nt. Obey God rather than man.

But, on the other hand, the obligation of the child is, to obey the parent
in all things lawful and Christian. Where this is not done the Christian
home becomes a curse. What an evil is a refractory child! How often does
the parental eye weep in bitterness over such a child! How often have such
children brought their parents down in sorrow to the grave! Let them think
of this. Let parents think of this before it is too late. Let them think of
the fearful criminality which is attached to parental indulgence and filial
disobedience.

We may neglect and abuse the home-government in two ways, either by
over-indulgence, or by the iron rod of tyranny. When we make it lax in its
restraints and requisitions, it becomes merely nominal, and its laws are
never enforced and obeyed. Often parents voluntarily relinquish their right
and duty to rule their household; and as a consequence, their children
abandon the duty of obedience, and grow up in a lawless state; or if they
do command, they never execute their commands, but leave all to the
discretion of their children. They violate their laws with impunity, until
all influence over them is lost, and the child becomes master of the
parent. The self-will of the former takes the place of the authority of the
latter, until at last the home-government becomes a complete farce and
mockery. Such parents are always making laws and giving commands; but never
enforce them; they complain that they cannot get their children to obey
them; and this cannot is but the utterance and exponent of their
unfaithfulness and disgrace.

The opposite abuse of home-government is parental despotism,--ruling with a
rod of iron, making slaves of children, acting the unfeeling and heartless
tyrant over them, assuming towards them attitudes of hard task-masters, and
making them obey from motives of trembling, fear and dread.

There is no christianity in all this. It engenders in them the spirit of a
slave; it roots out all confidence and love; their obedience becomes
involuntary and mechanical. They shrink in silent dread from the presence
of their parents, and long for the time when they can escape their galling
yoke. The parental rod destroys the filial love and confidence. Hence the
obedience of the latter is servile; and home loses its tender affections
and sympathies, and becomes to them a workhouse, a confinement; its
restrictions are a yoke; its interests are repulsive, and