Hence the severe penalties attached, in
the Mosaic law, to disobedience of parental authority. "He that curseth his
father or mother, shall surely be put to death." "The eye that mocketh at
his father, and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley
shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it." And hence also that
affectionate obedience which Joseph yielded to his aged father, and that
profound veneration with which he kneeled before him to receive his dying
blessing.
2. Filial obedience is the correlative of parental authority. If parents
have authority, children must yield obedience to it. This is not only
necessary to home-government, but also to the proper formation of the
character of the child. It must be trained up under law and authority to
prepare it for citizenship in the state. This must be the obedience of
confidence and love. It does not imply the subordination of the slave.
As the father's authority is not that of the despot, so the obedience of
the child is not that of the servile, trembling subject. It is not
unnatural,--no infringement upon the rights and liberties of the child. His
subordination to the parent is the law of his liberty. He is not free
without it. The home in which filial obedience is not yielded to parental
authority is "a marvel of permitted chaos," and will soon become desolate,
a scene of anarchy and strife. The members live in a state of lawlessness,
destitute of reciprocated affection,--the parent unhonored, the father and
mother despised and cursed, and the child untrained, uncared for, lawless,
and unfit for the state or the church.
Pages:
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209