but not against its grace and natural beauty. He pointed to the flowers of the field, to the lily unfolding in its purity, and said, "Even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these." (Matthew 6:29) Thus by the things of nature, Christ illustrates the beauty that heaven values, the modest grace, the simplicity, the purity, the appropriateness, that would make our attire pleasing to Him. The most beautiful dress He bids us wear upon the soul. No outward adorning can compare in value or loveliness with that "meek and quiet spirit" which in His sight is "of great price." (1 Peter 3:4) ...
Physical Effects of Improper Dress
It was the adversary of all good who instigated the invention of the ever-changing fashions. He desires nothing so much as to bring grief and dishonor to God by working the misery and ruin of human beings. One of the means by which he most effectually accomplishes this is the devices of fashion, that weaken the body as well as enfeeble the mind and belittle the soul.
Women are subject to serious maladies, and their sufferings are greatly increased by their manner of dressing. Instead of preserving their health for the trying emergencies that are sure to come, they by their wrong habits too often sacrifice not only health but life, and leave to their children a legacy of woe in a ruined constitution, perverted habits, and false ideas of life.
One of fashion's wasteful and mischievous devices is the skirt that sweeps the ground. Uncleanly, uncomfortable, inconvenient, unhealthful--all this and more is true of the trailing skirt. It is extravagant, both because of the superfluous material required, and because of the needless wear on account of its length. And whoever has seen a woman in a trailing skirt, with hands filled with parcels, attempt to go up or down stairs, to enter a streetcar, to walk through a crowd, to walk in the rain or on a muddy road, needs no other proof of its inconvenience and discomfort.
Another serious evil is the wearing of skirts so that their weight must be sustained by the hips. This heavy weight, pressing upon the internal organs, drags them downward and causes weakness of the stomach and a feeling of lassitude, inclining the wearer to stoop, which further cramps the lungs, making correct breathing more difficult.
Of late years the dangers resulting from compression of the waist have been so fully discussed that few can be ignorant in regard to them; yet so great is the power of fashion that the evil continues. By this practice, women and young girls are doing themselves untold harm. It is essential to health that the chest have room to expand to its fullest extent in order that the lungs may be enabled to take full inspiration. When the lungs are restricted, the quantity of oxygen received into them is lessened. The blood is not properly vitalized, and the waste, poisonous matter which should be thrown off through the lungs is retained. In addition to this the circulation is hindered, and the internal organs are so cramped and crowded out of place that they cannot perform their work properly.
Tight lacing does not improve the form. One of the chief elements in physical beauty is symmetry, the harmonious proportion of parts. And the correct model for physical development is to be found, not in the figures displayed by French modistes, but in the human form as developed according to the laws of God in nature. God is the author of all beauty, and only as we conform to His ideal shall we approach the standard of true beauty.
Another evil which custom fosters is the unequal distribution of the clothing, so that while some parts of the body have more than is required, others are insufficiently clad. The feet and limbs, being remote from the vital organs, should be especially guarded from cold by abundant clothing. It is impossible to have health when the extremities are habitually cold; for if there is too little blood in them, there will be too much in other portions of the body. Perfect health requires a perfect circulation; but this cannot be had while three or four times as much clothing is worn upon the body where the vital organs are situated as upon the feet and limbs.
A multitude of women are nervous and careworn because they deprive themselves of the pure air that would make pure blood, and of the freedom of motion that would send the blood bounding through the veins, giving life, health, and energy. Many women have become confirmed invalids when they might have enjoyed health, and many have died of consumption and other diseases when they might have lived their allotted term of life, had they dressed in accordance with health principles and exercised freely in the open air.
In order to secure the most healthful clothing, the needs of every part of the body must be carefully studied. The character of the climate, the surroundings, the condition of the health, the age and occupation, must all be considered. Every article of dress should fit easily, obstructing neither the circulation of the blood nor a free, full, natural respiration. Everything worn should be so loose that when the arms are raised the clothing will be correspondingly lifted.
Women who are in failing health can do much for themselves by sensible dressing and exercise. When suitably dressed for outdoor enjoyment, let them exercise in the open air, carefully at first, but increasing the amount of exercise as they can endure it. By taking this course, many might regain health and live to take their share in the world's work.[2]
A Practical Training
Useful manual labor is a part of the gospel plan. The Great Teacher, enshrouded in the pillar of cloud, gave directions to Israel that every youth should be taught some line of useful employment. Therefore it was the custom of the Jews, the wealthy as well as the poorer classes, to teach their sons and daughters some useful trade, so that, should adverse circumstances arise, they would not be dependent upon others, but would be able to provide for their own necessities. They might be instructed in literary lines, but they must also be trained to some craft. This was deemed an indispensable part of their education.
Now, as in the days of Israel, every youth should be instructed in the duties of practical life. Each should acquire a knowledge of some branch of manual labor by which, if need be, he may obtain a livelihood. This is essential, not only as a safeguard against the vicissitudes of life, but from its bearing upon physical, mental, and moral development. Even if it were certain that one would never need to resort to manual labor for support, still he should be taught to work. Without physical exercise no one can have a sound constitution and vigorous health; and the discipline of well-regulated labor is no less essential to the securing of a strong, active mind and a noble character.
Students who have gained book knowledge without gaining a knowledge of practical work cannot lay claim to a symmetrical education. The energies that should have been devoted to business of various lines have been neglected. Education does not consist in using the brain alone. Physical employment is a part of the training essential for every youth. An important phase of education is lacking if the student is not taught how to engage in useful labor.
The healthful exercise of the whole being will give an education that is broad and comprehensive. Every student should devote a portion of each day to active labor. Thus habits of industry will be formed and a spirit of self-reliance encouraged, while the youth will be shielded from many evil and degrading practices that are so often the result of idleness. And this is all in keeping with the primary object of education; for in encouraging activity, diligence, and purity, we are coming into harmony with the Creator.
The greatest benefit is not gained from exercise that is taken as play or exercise merely. There is some benefit in being in the fresh air, and also from the exercise of the muscles; but let the same amount of energy be given to the performance of useful work, and the benefit will be greater. A feeling of satisfaction will be realized, for such exercise carries with it a sense of helpfulness and the approval of conscience for duty well done.
Students should go forth from our schools with educated efficiency, so that when thrown upon their own resources they will have knowledge which they can use and which is needful to success in life. Diligent study is essential, so also is diligent hard work. Play is not essential. Devotion of the physical powers to amusement is not most favorable to a well-balanced mind. If the time employed in physical exercise which step by step leads on to excess were used in working in Christ's lines, the blessing of God would rest upon the worker. The discipline for practical life that is gained by physical labor combined with mental taxation is sweetened by the reflection that it is qualifying mind and body better to perform the work that God designs men to do. The more perfectly the youth understand how to perform the duties of practical life, the greater will be their enjoyment day by day in being of use to others. The mind educated to enjoy useful labor becomes enlarged; through training and discipline it is fitted for usefulness, for it has acquired the knowledge essential to make its possessor a blessing to others.
I cannot find an instance in the life of Christ where He devoted time to play and amusement. He was the great educator for the present and the future life, yet I have not been able to find one instance where He taught the disciples to engage in amusement in order to gain physical exercise. The world's Redeemer gives to every man his work and bids him, "Occupy till I come." Luke 19:13. In doing this the heart warms to the enterprise. All the powers of the being are enlisted in the effort to obey. We have a high and holy calling. Teachers and students are to be stewards of the grace of Christ, and they are always to be earnest.
Industrial Work
In establishing our schools out of the cities, we shall give the students an opportunity to train the muscles to work as well as the brain to think. Students should be taught how to plant, how to gather the harvest, how to build, how to become acceptable missionary workers in practical lines. By their knowledge of useful industries they will often be enabled to break down prejudice; often they will be able to make themselves so useful that the truth will be recommended by the knowledge they possess.
In our school in Australia we educated the youth along these lines, showing them that in order to have an education that is complete, they must divide their time between the gaining of book knowledge and the securing of a knowledge of practical work. Part of each day was spent in manual labor. Thus the students learned how to clear the land, to cultivate the soil, and to build houses; and these lines of work were largely carried on in time that would otherwise have been spent in playing games and seeking for amusement. The Lord blessed the students who devoted their hours to learning lessons of usefulness. To the managers and teachers of that school I was instructed to say:
"Various industries should be carried on in our schools. The industrial instruction given should include the keeping of accounts, carpentry, and all that is comprehended in farming. Preparation should be made for the teaching of blacksmithing, painting, shoemaking, and for cooking, baking, washing, mending, typewriting, and printing. Every power at our command is to be brought into this training work, that students may go forth well equipped for the duties of practical life.
"Students should be given a practical education in agriculture. This will be of inestimable value to many in their future work. The training to be obtained in felling trees and in tilling the soil, as well as in literary lines, is the education that our youth should seek to obtain. Agriculture will open resources for self-support. Other lines of work, adapted to different students, may also be carried on. But the cultivation of the land will bring a special blessing to the workers. We should so train the youth that they will love to engage in the cultivation of the soil.
"There should be opened to the youth means whereby many may, while attending school, learn the trade of carpentry. Under the guidance of experienced workmen, carpenters who are apt to teach, patient, and kind, the youth should be taught how to build substantially and economically. Cottages and other buildings essential to the various lines of schoolwork are to be erected by the students themselves. These buildings should not be crowded close together, or built near the school buildings proper. In the management of the schoolwork, small companies should be formed, who should be taught to carry a full sense of their responsibility. All these things cannot be accomplished at once, but we can begin to work in faith."
With a practical training, students will be prepared to fill useful positions in many places. If in the opening providence of God it becomes necessary to erect a meetinghouse in some locality, the Lord is pleased if there are among His own people those to whom He has given wisdom and skill to perform the necessary work.
Let the students who are engaged in building do their tasks with thoroughness, and let them learn from these tasks lessons that will help in their character building. In order to have perfect characters, they must make their work as perfect as possible. Into every line of labor let there be brought that stability which means true economy. If in our schools the land were more faithfully cultivated, the buildings more disinterestedly cared for by the students, the love of sports and amusements, which causes so much perplexity in our schoolwork, would pass away.
For the lady students there are many employments which should be provided, that they may have a comprehensive and practical education. They should be taught dressmaking and gardening. Flowers should be cultivated and strawberries planted. Thus, while being educated in useful labor, they will have healthful outdoor exercise.
Bookbinding and a variety of other trades should be taught, which will not only furnish physical exercise, but will impart valuable knowledge.
In all our schools there should be those who are fitted to teach cooking. Classes for instruction in this subject should be held. Those who are receiving a training for service suffer a great loss when they do not gain a knowledge of how to prepare food so that it is both wholesome and palatable.
The science of cooking is not a small matter. The skillful preparation of food is one of the most essential arts. It should be regarded as among the most valuable of all the arts, because it is so closely connected with the life. Both physical and mental strength depend to a great degree upon the food we eat; therefore the one who prepares the food occupies an important and elevated position.
Both young men and young women should be taught how to cook economically, and to dispense with everything in the line of flesh food. Let no encouragement be given to the preparation of dishes which are composed in any degree of flesh food; for this is pointing to the darkness and ignorance of Egypt, rather than to the purity of health reform.
Women especially should learn how to cook. What part of the education of a girl is so important as this? Whatever may be her circumstances in life, here is knowledge that she may put to practical use. It is a branch of education which has a most direct influence upon health and happiness. There is practical religion in a loaf of good bread.
Culture on all points of practical life will make our youth useful after they leave the school to go to foreign countries. They will not then have to depend upon the people to whom they go to cook and sew for them, or to build their habitations. And they will be much more influential if they show that they can educate the ignorant how to labor with the best methods and to produce the best results. A smaller fund will be required to sustain such missionaries, because they have put to the very best use their physical powers in useful, practical labor combined with their studies. This will be appreciated where means are difficult to obtain. They will reveal that missionaries can become educators in teaching how to labor. And wherever they go, all that they have gained in this line will give them standing room.
The Common Arts
Skill in the common arts is a gift from God. He provides both the gift and wisdom to use the gift aright. When He desired a work done on the tabernacle He said, "See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah: and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship." (Exodus 31:2, 3) Through the prophet Isaiah the Lord said, "Give ye ear, and hear My voice; hearken, and hear My speech. Doth the plowman plow all day to sow? doth he open and break the clods of his ground? When he hath made plain the face thereof, doth he not cast abroad the fitches, and scatter the cumin, and cast in the principal wheat and the appointed barley and the rye in their place? For his God doth instruct him to discretion, and doth teach him.
"For the fitches are not threshed with a threshing instrument, neither is a cart wheel turned about upon the cumin; but the fitches are beaten out with a staff, and the cumin with a rod. Bread corn is bruised; because he will not ever be threshing it, nor break it with the wheel of his cart, nor bruise it with his horsemen. This also cometh forth from the Lord of hosts, which is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working." (Isaiah 28:23-29)
God dispenses His gifts as it pleases Him. He bestows one gift upon one, and another gift upon another, but all for the good of the whole body. It is in God's order that some shall be of service in one line of work, and others in other lines--all working under the selfsame Spirit. The recognition of this plan will be a safeguard against emulation, pride, envy, or contempt of one another. It will strengthen unity and mutual love.
A much larger number of young people need to have the advantages of our schools. They need the manual training course, which will teach them how to live an active, energetic life. Under wise, judicious, God-fearing directors, the students are to be taught different kinds of labor. Every branch of the work is to be conducted in the most thorough, systematic way that long experience and wisdom can enable us to plan and execute.
Let the teachers wake up to the importance of this subject, and teach agriculture and the other industries that it is essential for the students to understand. Let them seek in every department of labor to reach the very best results. Let the science of the word of God be brought into the work, that the students may understand correct principles and may reach the highest possible standard.
Does It Pay
In many minds the question will arise, Can industrial work in our schools be made to pay? and if it cannot, should it be carried forward?
It would be surprising if industries could be made to pay immediately on being started. Sometimes God permits losses to come to teach us lessons that will keep us from making mistakes that would involve much larger losses. Let those who have had financial losses in their industrial work search carefully to find out the cause and endeavor to manage in such a way that in the future there will be no loss.
Let us remember that we are all members of God's family; and let us remember, too, that Satan and all his host are seeking constantly to force us into making mistakes, that our confidence in ourselves and in others may be destroyed. But when perplexities arise, shall we sit down on the stool of ignorance, and do nothing? God forbid.
There will be apparent drawbacks in the work, but this should not discourage us. The account books may show that the school has suffered some financial loss in carrying on industrial work; but if in these lines of work the students have learned lessons that will strengthen their character building, the books of heaven will show a gain far exceeding the financial loss. How many souls this work has helped to save will never be known till the day of judgment. Satan finds mischief for idle hands to do; but when students are kept busy in useful labor, the Lord has opportunity to work for them.
If, after carrying on manual training for one year, the managers of the school find that there has been a loss, let them seek to discover the reason for this, and guard against it in the future. But let not the spirit of censure prevail, for the Spirit of Christ is grieved when words of unkind criticism are spoken to those who have done their best. In the word of God there is encouragement as well as caution. God forbid that the hands of those who are trying to carry forward this line of work should be weakened.
I urge that our schools be given encouragement in their efforts to develop plans for the training of the youth in agricultural and other lines of industrial work. When, in ordinary business, pioneer work is done and preparation is made for future development, there is frequently a financial loss. But let us remember the blessing that physical exercise brings to the students. Many students have died while endeavoring to acquire an education, because they confined themselves too closely to mental effort.
We must not be narrow in our plans. In industrial training there are unseen advantages which cannot be measured or estimated. Let no one begrudge the effort necessary to carry forward successfully the plan that for years has been urged upon us as of primary importance.
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Teachers will meet with trials. Discouragements will press upon them as they see their work unappreciated. Satan will strive to afflict them with bodily infirmities, hoping to lead them to murmur against God, to close their eyes to His goodness, His mercy, His love, and the exceeding weight of glory that awaits the overcomer. At such times let teachers remember that God is leading them to more perfect confidence in Him. If in their perplexity they will look to Him in faith, He will bring them from the furnace of trial refined and purified as gold tried in the fire.
Let the hard-pressed, sorely tried one say, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him." "Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation." (Job 13:15; Habakkuk 3:17, 18)
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Let not teachers have favorites among their students, or give to the bright, quick students the most attention. Those who are apparently the most unpromising most need the tact and kindly words that will bind their hearts to the heart of the teacher.
First impressions are not to be trusted. Students who at first seem dull and slow may in the end make greater progress than those who are naturally quicker. If they are thorough and systematic in their work they will gain much that others will fail to gain. Those who form habits of patient, persevering industry will accomplish more than those of quick, vivacious, brilliant mind, who, though grasping the point quickly, lose it just as readily. The patient ones, though slower to learn, will stand ahead of those who learn so quickly that they do not need to study.
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Students should not be so pressed with studies as to neglect the culture of the manners; and above all, they should let nothing interfere with their seasons of prayer, which bring them in connection with Christ. In no case should they deprive themselves of religious privileges.
Study And Labor -- For Further Study
The Dignity of Labor
The Acts of the Apostles, 346-358.
Child Guidance, 122-130, 355-359.
The Desire of Ages, 74 (Christ's example).
Patriarchs and Prophets, 50, 51, 60, 600-602.
Testimonies For The Church 4:590.
Testimonies For The Church 6:192.
Physical Labor for Students
Fundamentals of Christian Education, 310-327.
Testimonies For The Church 1:680-687.
Testimonies For The Church 3:76-79;
Testimonies For The Church 4:94-98, 114;
Testimonies For The Church 5:90.
Health and Efficiency
Child Guidance, 103-109, 339-344, 360-368, 371-409.
Education, 195-206.
Fundamentals of Christian Education, 71-76, 145-148, 425-428.
Practical Training 257
The Ministry of Healing, 295-335.
Messages to Young People, 233-238.
Testimonies For The Church 3:485-492.
Some Principles of Healthful Dressing
Child Guidance, 413-436.
Messages to Young People, 353-360.
A Practical Training
Child Guidance, 345-354.
Education, 214-222.
Fundamentals of Christian Education, 416-420.
Testimonies For The Church 5:522, 523;
Testimonies For The Church 6:176-192;
Testimonies For The Church 7:113.
Notes: